Tovah Lynn

Tovah rescued Den, a Mountain Goat Herding mutt, when he was just 5 weeks old. She took Den to puppy class and she dragged Den all around town to “socialize” him, not really understanding what she was doing, how to do it well, or how much of it was needed. Den grew up into a challenging adult dog, displaying the dreaded dog reactivity. He barked and lunged at other dogs when on leash. He barked and growled at strangers from half a block away. He was fearful of car rides and stayed anxious everywhere Tovah took him.

Tovah’s mission to help Den overcome his fear-based aggression issues eventually led her to become a positive reinforcement dog trainer. Den learned to handle life more smoothly, but the process took years of consistent, professional level training. As Tovah learned, the fear based training methods she used on Den when he was a puppy were not worth the psychological side effects of fear and aggression later in life. There is no better way to prevent fear and aggression than well executed, early puppy socialization, when puppies’ brains and personalities are malleable. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Tovah has dedicated her career to helping dogs with fear and aggression as well as prevention through early socialization for puppies, believing her talents, skills, and knowledge are put to the best use in helping other dogs and people from the near-tragedy she and Den experienced. When we learn better we do better.

As Tovah progressed through dog training school, she brough all her new found knowledge to Den’s life but it was not until she reached the Junior and Senior levels that she gained the missing key to truly transform Den’s reactivty in public. Once graduating with Honors in 2017, Tovah started exclusivly taking clients who were also experiencing fear and aggression from their pet dogs. With Den as her inspiration she has now helped 100’s of clients transform their dog’s aggressive behavior. After 6 years of an anxiety-free life with all the freedoms of a normal dog, Den passed of old age early in 2024 but his spirit continues to inspire Tovah Chocolate Lab who is a well-adjusted Canine Good Citizen and Beerus, a rescue kitten.

Training Philosophy

Tovah believes in using positive reinforcement methods to help dogs overcome their fears and aggression. She emphasizes the importance of early socialization and prevention through well-executed puppy training.

Services

Project Potential offers a variety of services, including:

• Puppy Board and Train: This program is designed for puppies needing manners, life skills, and basic cues. It includes 2 transfer training sessions in your home. The program is available for puppies starting at 8 weeks old and must have their first round of puppy vaccinations a minimum of 7 days prior to their arrival.
• 12 Week Fear and Aggression Coaching Package: This package is for dogs and owners with fear and or aggression issues. It includes a 90 minute consultation, customized training plan, weekly group coaching calls via Zoom, daily text support, and life time access to online learning portal.
• Local Fear and Aggression Consultation: This service is for adult dogs with fear and aggression issues ranging from food/bed guarding to stranger aggression. It includes a 9 minute session and in home consultations are available within a 30 mile radius of downtown Branson, MO.
• Small Dog Over Night Boarding: This service is available for small dogs and costs $35/Night.
• Puppy Board and Train: This program costs between $1600 and $3200 and includes in-home transfer training sessions, potty training, basic cues, and socialization field-trips.
• Free 45 minute Zoom Call: This call will help you decide if one of their packages is right for your dog, situation, and personal goals. You can book a call at https://calendly.com/tovahlynnpdx/discovery-call

Certifications

Tovah is a certified positive reinforcement dog trainer.

Specializations

Tovah specializes in helping dogs with fear and aggression, as well as providing early socialization for puppies.

Training Methods

Tovah uses only scientifically based training methods to help dogs overcome their fears that feed their aggressive behaviors. Classical conditioning is used to help change emotional pathways in the brain and operant conditioning is used to change behavior patterns that provide relevant consequences for the dog. As a fear free trainer Tovah only uses positive association pairings to change the emotional state of the dog. Once the dog is in a better emotional state positive reinforcement is used to build more appropriate behavior patterns surrounding the problematic situations. If undesired behaviors still linger after the emotional state is changed then negative punishment is used to deliver an undesirable consequence for the dog, for example: social interaction halting or food/toy momentarily disappearing. Tovah is careful not to elicit fear or pain at all times during training as this causes negative emotional states which motivate aggressive behavior.