About Me

Madeline Friedman

Madeline Aronson Friedman, Bonded and Insured Manhattan N.Y.C. Dog Trainer;  N.J. Dog Trainer; and, Palm Beach County, and North Broward County, Florida Dog Trainer, is a behavior and training expert who uses cooperative, positive methods in order to coach her customers and train dogs.   Madeline has lived with, raised and trained dogs for all her life.   Her first dogs were wire fox terriers, a breed she is still partial today.  Terriers are special breeds, and Madeline is an expert at their particular personalities and antics, and emphasizes as positive an approach as possible with terriers given their breeding and backgrounds as working dogs which “go to ground” and are used to working on their own, in most cases.  “These breeds require a certain finesse,” she has been known to say, “or, they will wait for the opportunity to retaliate, and will.”  Madeline can show you how you can “finesse” your terrier to get the best behaved companion that he can be.

Madeline says: “I grew up in Queens, NY, during a time that the area was quite undeveloped compared to now.  There was an area which is now condos, but then it was called ‘The Hole.’  Anyone from Howard Beach in the 70s will remember The Hole.  It was, literally, a hole, or an isolated valley, of undeveloped acreage, a mostly-wasteland, which attracted stray dogs, some of whom found their way their, and others probably because they were “dumped” there in the boundary between Brooklyn and Queens – and attracted me, because of the stray dogs.  These dogs were left to breed uncontrolled, and today I’m aware that probably many an unwanted dog was ‘dumped’ there, whereas when I was a youngster, I didn’t give that much thought.  My early training ground was with those dogs, probably similar to Cesar Millan’s early training ground, as these dogs belonged to nobody.  I became the neighborhood ‘Pied Piper’ of dogs, always accompanied by a stray dog from The Hole, and always interacting with them, and cats as well.  My favorite was a Golden Retriever, possibly a mix, who I named ‘Lonesome’ because she was always alone when she found me, either at the end of the school day, or at my home, where I always had morsels for her for letting me train her.  I moved from Queens in the late 70s, and I always wonder what became of Lonesome and all the other dogs from The Hole who I loved, and who were my close canine friends, when the acreage was developed.”

From very early on, Madeline was developing and refining her communication skills with dogs as well as studying their body language.  This love and ability was innate, as well as developed by her early interactions and later formal education in the arts, in animal science, and in counseling psychology.  She holds a Master’s Degree.  While some may think study of the arts is unrelated to dog training, Madeline will tell you: “My art training is VERY related to dog training.  Art trains you eye to notice subletie and nucances, which is integral to working with animals, and modifying their behavior in any form of its own.  That study, as well as staying fit, also keeps my reflexes sharp, and that fitness is also integral to working with animals.  I can see how some unfit trainers can work with small dogs who don’t have issues – but, when it comes to active puppies and dogs, and terriers and Border Collies (oh, my!), you’d best be working with a trainer who has a good level of fitness.”

She is a state certified educator and instructor, permanently certified by the state of New Jersey (something that’s hard to come by in dog trainers, who have no STATE certifications and aren’t required to have any as the field is largely unregulated). Madeline has gone the extra mile in finely honing her education and teaching skills and passing this professionalism on to her clients, treating the field as a true profession, and Madeline a true professional in her approach to dog training and dog behavior modification. She was one of the first dozen members since its start in October 2009 of Animal Behavior Associates’ ‘Behavior Education Network’ (BEN) where she frequently accessed and participated in continuing education about canines, and felines as well since many of her clients’ k9 companions live with cats.

In July, 2010, she took a live webinar called: ‘Making Sense of Risk Factors for Dog Aggression.’ She is well versed in canine training and behavior and is an observant, intuitive, talented and true professional teacher and trainer. She owned and operated her own school from 1998 – 2001 where she was state certified head instructor to children and adults from six years old to eighty-plus and managed seven employees; and, later taught at the college level to undergraduates. Now her mission is to instruct, train and educate people about and with their dogs.

Formal Education:

• Master’s Degree in Fine Arts
• Animal Science major
• Counseling Psychology Majors Undergraduate