International Canine Behaviorist and Trainer Oksana Pachomova is on Ambergris Caye providing training tips and techniques free of cost at the San Pedro Saga Humane Society. The lessons are currently being held Monday to Saturday from 3PM to 4PM and include a series of basic training techniques that pet owners can benefit from and apply to their dogs. Anyone who is interested in participating in the training sessions should be at Fort Dog by 3PM sharp where participants will be provided with a pup from Saga to work with. The lessons take place on the beach and classes are limited to ten persons per session.
Pachomova is a well-educated dog behavior consultant, traveling to various countries and training dogs and people in local communities. According to her, she has a mission to help make dogs and humans understand each other better, in order to increase the quality of life of both. In an interview with The San Pedro Sun, Pachomova indicated that at the moment she is only involved with the training technique called “Positive Reinforcement”. “This technique basically reinforces the dog when they do something that I want them to do. So whenever they have a behavior that is good in my eyes, I give them a treat, attention or a toy. By doing this, this makes them learn that whenever they do certain things they are rewarded.” Said Pachomova, who elaborated that there is absolutely no reason to punish a dog. “Dogs should never be punished or hurt in any way. For example, sometimes the dog does everything you ask him to do, to sit to roll, but then one day he does not want to. The pet should be left alone and not be forced, stressed or pushed around.”
Pachomova sees training as a mutual relationship between people and their dogs. Both learn from each other, considering the comfort and well-being of dogs a high priority. She believes that one way to protect animals is through these types of trainings which enable people and dogs to better understand each other. She encourages all dog lovers to come to the training sessions so they can learn very important facts about the behavior of dogs. “I really encourage everyone out there to come and take advantage of these lessons I am providing, everybody is welcome, and we need volunteers to work with the dogs. No experience is required and the lessons are being done with the shelter dogs. What we ask is that if it is possible when people attend the classes, they can feel free to bring treats for the dogs, which helps a lot. Using the dogs at the shelter for the lessons not only benefits the participants, but it also helps the dogs to learn new things, be trained and increases their chances of being adopted,” stated Pachomova. She advises that pet owners should not bring their dogs to the classes, since the dogs from Fort Dog are being used for the training sessions. However, she is open for any behavioral questions and available to give any possible advice that can then be used during the classes and then the pet owners can apply to their pets.
Originally from Lithuania in Europe, Pachomova has a big heart for animals, especially dogs. She is the loving owner of a seven- year old female mini-pinscher. During her holiday trips, she volunteers at several dog shelters at each country she visits. To date she has traveled to 30 different countries and speaks six languages fluently (French, English, German, Spanish, Russian and Lithuanian), and is passionate about animal protection. Her life motto is “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”
In the summer of 2015, Pachomova completed an intensive full-time internship in the Dog Behavior and Training department at the Peninsula Humane Society in San Francisco, USA. There, she worked with renowned professional dog trainers. As of November, Oksana has founded “Dogs on Planet Earth”, an independent non-profit organization, with the goal to support dog owners with behavioral advice worldwide.
She is currently in Belize and can be contacted through her website at www.dogsonplanetearth.com via instagram, www.instagram.com/dogsonplanetearth and via facebook as well on www.facebook.com/dogsonplanetearth.
Since the space per training session is limited, spots can be reserved by contacting the Saga Humane Society at number 226-3266.
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