About Eileen
Eileen Thorne offers puppy socialization, adolescent dog and therapy classes, training lectures, therapy/educational visits and private consultations through Pawsitive Puppy and Community K9. She published her first book, In Partnership with Dogs: Therapy, Service, & Emotional Support Dogs: A primer for owner trainers in 2025.
Eileen has been working with dogs in Bermuda since 2003. She spent 16 years on the board of the Dog Training Club of Bermuda serving a term as president. She has also served on the SPCA Management Committee and as a member of the Veterinarian Practitioners Council.
She served as a dog behaviour and training consultant for the staff and animals at the Bermuda SPCA, was a co-founder of the animal assisted psychotherapy program,Theratails, serving as an co-therapist for 7 years and provided animal assisted therapy and animal training at WindReach Bermuda. She is an advocate for all dogs, particular those in rescue, fostering many dogs and sharing her knowledge and experience with dog rescues for over 20 years.
Eileen has trained and trialed in Obedience, Agility, Rally Obedience, and Schutzhund and has been teaching or assisting in public dog training classes including puppy socialization, obedience, life skills, and therapy dog classes since 2004.
Working through behavioural issues with her American Bulldog led her to become a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) in 2007 focusing predominantly on training with pet dog owners. In 2023 she added Certified Dog Behaviour Consultant (CDBC) under the International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants (IAABC), Certified Animal Assisted Therapy Professional (CAATP) under the Animal Behavior Institute and Service Dog Coach (SDC) under Cooperative Paws, to her credentials. In 2026 she was excited to become a Certified CARAT Assessor (CCA).
Her goal is to help her students understand their dog’s communication system and create a training relationship based on science, cooperation and mutual respect.
Her love for the natural world led her toward her Masters Degree in Biology. She believes understanding and communication should be extended to all animals, learning from her experiences at Salmonier Nature Park, The Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo, WindReach, The Bermuda SPCA, and The Dog Training Club of Bermuda.
About Jodi
Jodi Gibbons has been assisting Eileen with Pawsitive Puppy classes (puppy, super puppy, and adolescent angst) for approximately five years. She teaches LifeSkills and Canine Good Citizen (CGC) courses for the Dog Training Club of Bermuda (DTC) and has served as a Board Member for approximately six years along with teaching and consulting under her own banner: Dog Training Diva.
A surprise puppy set Jodi on her dog training journey in February 2018 when a family member acquired an adorable Doberman puppy. The challenges she experienced raising this puppy into adulthood led her to become a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and Accredited Dog Trainer (IAABC-ADT) in 2022. In 2023 she completed two extensive courses with industry professionals Kim Brophy and Michael Shikashio earning her Family Dog Mediator (FDM) title and Aggression in Dogs Certification.
Jodi is a passionate Obedience and Rally Obedience competitor but focuses mainly on assisting pet dog owners understand and connect with their dogs by providing in-home consultations for various behavior issues. Her goal is to assist clients with their dogs to ensure a harmonious life together.
Jodi can be reached at: dogtrainingdiva@hotmail.com
About Kevin
How I got into dogs and training.
I always loved dogs, wanted to have a dog but I was working a lot of overtime hours and didn’t want a pet to be home alone longer than necessary. When my duties at work changed and I didn’t have to work overtime anymore, I decided it was time.
After some research I decided that an English bulldog was the breed for me. As coincidence would have it, I saw an ad for English bulldog puppies on emoo. I called and long story short I had my first dog. Lulu was about 3 months old when I got her. The first thing I did was look for training classes. I found the Dog Training Club of Bermuda (DTC) online and contacted them about class. Since Lulu was too young for their lifeskills class, I was put in touch with Eileen. She said that since there were quite a few people looking for puppy training and her Saturday class was full, she would put on a puppy class on Sunday. That was my first experience with real dog training.
After that me and Lulu did the DTC Lifeskills classes multiple times with Eileen and other instructors. I really enjoyed the structure and working with my dog. Along the way Eileen invited me to visit one of her Saturday classes at WindReach. I liked being around the dogs and just started helping with set up and packing up after classes. Once I started helping with classes and interacting with the puppies I was hooked.
Fast forward about 12 years and I’m still at it. I’ve found my happy place, working with the dogs and watching them learn. Slowly I’ve learned a lot and I’m still learning today. I wish I’d found dog training earlier in life but I’m here now and enjoying myself.