Mia Alfonso
the best of both worlds; from positive-only trainer to balanced trainer
- American Kennel Club Certified CGC, STAR, and Temperament Test Evaluator
- titled barn hunt (RATN & RATO) and AKC CGC owner/trainer/handler
- service dog trainer for physical and psychological disabilities
- former positive-reinforcement-only trainer; now passionate about teaching the difference!
More about
mia alfonso
TRAINING SPECIALTY
Mia specializes in helping dog owners develop excellent communication and engagement with their dogs. Going beyond teaching obedience commands, she believes that a dog’s willingness to work with their owner is make or break in the relationship. This means consulting on your dog’s play style, drive outlets, breed-specific instincts, and natural communication style with you.
Mia is also especially passionate about reactive dog training, as her own journey to becoming a dog trainer began when she adopted an aggressive/reactive Pitbull from a shelter nearly a decade ago.
FUN FACT
Mia is also a cat lover and has fostered dozens of litters of rescue kittens!
mia’S DOGS
- Josie, a 10-year-old Pitbull mix who began Mia’s dog training journey when she was adopted from a rescue as a dog aggressive/reactive dog. Josie is now a perfect gentle-lady!
CERTIFICATIONS
Mia initially spent 2.5 years studying under various positive-reinforcement-only dog trainers. She mastered techniques such as desensitization, counter conditioning, and engagement building. However, her dog aggressive Pitbull mix Josie had made limited progress despite hundreds of hours of training.
She decided to mentor under an array of balanced dog trainers for a fresh perspective and found a “sweet spot” as a true balanced trainer, using ample rewards as well as corrections to achieve clear communication and low stress training with fast results. Josie’s life changed quickly, as she was soon able to go to public places calmly, come to outing with friends who had dogs, and be trusted off leash in situations that previously seemed impossible.
Today, Josie is 10 years old and a joy to take to public places around Austin. She even has a small circle of dog friends!
Mia is a Certified AKC CGC and STAR Evaluator, a Certified AKC Temperament Test Evaluator, an titled handler in Barn Hunt dog trials, a 100-in-1 Dog Trainer (100 dogs trained in 1 year), and a service dog trainer with dozens of graduated dogs in service.
OTHER AREAS OF EXPERTISE
- Service Dog Training —> Mia has trained dozens of service dogs for psychiatric and physical disabilities. Once a trained dog was matched with a handler, she led the beginning of the relationship and taught new service dog handlers to handle their new dogs.
- Muzzle Fitting & Use —> Muzzles are a highly underutilized and nuanced training tool that can open a whole new world to aggressive and reactive dogs! Mia has developed extensive knowledge of muzzle types, fitting, training, and use.
- Dog/Cat Relationships —> As the owner of a shelter-adopted Pitbull who showed intense aggression towards other animals, Mia carefully journeyed down the road to learning to develop safe dog/cat relationships. She now fosters litters of kittens from local shelters and raises them in her home alongside her Pitbull!
- Building Engagement —> As a former positive-reinforcement-only trainer, Mia is particularly well studied on building engagement, or your dog’s willingness to engage with their handler with interest and enthusiasm. This is something that not only improves your dog’s obedience and behavior, but goes a long way in strengthening the bond you have with your dog.
- Transitioning From Positive-Only Training to Balanced Training —> Mia is passionate about helping others make the transition she did herself; reaching the end of a road in positive-reinforcement-only training and dipping their toes into training that incorporates more communication with their dog. She understands the feelings and questions associated with making this transition personally. We love having Mia here to guide others to the start of a beautiful new world with their beloved pups!
