Meet our Richmond Dog Trainer, Pat Burke

Expert Dog Trainer Specializing in Aggression & Anxiety Behavior Problems!

 

Pat Burke – Owner & Head Trainer

Pat Burke grew up in the tidewater region of Virginia. Having attended VCU in the early 80s, he has long had a place in his heart for the Richmond area. When given the opportunity to return to Richmond to take over James River Dog Training from his daughter Sarah, he jumped at the chance. He is a sports enthusiast, and is loving being back here surrounded by like minded Redskins and VCU Rams fans. He is certified through the Canine Trade Group school for professional dog trainers. The training protocol he uses has been successfully correcting aggression and anxiety issues in dogs for over two decades!

Pat has been a lifelong lover of dogs. Throughout his entire life, he has never gone longer than two weeks without owning a dog. His understanding of how a dog interacts and becomes part of the family is grounded in personal experience. His dad had also trained dogs while in the military in the 1960s.

Pat’s experience of having been a public school teacher for over twenty years makes him uniquely qualified to teach families how to raise their dogs to be well behaved, successful members of the family. After all, it is the dog owner that gets the majority of the training!

 

Clair Cortright – Professional Dog Trainer

Clair Cortright is the newest member of the team at James River Dog Training in Richmond, Virginia.

She grew up in Henrico, Virginia and graduated from Virginia Tech with a major in Animal and Poultry Sciences. While there, she studied with an emphasis on companion animals. Clair has been surrounded by dogs her whole life and could not imagine doing anything but working with animals—dogs, in particular.

Clair completed the Canine Trade Group training course in canine behavior, which focused on the training philosophy of “Decisions, not Dominance.” This means that the training methods are geared towards helping pups make the right decisions on their own without the owner feeling like they are breaking their dog’s spirit.

Clair believes in-home training is the most effective way to communicate with dogs, as it allows the owner to stay involved in the training process and work on specific family needs. After all, there is no one set way for a dog to behave; it’s simply what works for each family.

Give your dog the gift that keeps on giving by hiring Clair for one-on-one in-home training. 

Get Started with James River Today!

Give the office a call to learn more about how our in-home dog training programs can help your dog! We can be reached at 804.412.6003.