OHMIDOG! : She knows Bo: Meet the First Dog trainer

Before he showed up at the White House, Bo Obama was kept under wraps at the rural Virginia home of*Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz, a veteran dog trainer who says she been deluged with attention and clients since word got out she was Bo’s trainer.
After being glowingly profiled in USA Today yesterday, chances are there’s only more of that ahead.
Sylvia-Stasiewicz declined to say anything about her work with Bo or her contacts with the Obamas — apparently she’s a firm believer in*dog trainer-client confidentiality — but she did note that she has been besieged by dog*lovers, the media and bloggers.
“It’s a little crazy, a little surreal,” she said. Even though she has been training pets for*rich, famous or otherwise high-profile clients for years,*Sylvia-Stasiewicz says she’s never had a reaction like Bo brought. Sylvia-Stasiewicz, who left DC five years ago for*5 acres in rural Fauquier County, has also worked with Ted Kennedy’s dogs, and one belonging to the mother of actress Sandra Bullock.
A housewife and mother of three who once took part in showing dogs as a hobby, including a Portuguese water dog, Syliva-Stasiewicz, half Portuguese herself,*turned to training dogs as a*career after a divorce. She’s the owner and founder of Merit Puppy Training, and a proponent of*positive-reinforcement, which rejects chokers and harsh corrections and relies on rewards.
She*says her newfound fame won’t effect the way she does business, other than possibly leading her to add more clients and classes. Thanks to Obama, it seems, Sylvia-Stasiewicz got her stimulus package.
(Photo: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)


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