Maria Skorobogatov, CTC, is a dog trainer who has spent the last six years traveling the world training animals. She's worked with dogs in Hanoi, cats in Tunisia and Rome, and everything from pangolins to elephants to vervet monkeys in Malawi. Originally from Brooklyn, Maria discovered the joys of animal training when she lucked into a client service's job at The Houston Zoo. When she saw the work the trainers were doing there, she started taking classes in behavior at a community college, where she learned to train rats. She later moved to San Francisco, worked at an animal shelter there, and eventually enrolled in Jean Donaldson's acclaimed Academy For Dog Trainers. While working as a trainer and dog walker in Brooklyn, she got the opportunity to dog sit in Vietnam for a month, and that trip ultimately led to her current lifestyle as a world-traveling trainer.  Annie and Maria first met in middle school! They lost touch after eighth grade, but reconnected recently and discovered they both have ended up working as positive-reinforcement based dog trainers, and have nearly-identical heroes and philosophies. She and Annie catch up and discuss her life as a world-traveling animal trainer. 

Fun fact: As a child, Maria played the young version of the main character in a famous horror film. Listen to the episode to learn more!  

Like this podcast? Support it by leaving a 5-star review on iTunes, telling your friends, shopping in our online store, or signing up for Annie's mailing list. Learn more about School For The Dogs at SchoolForTheDogs.com. 

Mentioned in this episode:  

The Academy For Dog Trainers https://www.academyfordogtrainers.com 

The Huston Zoo https://www.houstonzoo.org/ 

The Peninsula Humane Society https://phs-spca.org/ 

Lilongwe Wildlife Trust https://www.lilongwewildlife.org/ 

Rome Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary https://www.gattidiroma.net/web/en/ 

Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson https://storeforthedogs.com/products/book-culture-clash 

Don't Shoot The Dog by Karen Pryor https://www.amazon.com/dp/1860542387?tag=thedogs00-20

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Partial Transcript:

Annie:

I am here with Maria Skorobogatov, who — I said it right, right?

Maria Skorobogatov:

You did! It’s perfect.

Annie:

Who I have known since 1992.

Maria:

Jesus. Yeah.

Annie:

We met in the sixth grade long before either one of us were dog trainers.  And Maria and I then pretty much lost touch, I guess like at the start of high school. But we reconnected. Gosh, was it on Facebook?

Maria:

I think so.

Annie:

Last year or the year before? I can’t even remember how, but lo and behold, we’re both now —

Maria:

Illustrious dog trainers.

Annie:

We’re both now passionate, passionate reinforcement based dog trainers who have both had rather interesting careers. And we are meeting up today for the first time in so long because Maria happens to be in town, and I said, you have to come talk to me about your life as a world traveling dog trainer.

Full transcript at SchoolfortheDogs.com/Podcast

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