Alex Reinhart

A graduate of the University of South Florida, Alex holds Bachelor's degrees in both Psychology and Anthropology and remains an active member of The National Honor Society of Psychology as well as The National Society of Collegiate Scholars.Alex is proud to be a Professional Canine Trainer accredited through The Pet Professional Guild as well as a Certified Behavior Consultant Canine ‚ Knowledge Assessed through The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. She currently operates as the Director of Training at Courteous Canine Inc. one of the largest positive reinforcement-based dog training schools in the Tampa Bay area.Alex got her start in the animal training field as an exotic animal trainer and handler while working at Busch Gardens as well as Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park as an Animal Ambassador Trainer. It was here that she was first exposed to the power of positive reinforcement training and how to apply these methods with a variety of species both domestic and exotic before choosing to focus on helping pet parents and their furry family members.She is a regular columnist for the animal training-based publication BARKS from the Guild and has written pieces detailing her work with both domestic and exotic animals.Alex believes that as a professional trainer we never really stop learning and education and access to information are some of the most important tools that we have to grow as professionals in the dog training field. A guest lecturer at Eckerd College in Florida during their Enrichment and Animal Welfare course. Alex believes in spreading information about humane training methods for all species. Regularly attending educational conferences and workshops Alex has completed Precision Behavior's Advanced Animal Training Workshop sponsored by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium among others and is currently pursuing additional training accreditations.In addition to her professional credentials Alex also has a passion for animal rehabilitation and rescue, working closely with organizations like Animalluvr's Dream Rescue where she adopted two of her three dogs and still frequently provides her services in rescue dog evaluations and training prior to adoption. She has also completed internships through companies like Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc. where she spent three months working with the staff within the Genetics and Reproduction Department and participated in guide dog behavioral evaluations, early puppy education programs and the cryopreservation and breeding of the next generation of guide dogs.Alex looks forward to continuing to grow with the help of her dogs Leo, Dante and Trace as well as the wonderful staff and clients at Courteous Canine Inc.