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Instructor & Trainer Bios
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Laura Coursey is a dynamic instructor and dog trainer. Laura has a physical disability and uses a power wheelchair to master her environment. As a child, Laura decided that her disability would never prevent her from accomplishing her goals.A lifelong dog lover, Laura first learned about service dogs at the age of 12. At the time, the only dogs available were through programs that trained a dog for an individual. The cost was exorbitant, and Laura believed she would never be able to afford a service dog. Laura moved from Rochester, New York to Tucson, Arizona in 1979 to study at the University of Arizona where she earned a BS in Public Administration, Health Services Administration. While studying at the University, Laura learned about a local organization teaching people with disabilities how to train their family dog to be their service dog. After graduating from U of A, Laura worked with a variety of organizations. While working at DIRECT, Center for Independence as the Personal Assistant Specialist, Laura enrolled at one of the local service dog training organizations with her rescued Papillon, Chewy. Laura fell in love with the training methodology. She began to use the principles of positive reinforcement not only when training Chewy, but in all aspects of her life. Unfortunately, Chewy had some significant physical trauma sustained before Laura rescued him. This condition was permanent and untreatable. Chewy was lovingly led to the Rainbow Bridge where he plays happily with Laura’s grandparents as well as his other canine brothers and sisters. Laura re-enrolled at the same local service dog training organization; this time with a yellow Labrador Retriever named Synergy. As Laura and Synergy approached graduation, Laura was offered a position there as a Special Projects Coordinator and as an Instructor! Laura was in heaven! It turns out that Laura has a natural gift, not only with dogs, but with people as well. She is a loving, yet tough, instructor. She believes that dog training, as well as people training, should always be fun. It is not uncommon to hear her students celebrating as they achieve higher and higher levels of success. Frequent exclamations of “Wow that was easy” or, “I never thought I would be able to that” or, “I didn’t really believe my dog was capable of that” are heard from Laura’s students! Laura and Shawn Coursey decided to launch EQuality Dog Training in 2009 with classes and programs offered here in Tucson, as well as around the globe via Skype. They firmly believe that the general public deserves the same level of training and expertise that is given to students learning to train service dog. While EQuality Dog Training does offer service dog training, the focus is on fun, effective dog training for everyone! As Executive Director and Lead Instructor, Laura is looking forward to using emerging internet technologies such as Skype so she can teach dogs and their people all around the world to form loving, fun, respect based partnerships. Laura is directly involved with the professional development of the training staff. She makes sure that all instructors are up to date on the latest scientific advances in the field of animal behavior. She develops and revises the curriculum as needed. As she says, "I get to make all the fun happen!" Finally, Laura is directly involved in the day to day minutia required in running a growing, innovative, dog training organization. Send Laura an e-mail and she’ll help you design your own custom made training package. She’s looking forward to helping your dog train you!  |