BusinessPaws: Operant Animal Training

Operant Animal Training is a business providing positive reinforcement training services in the Greater Toronto Area. Started by Andrew Taylor-Baptiste in 2020, Operant Animal Training has recently shifted their main focus to puppy training with their Puppy Academy program. By working with dogs between 12 and 24 weeks of age, they are able to train necessary foundation behaviours while also preventing problem habits from forming. Their combined day-training and knowledge transfer sessions allow puppies to quickly learn important skills while also giving families the tools they need for long-term success. Operant Animal Training also differentiates themselves in the training space by offering expanded training services for clients needing help with their cat, bird, or exotic pet. 

Dedicated to ethical and modern science-based training practices, Andrew Taylor-Baptiste is registered as a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP) and holds professional memberships to The Canadian Association of Professional Dog Trainers (CAPDT), The International Marine Animal Trainers Association (IMATA), and the Animal Behaviour Management Alliance (ABMA).

Andrew began his career as a professional animal trainer in 2007 while working on a degree in Zoology from the University of Guelph. Following his graduation, he spent the next twelve years of his career caring for and training dolphins in Asia and the Caribbean. Over a decade of experience working with marine mammals and other exotic species allowed Andrew to fine tune his shaping skills and gave him a thorough understanding of animal care and behaviour. When he returned to Canada, Andrew was ready to apply his zoological knowledge to the world of pet care. 

During his subsequent work at an emergency veterinary clinic and a local humane society Andrew saw first-hand how many pets were facing euthanasia due to behaviours that could be easily addressed and even prevented with proper training. This experience prompted him to found Operant Animal Training to support families in his community struggling with their companion animal’s behaviour. By sharing his knowledge through his training business he hopes to improve public understanding of positive reinforcement training techniques, making it easier for pet parents to communicate with and care for their animals ethically and effectively.

More recently, Operant Animal Training adjusted their focus from general training and behaviour services to a focus on puppy training. Their Puppy Academy program is aimed at dogs 12 to 24 weeks of age in a day-training format. By focusing on early behavioural conditioning, the Operant Animal Training team is able to help puppies grow into more confident adults and prevent undesirable habits from forming altogether. 

From experience, Andrew understands that families do not always have the time or capability to meet their puppy’s training needs. For that reason, the Puppy Academy program combines a variety of training formats to ensure each pup is set up for success. After an initial orientation puppies attend school, where they receive multiple daily training sessions with a certified trainer while also having access to supervised exercise and socialization. Along the way, pet parents are kept informed of their pup’s progress with daily videos. As their puppy approaches graduation, families meet with the Operant Animal Training team multiple times to help transfer the skills they will need to maintain everything their puppy has learned throughout the program. 

The combination of professional training and information transfer sessions means the program is able to efficiently cover all the most important skills that set puppies up for continued, life-long success. This includes play skills, recall, loose-leash walking, house training, stationing, and more. In addition, by offering both day-training and board-and-train options clients have more flexibility as they work through the multi-week program.

Along the way, Operant Animal Training has helped many puppies grow into their best self. One such pup, Buddy, had his life changed by working with Andrew and his team. A young Havanese, Buddy faced the all too common challenge of being afraid of men. This fear impacted his relationship with his own dog-dad and made socializing difficult. In working with Andrew, Buddy quickly grew in confidence and has since become a regular attendee of Operant Animal Training’s daycare program.

Working with busy families has cemented a training philosophy for Andrew that has long been held by the zoological community: novice trainers are generally not equipped to train green or problematic animals. After realizing how overwhelmed many pet parents become when working with their new puppy, Andrew decided to design the Puppy Academy program to allow professional trainers on his team to directly shape and build important behaviours. From there, they are able to transfer on-cue behaviours to pet parents for long-term maintenance. This format helps make training goals more achievable and sets each puppy and their family up for success going forward.

Like many entrepreneurs, Andrew has worked through many of the ups and downs that come with being the owner of a growing business. A familiar issue for those in the pet care industry, one of Operant Animal Training’s biggest hurdles was finding a location suited to their needs. Balancing zoning regulations and business expenses can be difficult on the best of days. Adding to that his experiences with challenging landlords and lease agreements, Andrew has been left with the hard-won knowledge that the right legal representation can make all the difference. He has also learned the value in teaming up with already established pet care businesses. His current business setup includes direct work with veterinary clinics and other pet-focused businesses in his area.

Looking to the future, Andrew hopes to help the dog training industry implement more regulations to help protect pets and pet parents looking for help. With the standards upheld by the zoological community in mind, he is working with the Canadian Association of Professional Dog Trainers (CAPDT) to develop a national curriculum for dog trainers. 

For any petpreneurs just getting started, Andrew recommends keeping in mind that dog training is not just about training pets and communicating with people. Business owners must also know all the ins and outs of running a business. That includes business strategy, marketing, and more. He recommends learning to make time for those business essentials and understanding when it makes sense to outsource what can’t be done well yourself. In addition, he suggests that all business owners attend conferences and make use of online content made available by professionals they admire. By trying new approaches, businesses are better equipped to weather the constantly evolving pet care industry.

To learn more about Operant Animal Training, including their training philosophy and available services, check out their website. They can also be found on Facebook and Instagram at @operantanimaltraining.

Operant Animal Training is a valued client of BusyPaws, making use of our booking, CRM, communications, and payments systems. We’re pleased to share a small part of their story with the pet care community.