The Animal Behavior Center, LLC is an educational training center located in NW Ohio for all people interested in animals and increasing their relationships and quality of care through positive reinforcement interaction. We promote and focus on force free training and interaction with animals not only through positive reinforcement training, but understandable approaches and applications in behavior analysis.
My top 10 Checklist for Healthy Animal Behavior
The new year is here! Many people don’t like this time of year because the days are short and cold. The nights are long and linger. I LOVE this time of year. Are you kidding me? The animals sleep longer and this gives me the few months I need each year to plan... read moreMy Concern With Using Force With Any Animal
As a professional animal trainer and educator using approaches in Applied Behavior Analysis with any animal, I share many concerns in using force and coercion with any animal. I train a lot of zoo animals. Many of these animals could easily cause harm, whether... read more
Preparing Our Animals For The Fourth of July & The Unexpected
The celebrations of the Fourth of July can be pretty stressful for animals in our care. I did a Facebook live-stream for Coffee With The Critters a few weeks ago on this subject. It’s about an hour long, so if you can bear with me, I give a lot of tips and... read more
Ostrich Chick Enrichment
We have four ostrich chicks here at The Animal Behavior Center for training and exercise and to identify ostrich enrichment. They are three weeks old and here from Indian Creek Zoo in Lambertville, Michigan. We are quickly learning about ostrich, their reinforcers,... read moreAn Interview with Trevor Smith on Designing Training Plans for Animals
Training is communication. Positive reinforcement training is the best form of communication I have found with any animal. Animals read our body language and respond to what they interpret we are communicating. I take the same approach with any domestic animal as I do... read more
How Do I Get My Animal To Stop Doing That?
I’m getting ready to discuss one of the most common reasons why undesired behaviors continue to exist. Yes, this even happens with some of the animals I train and consult with in changing behavior. Ready? Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement. “So what... read moreTestimonials
"Visiting The Animal Behavior Center was like a breath of fresh air. Her passion and dedication for providing outstanding care to her animals was reflected in literally every inch of her center. Without a doubt, she has gone above and beyond to ensure that her animals are never without both mental and physical enrichment. The level of care that she provides for her animals should be the standard. While I was at the center, I had the privilege of watching Lara train her animals and mine and it is clear that she is an exceptionally talented trainer. Every interaction she has with her animals, formal training session or not, is flexible and focused on creating an environment in which they are comfortable and empowered.
As a future veterinary behaviorist, I aspire to reach Lara's level of finesse, expertise, and thoughtfulness in every aspect of animal training and husbandry. She is truly in it for the animals."
As a future veterinary behaviorist, I aspire to reach Lara's level of finesse, expertise, and thoughtfulness in every aspect of animal training and husbandry. She is truly in it for the animals."
Dr. Tim Reichard has been active in the national zoo community for over thirty years. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians, the Association of Exotic Animal Veterinarians, the Toledo Veterinary Medicine Association, and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. In addition to being a top zoo veterinarian Dr. Reichard is a distinguished educator, researcher, and author. He has shared his expertise for over ten years with veterinary technician students as well as interns under his supervision and mentorship. Additionally, he has authored and co-authored thirty five articles in a variety of publications. 
Brooke Durham is the Founder, Director, President of REP For Wildlife and SoCal Parrot. With her first priority always as animal care, Brooke has begun assembling an elite team of professionals to Represent, Educate, and Protect For Wildlife (REP4Wildlife). The first chapter of this organization is SoCal Parrot; a fledgling non-profit that exists to bridge the gap of care and consideration that naturalized parrots fall into because they are neither native wildlife nor truly domestic. Brooke is currently involved in every aspect of REP4Wildlife and SoCal Parrot; from personally assessing each animal, to working with other professionals to develop proper protocols and techniques, and all the way to keeping up with the administrative and organizational demands of a non-profit organization. 
Jason Crean, MS, EdD is a degreed biologist and zoo consultant, an avid aviculturist specializing in the propagation of green aracaris and white-backed mousebirds, President of The Avicultural Society of Chicagoland, and First Vice-President for the American Federation of Aviculture. Crean often speaks to avicultural groups across the country and acts as consultant to zoos and other institutions, including the Wildlife Genetics lab at Loyola Medical Center and Chicago Nature Museum. He specializes in taking actual scientific research, like that of the Genetics lab, and incorporating it into education programs to illustrate how science affects conservation. As Education Chair for the AFA, he has begun incorporating this work so people around the world can view the importance of Aviculture in their classrooms. He also runs a live animal education program that does free interactive programs for a host of different audiences.
Deborah Jones, Ph.D. specializes in social and behavioral psychology. For the past 25 years she has taught a variety of psychology courses at Kent State University.