Westchester NY dog trainer, Rocco Autero, CPDT-KA
About Rocco Autero, CPDT-KA professional dog trainer
Rocco Autero, CPDT-KA, founded Dogs Life Unlimited as a way to help busy-but-dedicated dog owners have the healthy, happy and well-behaved pet they’ve always wanted. With a wealth of education, experience and creativity, Rocco knows how to bring out the very best in your dog using the most humane, science-based training techniques.
Rocco first became fascinated by dogs and their behavior while working as a pet photographer. Wanting to learn more, he signed up for a seminar in dog behavior – a decision that would ultimately lead to a new career in dog training.
For Rocco, however, the rewards of training don’t stop with the dogs. He truly enjoys helping you, the human on the other end of the leash, too. Whether you need help training your new puppy or with a behavior problem you've decided that needs to be addressed with your dog, his goal is to make your life easier and less stressful by getting to the root of your dog’s issues and finding a lasting solution.
Having seen the changes that the COVID-19 pandemic have brought on with regards to dog separation anxiety, Rocco recently became a certified separation anxiety trainer through Julie Naismith's (author of "Be Right Back!") trainer certification program.
In addition to Dogs Life Unlimited, Rocco also runs Elite Pet Photography, a successful pet portrait photography studio specializing in fine art photos of dogs and cats.
Professional Certifications, Continuing Education and Other Info
Rocco takes his professional dog training education very seriously and is always looking to gain knowledge and learn about the newest scientific advances in the dog training world.
In addition to attending a number of in person training classes, over the past year and a half Rocco has attended multiple virtual three day dog training conferences via Zoom.
Below is a list of some of the recent professional certifications and continuing education classes Rocco has attended.
- Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed, CPDT-KA, Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, 2019
- Separation Anxiety (SA Pro Trainer™) Certification, 2021
- CATCH Certified Dog Trainer CCDT, 2018
- Fear Free Certified Professional Trainer, FFCP, 2020
- CATCH Canine Trainers Academy Professional Dog Training Skills Certification, a one-week hands-on workshop at St Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, New Jersey, 2016
- CATCH Canine Trainers Academy Body Language, Behavior, and Problem Solving Skills Certification, a one-week hands-on workshop at St Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, New Jersey, 2017.
- CATCH Canine Trainers Academy Level 2 Workshop: A Week of Working Behavior Cases, a one-week hands-on workshop at St Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, New Jersey, 2018.
- dog*biz Certified Professional Dog Walker, a three day in-person hands-on workshop in New York, NY, 2016
- American Red Cross Dog First Aid and CPR In-Person Class Certification, 2016
Featured Student
Professional Organizations
- Association of Professional Dog Trainers, Professional Member, 2017-2021
- International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, Supporting Member, 2017-2020
Volunteer Organizations
- Humane Society of Westchester, New Rochelle, NY, Volunteer Trainer, 2018-2019
- Karen Pryor Academy Clicker Expo Live 2022, virtual three day conference via Zoom, 2022
- Master Course Aggression in Dogs, with Michael Shikashio, 2022.
- Julie Naismith Separation Anxiety Trainer Certification Program, 2021
- Aggression in Dogs 2nd Annual Conference, virtual three day conference via Zoom, 2021
- Karen Pryor Academy Clicker Expo Live 2021, virtual three day conference via Zoom, 2021
- Canine Behavior Problem Solvers, 5 session virtual seminar, 2021
- Dr. Tim Lewis Biology of Dogs, 2 session virtual seminar, 2021
- Resource Guarding Webinar, 3 session virtual seminar, 2020
- Fear Free Animal Trainer Program, 2020
- Advanced Dog Training Topics with Ken Ramirez, Secaucus NJ, 2019
- Feline Behavior Solutions: Teaching Foundation Behaviors for Modifying Behavior, IAABC, 2019
- Working with Aggressive Dogs 2 Day Seminar, with Michael Shikashio and Trish McMillan Loehr, New York, NY, 2017
- Karen Pryor Academy Clicker Expo 2017, Stamford CT, 2017