Eager Pup

The days of "Yank 'em and Crank 'em" are long over! At Eager Pup we train with brains, not brawn! Living with and enjoying your dog for its full life-time is all about educated ownership. Eager Pup is a two-dog-powered effort focused on providing fun and effective positive-reinforcement-based training for dogs and their owners. The pups in Eager Pup are Holly, once a young stray puppy, now a mature and well trained (but not perfect!) 60-pound blue mutt, and Andy, a rescue Shih Tzu from Gainesville Pet Rescue. The trainer at Eager Pup is their owner, Melanie Phillpot. Melanie is a nationally Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT) and Professional Member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. She served several years as an Adoption Counselor and Foster Parent with Gainesville Pet rescue, and is passionate about being part of the solution to the national problem of "disposable" dogs. Additionally, Melanie holds a degree in psychology from Rhodes College.


My personal mission is to raise the standard of canine ownership throughout the community by providing accurate, up-to-date owner education and useful, necessary canine training. Dogs are companion animals and truly deserve to be treated as our best friends. We need to proactively teach our dogs how to function best in our human-oriented society so that they may enjoy a full lifetime with us. Astoundingly, 95% of dogs (purebreds and mixed breeds) relinquished to Animal Services facilities nationwide are given up because they have received no formal training and their "bad" behaviors are entirely normal, predictable, untrained dog behaviors - fixable (and preventable) with basic training! Sadly, most of these dogs are euthanized, simply because the humans in their short lives didn't spend the time and effort to train them.

For the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviorists' current (2008) statement regarding positive reinforcement based training, go here.


Training doesn't take lots of money but it does take time and educated methods. You're likely to own your dog for 12 years or more, so get started training now and enjoy all of those years. I'm eager to help you! Let's teach what we DO want your dog to do so he can successfully fit into your lifestyle. Training can and should be fun for you and your dog! In fact, learning to train your dog provides a set of life skills you'll use again and again with the humans in your life, too! Feel free to contact me at eager.pup@hotmail.com with questions, or to arrange private lessons or consultations.

Check the Courses Page for the current schedule and description of group classes. You may Register Online or by snail-mail Registration Form and pay at the first class. You may register for private lessons as well; we will contact you promptly.