About McMillan Animal Behavior

McMillan Animal Behavior publishes its address as 125 Bowens Drive, Mars Hill, and describes itself as offering in-person consultations in the Asheville area and online consultations worldwide. It is a behavior consultancy rather than an obedience school, and it takes cats and horses as well as dogs.

What she works on

The published case list for dogs starts with puppy training and socialization and runs through the behavior problems that consultancies exist for. For cats the page lists litter box problems among others, and there is a separate positive-reinforcement track for horse behavior challenges.

The farm

The business runs a small farm it calls Pibble Hill in Mars Hill. The site describes its use in training terms: the well-socialized goats, horses, ducks and chickens there give puppies new experiences and give dogs working toward an AKC Farm Dog title something real to work around.

Background, as published

The about page says Trish McMillan holds a master's degree in Animal Behavior from the University of Exeter and is a certified professional dog trainer through the CCPDT, specializing in training and behavior modification with positive reinforcement across dogs, cats and horses. It records nearly eight years with the ASPCA, three of them directing the animal behavior department at its New York City shelter, assessment and rehabilitation work on cruelty, hoarding and dogfighting cases, and authorship of the defensive handling section of Animal Behavior for Shelter Veterinarians and Staff. Alongside the pet consultations she runs shelter consulting, peer-to-peer consults for other professionals, and an online shelter behavior mentorship.