The Pet Mentor

The Pet Mentor provides training, care consultation, behavioral modification, and sitting services for a wide range of animals including dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, rodents, pocket pets, and horses. Services include one-on-one in-home consultations for training and behavioral modification, as well as care and management instruction. Group lessons are also available.

For dogs, private or group lessons cover Puppy Time (housebreaking, general manners, crate introduction), Basic Obedience (sit, down, stay, come, leash manners), Advanced Obedience (working with distraction, stand, leave it), and Tricks (roll over, play dead, shake). They also offer Canine Good Citizen (CGC) training and testing, with Sara McNutt being a certified AKC CGC evaluator.

For cats, services include introducing cats to dogs, problem-solving for litter box issues, scratching furniture, and travel carrier training, along with basic cues and tricks like sit, down, come, and leash walking. General pet care and management consults cover nutrition, home pet-proofing, and crate training for any pet.

Pricing Summary

The Pet Mentor offers a special introductory price for the first training session or behavioral consultation. Discounted rates are available for training packages of multiple sessions. Clients are encouraged to contact the business for detailed pricing information.

The Pet Mentor, founded by Sara McNutt, is a comprehensive animal training and care business that specializes in dog and cat training. Their mission is to deepen the relationships between people and their pets by using positive reinforcement and teaching effective communication. They believe animals are capable of learning far more than often credited, and that positive motivators are key to engagement in learning and behavior shaping.

The business provides all-encompassing training, care, and management for a wide variety of pets, including dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, rodents, pocket pets, and horses. They offer positive solutions for common behavioral issues like jumping on visitors or litter box problems.

Sara McNutt, the trainer and owner, has over 17 years of experience in the animal industry, including extensive work with dogs and their humans over the last 7 years. She is a certified evaluator for the AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) program and a full member of both The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and The Pet Professional Guild (PPG). The Pet Mentor emphasizes that there is no need to use aversion or punishment in behavioral modification, as they do not believe in using fear or pain to teach.

Accomplishments

Sara McNutt founded The Pet Mentor after more than 17 years in the animal training and care industry. She began her career at age 14 as a horse trainer and riding instructor. Sara is a graduate of Moorpark College’s Exotic Animal Training and Management (EATM) program.

Her diverse experience includes working with over 100 species, such as tigers, camels, monkeys, alligators, and eagles, at facilities like Marine World Africa USA, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and The Living Desert. She has made frequent appearances on local news programs and handled animals on _The Tonight Show_ with Jay Leno and _Larry King Live_ with Jack Hanna. Sara has spent the last 7 years working extensively with dogs and their humans on basic obedience, problem-solving, and behavioral modification. She is a certified evaluator for the AKC CGC program and a full member of The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and The Pet Professional Guild (PPG).

How to Get Started!

To get started, clients can contact The Pet Mentor to arrange their first training session or behavioral consultation, which is offered at a special introductory price. They can also arrange private or group testing for the Canine Good Citizen program by contacting the business.