Mike Preis

During his years managing a dog walking service, Michael met a lot of different dog trainers and witnessed many different methods of training. He quickly realized that positive reinforcement was clearly the way to go. Michael found that this method is not only a more gentle and effective way of training, but also makes the process fun for everyone. Michael began his dog training studies in 2012 apprenticing under Jenny Chun and her colleague, Rikke Brogaard. He says about his time learning with Jenny and Rikke and about his dog training career, I was very fortunate to study with these two amazing trainers and be able to further my knowledge of dog training under them. It is such a positive feeling to be able to improve the relationship (and thus improve the lives) between dogs and their people. It is the one occupation that I can truly say becomes more rewarding with each day. I have formed wonderful relationships with clients and their dogs over the years. I look forward to each day and every new experience my life as a dog trainer brings. Since childhood, Mike has had a fascination and a love for dogs. One of his favorite playmates growing up was his neighbor's golden retriever Otis. He and his brother would often go over to the neighbor's house and play ball with Otis in the back yard. It was no surprise that Mike ended up walking dogs after moving to New York City. Eventually, he met a positive reinforcement, force free trainer Rikke Brogaard. His awakening to positive reinforcement training began when Rikke introduced him to the book 'The Power of Positive Dog Training' by Pat Miller. At that time, he had just adopted a young rescue pit bull named Brindy. She had been through a lot as pup. Her ears had been cropped extremely short, she was malnourished, and when neighbors found her, she had been abandoned for hours in freezing rain. Like many young rescue dogs in the city, she had a lot of behavioral issues. Utilizing the teachings of positive reinforcement force free training transformed Mike's relationship with Brindy and left him hooked forever. She blossomed into such a happy, confident, well-mannered dog.Not long after that, Rikke started the New York Force Free Dog Behavior Consultants with Jenny Chun of Give Paw Dog Training (later adding Vivian Arzoumanian of Pumpkin Pups Dog Training). They offered a dog training apprenticeship program which Mike was fortunate to have been invited to join. The group's focus was on the teachings of Karen Pryor, Pat Miller, Patricia McConnell, Jean Donaldson, Dr. Ian Dunbar, Dr. Sophia Yin and many other pioneers in force free positive reinforcement training. After completing levels one and two of the apprenticeship program, Jenny (of Give Paw Dog Training) offered Mike a job to share some of her case load. Jenny guided and coached him through his early years as he developed as a dog trainer. Michael received his CPDT-KA training certification in 2016, became a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT) in 2023, and continues to further his knowledge and stay current in the dog training field attending seminars, online courses, researching new articles and material, and staying in touch with many colleagues in the dog training community.