VetVine Member
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First Name:
Nildan M
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Last Name:
Atkay
Employment Information
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Current employment status:
Full Time
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Business or Service:
Services to Pet Owners: Dog Trainer
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Consultant:
None
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Other:
None
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Species Contact:
Canine
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Professional Position or Title:
Owner / CEO
Employment Address
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Hospital or Business Name:
Z&E Canine Manners, LLC
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Country:
United States
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State:
South Carolina
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City:
Charleston
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Zip Code or Postal Code:
29412
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Business Email:
nildan@zecaninemanners.com
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Website:
http://www.zecaninemanners.com
Share more about you and your professional activities:
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Brief Bio (include professional interests, hobbies, etc.):
Worked in the corporate world for 10 years, many years ago in NYC. Left all that to go into dog training and behavior because of my love of animals. Spent 2 years volunteering and learning from the behavior staff at the ASPCA in NYC. Worked at Biscuits & Bath as trainer, then moved to Charleston, SC. Started my own business as there were very few skilled positive trainers to work with.
I have invested and continuing to invest all I can in my education as a trainer and behavior consultant, and have completed several in-person, hands-on courses, as well as having attended many seminars and workshops across the country with numerous instructors on a wide variety of topics and venues involving fear and aggression behavior modification training, hunting dog training, bomb dog detection training, service dog training, temperament assessment training, and more.
Apart from myself, I'm working to educate my community as well on animal behavior and welfare by holding courses at Trident Technical College, volunteering at the local shelter, mentoring others interested in working with animals both privately as well as for some of the animal schools (Animal Behavior College, CATCH Academy).
Unfortunately down here in SC there's very little understanding of and some resistance to new ideas and methods, so shock collar training is a common practice. Sadly, even the professionals who train exclusively with this tool don't know how to do so properly and humanely, have no regard for the animal's emotional and psychological well-being, and are so uneducated that they will blindly put an e-collar on a 9 week old puppy just because it's a specific breed they consider stubborn, or on an older chihuahua of 7lbs from a hoarding situation who has collar and restraint phobia that they label as defiant.
I hope to be able to bring experts/speakers in to our city in the near future to help counter the growth and popularity of aversive training methods the public is being inundated with via the increasing number of dominance-minded individuals and training companies that have moved down to Charleston in the last couple of years.
I have a training facility, one of only two in our city, where I offer a variety of classes for pet dogs to encourage owners to engage in fun activities with their dogs regardless of the dog's breed and age, and not just in dry, forceful obedience practices. One of the other significant ch
