Meet the Trainer
Training Philosophy
Cori believes in the importance of the relationship between dog and handler, always customizing every behavior plan for each individual situation and giving thoughtful consideration to the big and small pictures. Their primary focus is on minimizing stress and maximizing practicality for the human and the animal.
Trainer Bio
Coralyn “Cori” Pedota CPDT-KA
Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers
Cori is a lifelong animal lover with a passion for helping people connect with their dogs. Their fascination with dog behavior led to a discovery that coaching the humans in dogs’ lives can be equally fun and satisfying. Cori feels that every training goal is its own unique puzzle that allows for heartfelt work and creativity.
Their connection with animals began with their childhood miniature pinschers, the tiniest of whom was declared by a local trainer to be the most stubborn dog he had ever met in his life. But Cori’s interest in training started with horses. In middle school, Cori spent all summer as their horseback riding instructor’s shadow, observing and helping with behavior rehabilitation programs that taught them their foundational understanding of body language and communication. In high school, Cori worked at the equestrian circus The Noble Horse Theater, starring as Clara in The Nutcracker on Horseback for four seasons.
As an adult, Cori entered the dog industry at a 60-dog capacity daycare, where they ultimately became a manager. This experience taught them the nuances of dog socialization and introduced them to dog training. Cori quickly sought out an apprenticeship to become a full-time professional trainer in 2017. The next year, they left Chicago to do a three-month live-in working dog internship at Logan Haus Kennels in West Virginia. There they learned about breeding and socialization for future working dogs, as well as training for police, military, search and rescue, and protection sports. Somewhere in the middle of that, they even learned how to clicker-train chickens.
Cori then briefly lived in Portland, OR, where they continued to work as a full-time trainer. During the initial Covid-19 lockdown, they wrote a 3-hour course for the competition obedience sport AKC Rally. They also fell in love with Doggy Freestyle Dance after teaching a long-term virtual tricks class with a committed group of students that built such a repertoire that they decided to start dancing with their dogs.
Cori returned to Chicago in 2020 to take on the role of Head Instructor at the training facility See Spot Run, where they taught until 2024. Cori designed See Spot Run’s group class program and mentored several junior trainers while regularly working with behavior modification cases. Many of these training clients’ goals were focused on the unique behavior problem of leash reactivity in dense urban environments, which Cori considers themselves particularly well-versed in.
Cori regularly continues their education by attending seminars, webinars, and classes with their personal dogs as students. Their favorite dog training influences are Shade Whitesel, Hannah Brannigan, Sarah Stremming, Denise Fenzi, Forrest Micke, and Michael Ellis.
When not training dogs professionally, Cori is training dogs for fun. They regularly dabble in a variety of dog sports and have the deepest fondness for the aesthetically meticulous genre of competition obedience. They also play the guitar and banjo, write creatively, and practice aerial dance.
The Dogs
Mars CD RE TKP
"Companion Dog" AKC Obedience
"Rally Excellent" AKC Rally-O
"Trick Dog Performer" AKC Trick Title
Australian Cattle Dog
Born September 2015
“Mars taught me all about the intricacies of living with a dog-selective herding breed with resource guarding tendencies. She loves to ‘work’ and is my helper dog extraordinaire, acting as the calm dog in the majority of my leash reactivity lessons, as well as playing the role of demo dog in many group classes. When she’s not on the clock at lessons, she is at home bossing around her brother Cupid.”
Cupid's Chokehold vom Logan Haus BH RE
“Begleithundprufung” USCA IGP
"Rally Excellent" AKC Rally-O
Dutch Herder
Born December 2019
“Cupid is my first bitework/protection sport dog and refined my ability to work with a dog’s drive instead of against it. Unfortunately, we did not get the chance to compete in IGP due to a chronic shoulder injury. While rehabbing Cupid, I delved into the world of canine fitness and conditioning, practicing targeted strength training exercises with him on a daily basis for about a year. His chronic pain never stopped him from wanting to go full blast 24/7. While he can collect himself enough to also play the role of ‘calm dog’ during lessons, he prefers when the training dog is ready for more challenge so that Cupid can embrace his role as ‘the crazy distraction dog.’”
Cupid and Mars have both starred in films by local director Brandon Daley: Technology Lake (2019) and $Positions (release date TBD).
Filmography
Technology Lake (2019) directed by Brandon Daley starring Mars
$Positions (release TBD) directed by Brandon Daley starring Cupid
Kenneled (release TBD) directed by Jay Burleson starring Cupid
