"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi

Meet the Trainer

Laura Clawson is the owner of Unleash the Pawsitive LLC and is a certified dog trainer and behavior consultant, and Licensed Family Dog Mediator. She is a graduate of the Animal Behavior College in California where she received her dog training certification. Laura has partnered with Victoria Stilwell, star of the popular Animal Planet show, "It's Me or the Dog" and is proud to be a Victoria Stilwell Positively Dog Trainer (VSPDT). Laura is also a member of the Pet Professionals Guild (PPG), an educator for Family Paws Parent Education, a Fear Free Certified Professional, an AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) evaluator, a certified Family Dog Mediator (FDM), and a graduate of Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire.

Laura believes in continuing education in order to keep on top of current and effective positive reinforcement based training methods. She continues her education by regular attendance at dog training seminars and conferences, reading numerous dog training publications, working alongside other professional trainers, and studying animal behavior through both live observation as well as training videos. This continuing education has given Laura an in depth understanding of how your companion dog learns and therefore to have the ability to work creatively and effectively with obedience concerns as well as more significant behavioral problems requiring more intense training and behavior modification efforts.

In addition to training dogs and working with canine behavioral issues, Laura volunteers time  for the dogs awaiting adoption with local rescue groups and shelters in Carroll County, GA. Including these dogs in training provides necessary socialization skills and aids in their adoption process. Behavior issues are traditionally the number one reason that owners surrender their dogs to animal shelters. Dogs who have learned basic obedience skills such as sit, down, come (when called), and loose leash walking have a much better chance at finding and remaining in a forever home.

Before moving to Georgia in 2008, Laura volunteered as an animal companion at a humane society in California where she spent individual time with the shelter dogs working on basic obedience skills with the goal of helping each and every animal find a home. Laura knows how rewarding it can be to adopt a shelter dog.  Laura has 5 dogs, Missy, Maggie, and Hazel are all shelter/rescue group adoptees, Ida is Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, and Pali is a Standard Poodle.

Prior to obtaining her dog training certification, Laura worked in the corporate world as a trainer and manager for many years. Her years of working with people have provided her with a keen ability to clearly and simply relay skills and information about training your dog. She understands how important it is to make you and your dog comfortable and to have fun in order to get the most from your training experiences.

Laura believes in providing excellent educational information to the public to help families with dogs to be successful when adding new family members. To that end, Laura is a Licensed Presenter and Educator for the Family Paws Parent Education program. This program is designed to set dogs and families up for success before their new baby arrives and to provide support for these families during the first year.

Laura is a Certified Dog Trainer, a Victoria Stilwell Positively Dog Trainer, a member of the Pet Professionals Guild, is a Fear Free Certified Professional, an educator for Family Paws Parent Education, and has completed and received certification for Pet First Aid from the American Red Cross and through PetTech.

Please call Laura for additional information at 770-871-8656 or email laura.clawson@unleashthepawsitive.com.