Chris Onthank
Chris Onthank, founder and owner of Dog
Gone Smart, has worked as a professional dog trainer for over 15 years, but his
familiarity and experience with animals goes back much further than that. Chris has been involved with dogs all of his
life, as his family has been breeding and training dogs for over 50 years at
Rose Farm Kennels in Greenwich, CT.
Chris and his brothers grew up in a very unique environment learning
animal instinct and developed their training skills through interaction with a
variety of animals. In fact, they grew
up with monkeys, a timber wolf, otters, flying squirrels, raccoons, reptiles
and many other exotics. In the early
1980’s Chris learned positive motivational training techniques through working
with marine mammals and parrots.
However, Chris’ first love is dogs. He has trained and competed dogs in
obedience, the conformation show ring, and schutzhund. He also works with area police departments
on protection and tracking skills.
After years of study, Chris has become
one of the leading authorities and vet recommended behaviorist in solving
canine aggression (both dog-to-people and dog-to-dog) and behavioral
problems. He is the last hope for many
people when it comes to behavioral issues.
He has volunteered at shelters and is currently the head behavioral
trainer at P.A.W.S. (Pet Animal Welfare Society), turning hard-to-fix dogs into
adoptable pets.
Chris has developed his unique
motivational training technique through years of study and practice. He believes that one of the best ways to
train dogs is to use an instinctual approach combined with positive
reinforcement. Through the use of this
technique, the dogs become good companions and pets - they are happy, reliable
and motivated.
Chris is a
member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), the United Doberman
Club, the Doberman Pincher Club of America, and the American Working Dog
Federation. He is a
regular on the Kool and Fox radio programs and is frequently seen on Channel
12’s “Pet Talk”. He is also a valuable resource for many publications such as
the Pet Gazette Magazine,
Chris and
his family live on a farm in Wilton with their assortment of dogs, chickens and
waterfowl.
Chris can be reached at
