MEET OUR FOUNDER
TANYA LIM, CPDT-KA®
Based in Denver, Colorado
Hi! My name is Tanya Lim and I am a certified professional dog trainer (CPDT-KA®) with the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers® (CCPDT). I have been working with pets professionally since 2013, when I founded Play Pals - a highly-personalized dog walking & cat sitting services company in London and in New York City. Over the past 10+ years, I have acquired extensive experience and knowledge by regularly working with hundreds of clients and their pets, consisting of a wide variety of breeds, personalities, and histories.
When my husband and I decided to move to Denver from New York City at the end of 2018, I knew it was time to start the dog training services company that I’ve always dreamt of building.
Yes, I am very passionate about dog training and I am always taking new courses, going to dog training conferences, networking with like-minded professionals and striving to provide my clients with the absolute best I can offer.
And yes, I looove training puppies and adult dogs (and mainly their humans), and providing doggy doula® services to expecting families.
But even more than that, my goal is to help dogs and their humans build a relationship based on trust, companionship, and choice through positive reinforcement dog training. This is the methodology that is in complete alignment with my underlying love of dogs and all animals.
That love for dogs has lead Family Pupz into becoming one of the top dog training and doggy doula services in Colorado, being selected for a Best of Denver 2019 award by Westword Magazine, featured on Denver 7 News and Fox 31 Denver, and being chosen as one of Colorado Parent Magazine’s featured selection in the "Unique Services For Pets" section of their April 2019 issue.
At Family Pupz, we are committed to only using the most current, science-based and positive training techniques, which are not only powerful tools to help build strong and lasting dog-parent relationships but also makes our sessions fun and enjoyable for both dog and human clients.
Because we truly believe, training your dog is loving your dog.
Tanya’s Credentials
Certified professional dog trainer (CPDT-KA®) with the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers® (CCPDT)
Fear Free Certified Trainer with the Fear Free Programs — aiming to prevent and alleviate fear, anxiety & stress related to veterinary and grooming procedures
Graduate of the Aggression in Dogs Master Course — the most comprehensive course on dog aggression for trainers and behavior consultants available anywhere in the world
Certified in Professional Dog Training Skills by the State-Approved Dog Trainer School: CATCH Canine Trainers Academy
Certified in Dog Trainer Foundations by the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior, fundamentals of force-free training and clicker training
Graduate of the Family Paws® Parent Education (FPPE)
OUR TRAINING PHILOSOPHY
In today’s world, training is not optional so it’s vitally important to us to convey that our goal with training is to help build a true relationship between dog and dog parent, rather than one based on ownership, obedience and dominance.
That means that we view training as a way to teach our pupz how to be a good dog in our human world, while simultaneously allowing them to fully be who they are: an endlessly curious, happy, devoted, and playful life companion.
And that means we do everything in our power to help you train your dog in a happy and fun setting so you can build that relationship through the most current, force-free and positive approach to puppy/dog training.
Using a positive reinforcement approach as our main philosophy means that we are teaching & rewarding a certain set of skills and behaviors we’d like to see repeated in the future, while managing, interrupting/redirecting & predicting/preventing the behaviors we do not like.
You will learn how to use food, toy and life rewards to teach your puppy/dog new behaviors and to maintain the skills that your puppy/dog has learned already.
Our goal is to make training fun for both you and your puppy/dog, so that achieving your training goals feels pleasant and easy; no harsh punishment, leash corrections, or special tools required.
MEET OUR FAMILY
When working with us, you are supporting a small family business!
Meet my husband, Charles, and our dog, Zippo!
Even though Charles is not a dog trainer, you may meet him and Zippo, since they often help during training sessions when helpers are needed.
We also co-host the Family Pupz Podcast together and he is responsible for all the well thought out questions we ask our guests.
He often shares how being a dog dad to Zippo has completely changed how he looks at raising a family and how much using a positive reinforcement philosophy has improved on their communication and relationship.
Our dog, Zippo, is our one foster fail! He is sweet and smart and has taught us so much!
He came to CO from TX and was clearly never trained, but with time and patience, he’s caught up on all of his basic manners.
We’ve also been working through some leash reactivity and we couldn't be prouder of how much he’s been able to change and learn.
You can see him in action in our digital “Leash Reactivity Resolved” course where he models a bunch of exercises and skills.
He’s not perfect and we always have new things to work on but that’s what keeps me on my toes and always learning!
CHECK US OUT ON INSTAGRAM!
