Jaime Bessko

Thanks for checking us out! Let me tell you a little bit about me and my training style.From a very young age, I've had a true interest and admiration for all animals. I am fascinated with animal behavior and received my Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Florida. I have always been impressed by working dogs and the positive impact that animals can have on our lives. I knew from a young age that I wanted to someday train Service Dogs and truly make a positive impact. I've held many positions working with dogs, such as training dogs at the MSPCA animal shelter to increase adoptability rate, I was a veterinary assistant at an animal hospital for several years, I trained Hearing Dogs for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at International Hearing Dog, I've learned the nuances of many breeds while working as a kennel attendant, I'm an active member for Dog and Cat rescues, and I've enjoyed training for agility and obedience trials with my dogs. Training service dogs at International Hearing Dog has had the most profound impact on my training. I truly learned how to create a thinking dog that offers default behaviors with handler focus around maximum distractions. I learned how to add stress in training, in a controlled manner, to create a dog that can focus under any conditions. I got very proficient in performing temperament tests when selecting the service dog recruits from local shelters. I love socializing the dogs to be confident in all scenarios and teaching the recipients how to understand and work with their dog. I now have very high standards for polite manners in dogs because I know what is possible! I love doing public access work with service dogs, especially when someone says, Oh, I didn't know there was a dog in this restaurant! My favorite part about training service dogs is the fulfillment and gratitude of knowing that I'm helping someone live a better quality of life. Dogs love to have a job and I love to channel their energy in appropriate ways.