M
ichele Pouliot has worked with dogs and horses professionally since 1970. She studied horsemanship under Linda Tellington-Jones and graduated at the school’s highest riding instructor level. When Michele acquired her first dog, she quickly became hooked on dog training, which altered her career path focus. Horses continue to be Michele’s hobby and life love.
In 1974, Michele joined Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB), the largest guide-dog school in North America. She trained more than 350 guide-dog teams over her 42-year career with GDB. She began to shift her training methods to clicker training in 2000. Michele guided the GDB organization away from historical punishment-based techniques to positive reinforcement methods. Michele has led her school, and dozens of guide-dog programs globally, in the adoption of clicker training for all aspects of guide-dog work. In 2016, the International Guide Dog Federation presented a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award to Michele.
Since retiring from her guide-dog career, Michele continues to teach and consult for guide- and service-dog organizations within the USA and internationally; she also coaches clicker training for dog sports. She was invited by Karen Pryor to join the ClickerExpo conference faculty in 2007. Michele considers ClickerExpo the highlight of each year, learning as much from faculty associates as others learn from her.
Michele has been successful in canine dog sports since 1972. She was active in competition obedience for 20+ years, gaining four OTCH (Obedience Trial Championships) titles with her own dogs. Michele also competed in tracking and agility. In 2005, Michele discovered a new sport, Canine Musical Freestyle. She fell in love with this challenging and creative hobby and became a leader in the sport, earning multiple Canine Musical Freestyle championship titles and winning national and international competitions. Michele and her Australian shepherd, Listo, made canine freestyle history with the World Canine Freestyle Organization as the first team to receive perfect scores in both Artistic and Technical categories, repeating this incredible achievement 24 times. Often referred to as a “trainers’ trainer,” Michele is known as a clear, down-to-earth, enthusiastic teacher who demonstrates her love for animals and people every time she speaks. Although she is enjoying spending more time at home since retirement, Michele continues to be passionate about teaching positive reinforcement training.
Learn more about Michele on her website or Facebook page.