Meet the Trainer

Kit Perry on a Kayaking Trip with her Dog

Meet the Dog Trainer & Behavior Consultant:  Kit Perry

Kit’s Animal Training Background

Kit graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology in 2004 from Northwestern State University. From 2004-2012, she trained animals in zoos, including elephants, mountain lions, tigers, monkeys, birds, and goats. Her favorite zoo training program she created was with giraffes.  Kit put her focus on training dogs in 2012 when she started Creature Coach, LLC in Central California.  In the summer of 2021, Kit moved her company to the Denton, Texas area in order to pursue a Master’s Degree in Behavior Analysis with a focus in animal behavior at UNT.  Kit is an active member of The Organization for Reinforcement Contingencies with Animals (ORCA), which is an organization at UNT that focusses on researching animal behavior and training.

Kit Perry with her Goldendoodle, Isla

Kit’s Dog Training Credentials

Kit is associate certified with International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC).  Kit has been an Authorized Mentor for Animal Behavior College (ABC), and is currently a Faculty Advisor for the Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training & Behavior.  These positions allow Kit to teach and mentor dog trainers who are earning certifications.  Kit was also the Chairperson of Valley Animal Center’s Enrichment and Training Committee from 2013-2021, in which she helped train staff and hundreds of volunteers to train shelter dogs in the Dog Adoption Center.

Kit’s Training Style

Kit regularly deals with serious behavior cases, including aggression.  She is nonjudgemental and treats her clients, both human and canine, with the utmost respect.  As part of her certification with IAABC, she holds her clients’ cases confidential, unless clients specify that details or photos of their training programs can be shared with others. 

Kit Target Training Gamba to “Bow”

Kit Rewarding Gamba with an Apple Slice

Kit Perry, owner of Creature Coach Dog Training, LLC, has a strong background in animal behavior and utilizes several scientific theories, factors, and training techniques when working with your dog.

A few of these are:

• Classical Conditioning (aka Pavlovian Conditioning)
• Counter-Conditioning
• Desensitization
• Operant Conditioning
• Target Training
• Shaping
• Secondary Reinforcer (aka Conditioned Reinforcer, aka Bridge, aka Marker)
• Preference Assessment
• Adjusting Reward/Reinforcement Value, Frequency, Duration, and Contingency
• Teaching Alternative, Incompatible Behaviors (aka Replacement Behaviors)
• Minimizing Probabilities of Extinction Bursts
• Prompt Fading
• Proofing Discriminitive Stimuli (aka SD’s, aka Cues, aka Commands)
• Premack Principle
• Backwards Chaining & Sequencing