Courtesy Photo Laurie Luck of Mount Airy is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner and offers her services in dog training and behavior.

Laurie Luck completed the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior. The academy is, according to a company statement, "An innovative institution committed to educating, certifying and promoting the next generation of animal trainers."

Luck, who holds a master's degree in psychology from George Mason University, has become a faculty member of the academy, skilled both as a trainer and teacher.

Luck founded Smart Dog University in 2001 to help owners improve their dogs behavior.

She served as president of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, is a Delta Certified Pet Partner and offers community outreach through Your Dog's Friend and Reading Education Assistant Dogs.

Luck's experience as a KPA student provides unique insight to the curriculum she teaches as a faculty member, she said.

"I've had firsthand experience with every piece of material -- every video, every assignment, every facet of the course -- from the student's perspective," she said. "I've had to teach my dog everything the students have to teach their dogs. So my frustrations and successes will aid me in my approach to teaching the material. I can share my successful trials (and my not-so-successful trials) with students, showing that I've been in their shoes, that I've experienced similar thrills and frustrations -- and that I made it."