About Us
Photo by Eyetooth Impressions
Claire Schulz, FDM
Claire had her spark for dog training ignited while completing a mentorship under a local service dog trainer for an ADI accredited organization. From there, she learned how a service dog would benefit her life with her own disabilities. In 2020, she received her first service dog prospect and after a year made the difficult decision to wash him for an inappropriate temperament for service work. Since then, she has fully trained her current service dog, Pluto, and pursued further education within the field of dog training. She currently has a mentor, attends training seminars geared towards service dog training, and has experience with a variety of breeds and dogs for service work.
Claire exclusively offers training for service dogs. She will work with a variety of service dogs, including, but not limited to, psychiatric, medical alert, mobility, and allergen detection. Claire believes in training the dog in front of you, using a Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive methodology. This means Claire will look at the whole picture of the dog (health, environment, etc) before moving on to training methods. Not every method will work for every dog, so it’s important for us to take everything into consideration before training ever begins.
Qualifications + Experience
Internship with ADI accredited program trainer, 2018
Self lead studies & volunteer time working with local rescues & shelter dogs, 2019 - 2022
Mentorship with Carol Moreland, dog trainer, 2022 - 2024
Attended in-person “Unity Service Dog Seminar,” held by Morgan Donahue, MA, IAABC-ADT, C-AAIS (Feywild Dog Training), Makayla Binkus (Hands and Paws Canine Training), and Lisa Lima (My Life Unleashed), July 2023
Coaching with Tala Castro, Atlas-CT, CPDT-KA, FDM, FFCP of Helping Howls, May 2024 - present
Attended in-person “Window Theory Seminar,” held by Hope Retter, presenting play-based training concepts coined by Jay Jack, May 2024
Completed the L.E.G.S. Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation Professional course by Kim Brophey, earning the Family Dog Mediator (FDM) certification, June 2024
If you reach out to us at Cosmic, Cora is likely the one answering you! She is in charge of all things scheduling and helping answering your questions.
Cora has a retired service dog and recently welcomed her new service dog in training, Koivu, into her family. Koivu was returned to her breeder at nine months old. After undergoing an in-depth evaluation, Koivu was matched with Cora and spent seven weeks with Claire, learning the foundations of service work, before heading home with her new handler.
Here at Cosmic we value the community we serve of disabled folks, so it’s important to us that those employed here are apart of the same community. Cora lives on the East Coast and is passionate about working with others in the communities she belongs to!