The Short ‘n Sassy Version
committed to reward-focused, humane, pain-free training. Paula earned the certified professional dog trainer credential by demo
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The Long-winded Version
Paula Benton’s passion for dog 
training began over 15 years ago. Like most trainers, it all started with
the love of one very special companion dog. B. Floyd Humphries sparked an interest in Paula to learn everything she could about dog behavior and how to effectively train dogs in the most humane and compassionate way possible. Her downright zeal for all things dog led to the creation of Chez Floyd, a professional day care and boarding business in San Francisco.
In 2007, Paula continued pursuing her interest in dog training by taking a job at San Francisco’s Animal Care and Control. There, Paula assessed dogs for ACC adoptability, taught classes for shelter volunteers and coordinated doggie socialization play groups weekly.
After a shelter internship in New York with world-renowned trainer Sue
Sternberg, Paula left SF ACC in 2009 to start Training Wheels San
Francisco. Training Wheels, a
national mobile outreach program created by Sternberg and Jane Kopelman is dedicated to helping owners with animal care resources that they would not have
access to ordinarily. With our name changed to Paula Benton Dog Training we are a proud partner of VET SOS and together provide 12 clinics a year for homeless and no income pet owners. At each clinic, pet owners receive
behavior and training help, wellness exams, vaccinations, microchipping, and
spay/neutering - all free-of-charge.
Additionally, Paula has combined her
devotion to dog training with her love of teaching kids by hosting a kids dog training summer camp every year, where kids learn
to train their own dogs as well as fostered rescued dogs. Paula also teaches group classes, provides private one-on-one training and trains mobility assistance dogs. In 2014 she became the Director of SF Animal Care and Controls summer animal camp for kids. One of Paula’s most favorite client quotes: “If dog training solutions
were crayons, you couldn’t find a box big enough to hold all of Paula’s.”
Professional Certifications and Bragging Rights!
* Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed
by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers
* Certified Trainer
by the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior
* Certified Assistance Dog Trainer
by the Bergin University for Canine Studies
* Graduate of Living and Learning with Animals program
at Utah State University with Dr. Susan Friedman
* Graduate of the Marin Humane Society’s Canine Behavior Academy
with Trish King
* Graduate of the Instructor Training Course by Dogs Of Course
with Sue Sternberg and Pia Silvani
* Certified AKC Canine Good Citizen and S.T.A.R Puppy Evaluator
* Assess-A-Pet trained by Sue Sternberg at Rondout Valley Animals for Adoption
* ASPCA SAFER trained by Heather Mohan & Teryn Jones at Tony La
Russa's Animals for Adoption
* Registered San Francisco Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) Volunteer Service Worker
Current Volunteer Work
Grateful Dogs Rescue – former board
of director, current volunteer 
behavior assessor, foster parent and trainer
for dogs rescued from San Francisco’s Animal Care and Control
Northern California Shih Tzu & Toy Breed Rescues – volunteer behavior assessor & rescue dog transporter
Marin Humane Society – volunteer class assistant, dog walker and behavior
consultation assistant
Sirius Dog Training – former volunteer class assistant in Redwood City
Friends of San Francisco Animal Care and Control – special events volunteer and fundraiser
Continuing Education
Canine Science Symposium with Clive Wynne and Alexandra Horawitz, 2 days in San Francisco CA, April 2019
"The Emotional World of Dogs: New Insights into Behavior and Training" by Dr. Daniel Mills, 2 days in Oakland CA, July 2018
"Shelter Playgroup Summit" hosted by SSPCA, Sacramento CA, June 2018
Canine Science Symposium with Clive Wynne, 2 days in San Francisco CA, April 2018
Dr. Susan Friedman, 2 days in Novato CA, February 2018
