Becky

Becky was born and raised in Long Beach, California. Dogs and other animals, from horses to lizards, have always been a part of her life. She was always busy rescuing the baby birds from the bales of hay that were thrown from the barn where she kept her horse. She would also rescue litters of barn kittens and any stray puppy that came her way. As a young girl, she showed her horses at local shows and her canine mutts at any pet events she could find! So, training dogs has always been a part of Becky’s life, early on as a hobby and professionally after moving to the Northwest in 1993.
Her dog training business grew exponentially! Soon, her home was cramped and overrun with kennels, tennis balls, and puppies—and a couple of horses too! To accommodate the success, she and her family bought a small 5-acre ranch in Woodinville, Washington in October 1999 where dogs could come and play while they learned in a fun, family environment. The ranch has become the permanent home of Puppy Manners, a licensed commercial kennel and training facility. Soon after, she became a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT).Another of Becky’s great passions that she shares with her own dogs, Moose, Zoom and Harry Plotter is dog therapy. All of Becky’s dogs are certified as Reading with Rover D.R.E.A.M. dogs. She watches with pride as families she has helped get involved in their communities through dog training and pet therapy. Becky is one of only a few dog trainers in the State of Washington who is licensed as a pet therapy evaluator and has created one of the best therapy dog training programs in the Northwest. She also offers pet therapy classes to her students who want to get involved in the community with their dogs. She is currently involved in coordinating and supporting the Reading With Rover programs throughout Puget Sound and was featured on Animal Planet in the Jane Goodall special “When Animals Talk”. See www.readingwithrover.org for more information. Becky was listed by Seattle Magazine as “Best Bet For Your Pet”.Becky’s own dog, Magic, a black Labrador, appeared in the major motion picture “Practical Magic” starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman and Becky was one of the lead dog trainer/handlers on the production set. She also took Magic to Hollywood in October 2000 for preliminary still-photo shooting sessions for the major motion picture, “Vanilla Sky” released in December 2001 starring Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz. Becky’s other dog, Boomer, a Chocolate Labrador Retriever, appeared in a national commercial for Washington Mutual Bank and was in the Spring/Summer 2001 REI Camping catalog modeling dog apparel.Most recent awards for Becky and Puppy Manners. Voted “Best Bet for your Pet” Seattle Magazine 2003, “Best Dog Trainer” CityDog Magazine 2008 & 2009. “Best Dog Trainer 2009” by 425 Magazine and in 2009 awarded “Home Team Hero” award by King5 News, Seattle.Becky has an intuition and innate knowledge of dogs and animals in general. That “sixth sense” has been the guiding light by which she has steered her life and her career throughout the animal world. Her love of animals and wonderful sense of humor and understanding of human nature has led her to the place she is today. She loves the process of guiding loving, caring dog owners and their pets together through mutual respect and communication. People are people; no matter if they’re movie stars, professional athletes, or the average American family, Becky loves helping break down the human/canine language barrier, enabling success at every level.For more info about Becky Bishop and the services she provides please visit her website at www.puppymanners.com or her blog at www.puppymanners.com/blog.