Irith Bloom, CPDT-KSA, CBCC-KA, CDBC, CSAT, KPA CTP, VSPDT, CBATI, FFCP, VSDTA Faculty, DWA Faculty

Irith has loved animals for as long as she can remember. She grew up with dogs, gerbils, and a pet snake (who was housed far from the gerbils), and was fascinated by horses. After years of (unsuccessfully) begging her parents to let her ride, she took matters into her own hands and won a horse in an essay contest. Irith's parents were too busy to train the animals, so Irith got good at teaching useful (from the human point of view) skills to non-human animals. A self-admitted geek, Irith has spent a great deal of time studying the science of behavior. She is fortunate enough to be invited regularly to give presentations on a variety of animal- and learning-related topics. Her writing on these topics (including the new book "Your Puppy and You: A step-by-step guide to raising a freak'n awesome dog") has been published both online and in print.