Nicole Ellis is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), American Kennel Club Canine Good Companion (CGC) evaluator, APDT (Association of Professional Dog Trainers) trainer and co-author of Working Like a Dog. Her expertise as a trainer has led to many media appearances giving training and dog care tips, including Today Show, Good Day LA, NBC, Fox, MSN, Mashable, Pet360, Travel+Leisure, Animal Wellness and Huffington Post.
Using positive reinforcement methods, Ellis has trained hundreds of animals in basic behavior, puppy manners, trick training, therapy work, film/TV production work and service dog skills. Ellis believes that with love and positive reinforcement, we can train any dog and if we train more dogs, we may have fewer on the streets and in the shelters. Her own dogs, Maggie and Rossi, are therapy dogs and movie
Nicole Ellis is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), American Kennel Club Canine Good Companion (CGC) evaluator, APDT (Association of Professional Dog Trainers) trainer and co-author of Working Like a Dog. Her expertise as a trainer has led to many media appearances giving training and dog care tips, including Today Show, Good Day LA, NBC, Fox, MSN, Mashable, Pet360, Travel+Leisure, Animal Wellness and Huffington Post.
Using positive reinforcement methods, Ellis has trained hundreds of animals in basic behavior, puppy manners, trick training, therapy work, film/TV production work and service dog skills. Ellis believes that with love and positive reinforcement, we can train any dog and if we train more dogs, we may have fewer on the streets and in the shelters. Her own dogs, Maggie and Rossi, are therapy dogs and movie dogs, but most of all, family members that join in on every adventure, from horses to paddleboarding in the ocean.
In her 15 years as a professional trainer, Ellis has worked with everything from bears to tigers to horses to cats and dogs. Her older dog, Maggie, was adopted from a city shelter and went on to perform in films and commercials in addition to visiting hospitals for trick demonstrations and therapy work. She knows over 100 commands, from handstands to skateboarding. Rossi, her newest addition, starred in a feature film for Warner Bros before his first birthday and loves helping Ellis with her training videos and making media appearances.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Ellis was the fearless kid in the class who volunteered to hold the giant snake or pet the cheetah. She rode horses from an early age and always liked working with the difficult ones. That sparked her interest in animal behavior and she went on to study animal training with top trainers, learning to work with everything from exotics - bears and big cats - to household pets like dogs and cats.
Ellis operates on the principle that happier owners mean happier pets. She believes that training strengthens the bond between humans and animals and this is a win-win for everyone.
