Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Scott.
Hi Stephanie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Since childhood, I’ve had a strong love for all animals. I always pursued animal-related work, even before receiving any formal education on animal welfare/behavior. After high school, I studied Biology and Animal Behavior at Truman State University, earning my bachelor’s degree in biology in 2011. Shortly after college, I was accepted as an intern at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Eureka Springs, AR. Throughout this internship, I gained extensive knowledge on exotic animal husbandry, animal welfare and conservation, and animal behavior. This experience led me to my first role as a professional dog trainer. I’ve now been training for almost 14 years and have worked in numerous training settings (i.e. basic group classes, private in-home sessions, public therapy and service dog work, etc.). It has always been my mission to be an advocate for dogs by educating pet parents on how to better understand their dog’s behavior, instead of just wanting to “fix” behaviors they don’t like. Understanding the science of behavior has helped me better communicate with dogs and their owners on how to build mutual trust and respect in their relationship. I’ve recently begun a new chapter of serving the animals in my community by accepting the role of lead trainer for Lily’s Play N Stay and Lily’s Rescue Rehab in Belton, MO. While I will continue working with dogs on basic puppy manners, obedience training, and behavior modification, I will also oversee the more difficult cases that come through our new rescue and rehab facility. These dogs will be coming from shelters all over the country to get a second chance at finding their forever home. And as an avid animal advocate, it is my goal to ensure these dogs don’t just find any available home, but that they find the right home so they can learn to trust people again and live out their lives in an environment where they can thrive.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When working with animals, there are always challenges. They’re living beings with their own unique personalities. And dogs with traumatic backgrounds have additional issues that can sometimes affect the way we approach training. Many professions are driven by results or outcomes, but when working with dogs, it is more important to measure progress, not perfection. This can be extremely difficult when we are limited to a certain timeframe for training. This is why training the pet parents is just as important as training the dogs, as they’ll be the ones following through with training when we’re done with our official training program. I’ve found that the biggest challenge I’ve faced as a trainer is knowing that, even with the best intentions, many pet parents struggle with maintaining training protocols. I know that life gets busy, and it can be difficult to stay consistent with the training, which is why I try to always offer support when I can to keep dogs and their owners on track. It is never a perfectly smooth road, but working through these challenges is worth it to help families and their dogs continue that forward progress.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a professional dog trainer. My work consists of two parts: training dogs, and training dog owners. Training dogs involves timing, feedback, repetition, and consistency. I often work with dogs one on one to build desired behaviors or decrease undesirable behaviors, then I teach owners how to maintain behaviors when I’m not there. I use balanced training techniques, which combines positive reinforcement with corrective measures to train dogs. One thing that I believe sets me apart from some other trainers is that I use evidenced based training methods to not only address basic obedience needs, but to work through extreme fear, anxiety, and aggression. The one thing I’m most proud of in my career is being able to help people work through difficult behaviors with their dogs by teaching them to better understand the underlying cause of a behavior, which changes their perception of what is considered “good” vs “bad”. And that understanding leads to better communication between a dog and their owner and helps owners become advocates for their dogs.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Kansas City is my favorite place in the whole world. I love the diversity, the rich culture, and awesome sports and entertainment scene. I also love how the people here are generally kind and welcoming to people visiting. The one thing I like the least about Kansas City is how large and spread out we are, without a good public transit system.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lilysplaynstay.com/dog-training/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilys.rescue.rehab?igsh=YjBsb2Izc29ld3l6
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1MSDPDJuGP/?mibextid=wwXIfr
