Barks Blog

Join Niki Tudge, Sara McLoudrey of Synergy Behavior Solutions as they chat about dog training and behavior consulting.

Listen to the Podcast here on your preferred platform. Or simply click ‘Play’ below.

Sara McLoudrey CPDT-KSA, FearFree Level 1 and Certified Trainer, Low-Stress Handling Silver Certification, FitPaws-MT, TagTeach L3, is the behavior modification and training coordinator at Synergy Behavior Solutions, a veterinary behavior practice in Portland, Oregon. She has been a professional animal trainer since 2004, founding ROOT Dog Training in suburban Chicago. ROOT started as a single proprietor in-home training business, that grew to a premier boutique training center. In 2016, she sold ROOT to move to Portland and join the team at Synergy Behavior Solutions.

McLoudrey’s passion is cooperative care and behavior modification for pets. This started many years ago when her new “show” dog Rizzo arrived intolerant of body handling and restraint. She developed creative ways to train a variety of skills to help with showing, grooming and veterinary care for Rizzo. These skills started gathering the attention of local veterinarians and soon she was the go-to trainer to help pets be more comfortable with cooperative care and desensitization to veterinary and grooming care.

Since joining Synergy Behavior Solutions, she has fine-tuned these skills and her day is now filled with private behavior therapy sessions for patients with a variety of behavioral diagnoses. In addition, she teaches group classes such as human directed aggression, tip top toenails, and nose work. Over the years, McLoudrey has competed with positively trained dogs in retriever field tests, high-level competition and rally obedience (Utility and RAE level), conformation and elite level nose work.