Darcy Burrow

Owner, Head Trainer, IAABC Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, Fear Free Certified Professional, Aggression in Dogs Master Course Certificant

Darcy has loved dogs his whole life. From collecting stuffed dogs as a child, to volunteering with Canine Companions for Independence through high school, they have always looked for excuses to be surrounded by dogs at any capacity. 

With that adoration of dogs, Darcy has studied the work of Patricia McConnell PhD, Karen Pryor, Susan Freidman, and others as they have developed a training method driven by empathy, guided by research. This has led him to see dog training as a love language, one to be expressed as mutual respect and desire to understand. With methods backed by science, Darcy has helped countless pet parents reach their goals, no matter how big or small. 

A person with short hair, glasses, and tattoos wearing a colorful hoodie and gray jeans playing with a black dog dressed in a matching colorful outfit in a park during autumn.
A person wearing a denim jacket, a blue cap with a crocodile patch, and sunglasses kneels on the beach, hugging a large brown dog with a purple bandana and muzzle. The dog is lying on the sand, and waves are visible in the background under a clear blue sky.

Training Philosophy

I believe no matter the breed, no matter the problem, training can be accomplished without a heavy hand. This mean I will never resort to using pinch collars, prong collars, or shock collars (also called stim collars, or e-collars) to punish your dog. Not only are those methods harmful, they actually can prevent effective, long term learning! I align my practice with the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior's position statement on humane dog training: "There is no evidence that aversive training is necessary for dog training or behavior modification". In alignment with that, I blend positive reinforcement methods and force free handling to deter and replace unwanted behaviors, and encourage and strengthen desirable ones.  

As a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, it is my goal to not only help your dog overcome complex behavior hurdles, but also to help you understand where the behavior came from in the first place. From the point of understanding, communication and training flourish.