About Animal Smart
Dedicated to Service Dog Excellence
Meet Your Training Partner
Andrea Bogle, MSc
If you are looking into service dog training, you are likely looking for a path to greater freedom, confidence, and peace of mind. You need a dog who can perform vital tasks flawlessly, whether you are at home or navigating a crowded public space.
I’m Andrea, the founder of Animal Smart, and my mission is to help you shape that perfect, reliable partner.
My background is unique, and all of my experience will serve you and your dog:
The Precision of Exotic Training: My career began in 2002, working with a wide variety of domestic and exotic species at zoos and aquaria around the globe. From conducting behavioral research with wolves to training dolphins for animal-assisted therapy and prepping animals for film productions, I learned how to read animal body language at the highest level. I bring this exact same precision and deep understanding of animal psychology to your service dog’s education.
Professional Standards: As a certified trainer through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers, I utilize positive reinforcement methods that work with your dog’s natural instincts, ensuring they love their job and stay reliable under pressure.
Coaching You Every Step of the Way: A great service dog team requires a great handler. As a professor of animal science at the Animal Behavior Institute—where I teach zookeepers and future behavior consultants—I specialize in making training easy to understand. I will ensure that you feel completely capable, supported, and ready to guide your dog with total confidence.
You aren’t just getting a trainer; you are getting a partner dedicated to your success. Let’s build the reliable, life-changing team you and your dog are meant to be.
Serving to provide positive & effective training experiences for our clients.
Animal Smart is here to help you cultivate the ultimate service dog partnership.
Whether you are building essential public access manners or focusing on custom task training for your specific needs, our programs are designed to deliver excellence. We take a holistic, science-based approach that equips both you and your dog with the specialized skills needed to navigate the world together with total confidence and ease.
Because our background bridges the gap between animal psychology and professional instruction. We don’t just train service dogs to perform vital tasks and maintain impeccable public manners; we specialize in teaching you how to guide your dog with absolute confidence.
No matter what program you choose, we expect our clients to be fully committed to their dog and to the training experience. With any program it is important that owners follow through for the training to be successful long term. Depending on the type of training you choose, we will either coach you through every step of the way to make sure you are successful in training your pet, or give you a terrific head start by training your dog all cues and behaviors for you that you just have to maintain.
Animal Smart Training uses positive reinforcement training, which is a method that is scientifically proven and force free. We focus on all the good things your dog does in training and use rewards to communicate what behaviors we like (for example through Clicker training).We never use prong, choke or e-collars and have no need to because we achieve better results using positive reinforcement! Modern studies have found that training methods using ‘dominance theory’ are outdated, flawed and less effective. Here at Animal Smart we do believe in leadership, but know that using punishment or dominance is not the way to be a good leader. We employ benevolent leadership instead which focuses on being fair, consistent and setting boundaries for our animals to safely live in our human world.