Trainer/Proprietor: Casey Lomonaco

Casey is a behavior and training consultant, professional author, and lecturer located in upstate New York. Committed to continuing education, Casey attends numerous seminars and conferences held by industry leading professionals annually. She strives to deliver the most recent, scientifically valid dog behavior information to both pet professionals and pet owners through a variety of print and electronic media sources, seminars, classes, and private consultations.

Casey has contributed content for many publications, including:  Karen Pryor Clicker Training, Dog Star Daily, Through a Dog’s Ear, Tails Pet Media Group, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers Chronicle of the Dog, Dogster, Catser, Pet Expertise, and DogTime.

In 2009, Casey won the John Fisher essay contest award, sponsored by Dogwise and the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. In 2010, Casey authored a course on clicker training for the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior and contributed content to Nicole Wilde’s newest book, “Don’t Leave Me! Step-by-Step Help for Your Dog’s Separation Anxiety”.

Casey is committed to professional ethics, excellence, and responsibility and is proud to serve as an inaugural member of the Alumni Advisory Board for Karen Pryor Academy, work with the Executive Director Selection Committee for the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, and participate as a member of both Truly Dog Friendly and the No-Shock Collar Coalition.

At her facility in Endicott, New York, Casey offers a variety of group and private services for pet owners and assists her business partner in hosting workshops for the Karen Pryor Academy. She also offers consultation services, including written web content and print development, for other pet professionals. Casey is available for limited lecturing engagements upon request.

When she’s not training, writing, attending conferences or seminars, Casey can be found: reading (lots of training books and a few great novels), attending conferences or seminars on dog training, behavior, and health, hiking through the woods with Jim and the dogs, playing with her new camera, camping, attending to the grooming needs of the resident three and four-legged furkids, cleaning slobber off the ceilings, muddy paw prints from the floor, hunting dust bunnies with the Dyson, preparing training treats, making home made dog toys, or snuggling puppies.

James Lomonaco

James Lomonaco is an accomplished web developer and graphic designer.  He is the creator of the Rewarding Behaviors Dog Training website and has developed logos, web site, and creative marketing solutions for a variety of businesses and individuals.  To view Jim’s portfolio, visit www.jimlomonaco.net.

Mocha Bear: Karen Pryor Academy graduate and Canine Graduate Assistant, canine supermodel, undercover scenthound

Mocha Bear is our wonderful chow mix. She is aloof, intense, independent, haughty, challenging, and ridiculously smart. She is an amazing training partner, and deserves as much credit as I do for graduating KPA, since she worked in all my lessons, workshops, and assessments. She always makes me look good as a trainer, and never fails to make me proud.

I am perhaps most proud of her for helping her realize that dog breed stereotypes are the canine equivalent of racism and must be abandoned.  Mokie has rehabilitated a number of “Chow” phobic clients, teaching them that it is training, not breed, which determines a dog’s threat to public safety.

When she’s not helping me at the classroom, Mokie enjoys chasing squirrels, playing with her best friend Leila, shoving her face into gopher holes, playing with sticks, swimming, and playing her Fisher Price piano.

Cuba Gooddog Jr. (Shadow Mtn Victory for Monte) Most photographed puppy in the universe, star of Puppy Socialization Diaries on RBDT, world traveler, cutie pie.

In August of 2010, Casey flew to Oregon to bring a new Saint Bernard puppy into the Lomonaco household.  She returned with Cuba (jokingly called “Cuba Gooddog Jr.), registered name Shadow Mtn Victory for Monte.  Cuba is named after the town in New York State from where Monte was rescued.

Cuba is a delightful puppy with a beautiful temperament and a fondness for toys, people, dogs, and learning of all sorts.  Hopefully, he will be a star in the conformation ring as well as in weight pull and carting.

Montecristo: Saint Bernard,guardian angel, artist, garbage raider, interior designer, slobber distributor.

Monte was our rescued Saint Bernard. Sadly, we lost Monte just weeks before his sixth birthday in the summer of 2010 to a congenital birth defect. Monte is unbelievably missed in our home, and is the inspiration behind Ode to Boy: Tributes to Crossover Dogs, also known as Project Monte. Monte is the most inspirational dog I know, and was a devoted companion, thoughtful mentor, and made me a better person, trainer, and dog mom. I miss you, baby boy.  Momma loves you forever.

The landlords

Ahab the three-legged cat and Eartha Kitty, who so kindly let the rest of the Lomonacos reside in the home they have claimed.

Ahab

Ahab was feral in a few of his nine lives. He is a cunning escape artist, and is still trying to come to terms with the fact that he is destined to be an indoor kitty. While initially upon coming home with us he was very frightened and spent most of his time looking for hiding spaces, he is now really quite socially gregarious, and has a reputation with all visitors in the Lomonaco home as being the world’s cuddliest cat. Ahab’s true dream is to be a therapy animal, and have thirty to fifty people all vying for their turn to cuddle him at the nearest hospital, nursing home, or rehabilitation center.

Eartha Kitty

Ever the diva, Eartha works “behind the scenes” in the Lomonaco residence. Always wary of Monte and the slobber he brings, she prefers to bask in the sun on top of floor-to-ceiling cat furniture. Never having been outside in her life unless going to the vet since she first came to us, she thinks the outside world is terribly dirty and undignified.

If you know cats, you know that they could never be convinced to perform menial, plebeian tasks like writing bios for themselves, particularly for something as silly as a dog training website. When asked for comments to add to this section of the Rewarding Behaviors website, the cats muttered a reserved “Mrao!” and offered their tummies for belly scritchies, indicating the interview was over.

The trainer will work on shaping the behavior of interviewing with the cats and will hopefully be able to offer more insight from the Lomonaco felines in coming website updates. Believe it or not, cats can be clicker trained too!

The Management

Rewarding Behaviors Dog Training