GIE CARR, CPDT-KA, CFDM

Hi, I'm Gie.

(pronounced "jee")

Portland dog trainer with short hair wearing a blue shirt poses with arm around a black Labrador Retriever puppy.

Why I became a professional dog trainer

Although currently in Portland, Oregon, I grew up in southern Indiana with black Labs and a variety of rescues. Those dogs meant everything to me. I was sure I’d become a vet, but my interest in language and literature took me in another direction.

As my own kids grew up, we began volunteering as puppy raisers for Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB). This was an incredible program and an highly immersive way to learn rewards-based, positive reinforcement training. Leaning on my background as a college instructor and roller derby coach, I became a GDB club leader here in Portland, Oregon, where I led group sessions and trained new raisers. 

In 2020, I switched to training family dogs. I am now a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers and a Certified Family Dog Mediator (FDM) through the L.E.G.S. Applied Ethology program. 

My approach to training puppies and dogs

As a certified Family Dog Mediator I work with you to help determine whether your pup has problem behaviors or simply unmet needs. I’ll help you figure out the original purpose of your dog (what they were bred to do), how to give them opportunities to meet their needs, how to modulate your expectations for the dog you have (vs. your idea of what a dog “should” be), and how to help your dog learn people rules and to navigate the world they find themselves in.

I coach dog parents/guardians in games-based, positive reinforcement training because it has so many benefits. It —

  • Is a lot of fun for both dogs and their humans 
  • Builds trust and a stronger dog-human relationship 
  • Gives you positive ways to communicate with one another
  • Builds your dog’s confidence and helps them learn to be calm or neutral in their environment (vs. worried, excitable, reactive)
  • Engages and enriches your dog’s mind, body, and senses
  • Is humane, kind, and scientifically proven to be the most effective form of training/learning for all animals — including humans 🙂
  • Makes your dog happy, especially when you emphasize your dog having agency and making choices whenever possible. Dogs get a dopamine release when they make a good choice and have that choice acknowledged by their humans.


Whether you’re aware of it or not, you are always training your dog. Animals are constantly learning from the reinforcement they get in their environment — both the treats you give them as well as the permission and other cues you send out. Put another way: the training games you play with your dog make up just a fraction of the learning they’re doing day to day.

My goal is to help you become more aware of what you’re communicating to your dog and to look for opportunities to reinforce the behaviors you want throughout the day, every day. (I’ll also give you tips on keeping your dog from rehearsing the behaviors you don’t want.) 

Take a look at the puppy/dog training services I provide. Then get in touch to get started. I’d love to hear from you! I invite you to follow me on Instagram too. 🙂 

By the way, I’m fully licensed, bonded, and insured through the Association for Professional Dog Trainers (APDT). I’m Red Cross Pet First Aid/CPR certified (just in case). And I use she/her and they/them pronouns.