"Concept Training" with Ken Ramirez at Karen Pryor Academy, online course, September 2017
"Dog Sociability Research Project Seminar" with Sue Sternberg & Dr. Tim Lewis Seminar, 2 days in Petaluma CA, February 2017
Kay Laurence Seminar, 5 days in Novato CA, July 2016
"Dog Sociability Research Project Seminar" with Sue Sternberg & Dr. Tim Lewis Seminar, 3 days in Lacey WA, June 2016
Canine Science Symposium with Clive Wynne and Lisa Guntner, 2 days in San Francisco CA, April 2016
Animal Care Conference, 3 days in Long Beach CA, March 2016
Ken Ramirez Seminar, 3 days in Novato CA, December 2015
"Living and Learning with Animals with Dr. Susan Friedman from Utah State University, 8-week tele-conference course, September-October 2015
"Living and Learning with Animals with Dr. Susan Friedman from Utah State University, 8-week tele-conference course, September-October 2014
Canine Science Symposium with Clive Wynne, Julie Hecht and Lisa Guntner, 1 day in San Francisco CA, March 2014
BAT Instructor Training Course with Grisha Stewart, 5 days in Petaluma CA, November 2013
APDT Dog Trainers’ Educational Conference, 5 days in Tacoma WA, October 2013
"Living and Learning with Animals with Dr. Susan Friedman from Utah State University, 8-week tele-conference course, September-October 2013
"Get Smart" with Kathy Sdao, 3 days in Novato CA, July 2013
Canine First Aid Certification, San Francisco CA, March 2013
Agility Fun with Paul Ellis, 3 days in London England, January 2013
"Drive" with Suzanne Clothier, 2 days in Oakland CA, October 2012
Chirag Patel's "First US Seminar", 2 days, Seattle WA, October 2012
Reaching New Heights Conference with Ken Ramirez, 3 days at Discovery Kingdom CA, February 2012
The John Rogerson India Course (Scenting, Tracking, Detection, Guide Dog Training) 21 days in Pune India, January 2012
ASPCA Meet Your Match - SAFER Dog Assessment Certification Workshop, 2 days in Redwood City CA, November 2011
APDT Dog Trainers’ Educational Conference, 5 days in San Diego CA, October 2011
Treibball with Sandi Pensinger, 2 days in Novato CA, June 2011
Learning Theory Series with Susan Smith, 6 tele-conference sessions, February
2011
"Bow" field research with Sue Sternberg, 2 days in Las Vegas NV, February 2011
Karen Pryor Academy with Helix Fairweather, 6 months in San Francisco and Chico
CA, ending December 2010
Aggression (in Depth!) with John Rogerson, 3 days in Novato CA, November 2010
Best Friends Forever Conference, 3 days in Pennsylvania, August 2010
Dog-Dog Group Dynamics & Bite-O-Meter with Sue Sternberg, 3 days in Novato
California, July 2010
Chill Out Fido with Nan Arthur, 2 days in San Ramon California, June 2010
Intro to Odor with Any Herot and Jill Maria O’Brian, 1 day in Novato CA, April
2010
Microshaping with Kay Laurence, 2 days in San Luis Obisbo CA, March 2010
Agression with Dr. Ian Dunbar, 3 days in Burlingame California, March 2010
Dog-Dog Group Dynamics & Bite-O-Meter with Sue Sternberg, 3 days in Ventura
California, February 2010
Intro to Nose Works with Amy Herot and Jill Marie O’Brian, 2 days in Novato CA,
January 2010
Evolution & Natural History of Dogs with Dr. Ray Coppinger at Wolf Park, 3 days
in Battle Ground IN, November 2009
“Dog & Pony Show” with Dr. Ian Dunbar & Nick Dodman, 3 days in Boston
MA, November 2009
APDT Dog Trainers’ Educational Conference, 5 days in Oakland CA, October 2009
Human-Canine Cognition & Communication Compared with Dr. Stanley Coren, 5
days in Santa Rosa CA, August 2009
Assess-A-Pet & Shelter Internship with Sue Sternberg & Jane Kopelman, 5
days in Rondout Valley NY, July 2009
Canine Behavior Academy – Level II with Trish King, 6 half-days in Novato CA, June
2009
Canine Behavior Academy – Level I with Trish King, 10 half-days in Novato CA, January
2009
Instructor Training Course with Sue Sternberg & Pia Silvani, 5 days in
Rondout Valley NY, May 2009
Assistance Dog Institute at Bergin University for Canine Studies with Dr.
Bonnie Bergin & Glenn Martyn, 6 weeks in Santa Rosa CA June 2008
Reading Dog Body Language with Jean Donaldson,
Dog Bites: An Epidemic? with Janis Bradley
How Smart Are Dogs? with Jean Donaldson
- 3 evenings in San Francisco CA, January 2008
