Colleen Pelar

With more than 15 years of experience helping parents navigate the challenges living with kids and dogs, Colleen Pelar has honed a unique perspective filled with humor and practical, easy-to-implement tips for success. Colleen wants to ensure that kids and dogs across the country have happy, healthy relationships.

A lifelong dog lover, Colleen spent more than a decade alte ately frustrated by the paucity of guidance offered to parents and enraged by the unrealistic—and sometimes dangerous—advice given in the very few books that addressed kids and dogs. Given that 19 millio American households are shared by children and dogs, Colleen found this lack of support unacceptable and so she began gathering data to write her book, Living with Kids and Dogs . . . Without Losing Your Mind.

Living with Kids and Dogs is the only book that covers the dog-related needs of each stage of childhood from birth through the teen years. Recognizing that this book filled a pressing need, the Humane Society of the United States bestowed its prestigious Compassionate Care Award on Colleen. Living with Kids and Dogs is also a proud winner of the 2006 Parent-to-Parent Adding Wisdom Award, the only award program ever honored by Disney.com.

As co-owner of All About Dogs, LLC, the largest dog-training facility in northern Virginia, Colleen oversees numerous group classes, private lessons, behavioral evaluations, and behavior modification programs. Named one of the best training facilities in the DC area by Washingtonian magazine, All About Dogs caters to families and looks for ways to help parents successfully integrate a dog into their busy lives.

Colleen has also developed the Dog-Savvy Kids Club to teach kids about dogs, and she has run two kids-and-dogs summer camps. Colleen gives presentations around the country, educating people about how to live safely with kids and dogs.
Colleen is an active member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC), Toastmasters International, and the Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA); she has a B.A. from Penn State. Colleen regularly attends dog-training seminars and has earned the Certified Pet Dog Trainer (CPDT) and Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) titles.

The media regularly taps Colleen’s expertise. Recent press includes Dog Fancy, Washington Post, Animal Wellness Magazine, Just Terriers, Just Frenchies, Animal Sheltering Magazine, the Latham Letter, and the Times of Northwest Indiana. She also writes a monthly “Living with Kids and Dogs” column that runs in many Parenting Publications of America magazines. Visit Colleen at www.LivingWithKidsandDogs.com.