Speaker and Clinician Profiles – 

In 2021, Laura launched Pawsitive Vibes Cat Behavior and Training, focusing on resolving behavior issues in private homes through remote consultations and inperson sessions in Baltimore. She has successfully addressed aggression, destructive behavior and litter box concerns, all while empowering caregivers to better understand their feline companions. Laura is a published author and advocate, known for her contributions to the Maryland Anti-Declaw Bill and leadership roles in professional organizations like the Pet Professional Guild.

Rachel B. Lachow, CPDT-KA, Positively Obedient Dog Training, Oriole Dog Training Club Instructor – Rachel began her career as a biologist and pursued an advanced degree in zoology and ornithology. Training dogs was a hobby she enjoyed on the side until, 28 years ago, she decided to become a professional dog trainer and was in the first class of trainers to be certified through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT_KA). Since beginning Positively Obedient Dog Training, she has been recognized as a top trainer by Baltimore Magazine. She has enjoyed a long career serving the Baltimore area, now often helping clients with their second and third dogs and even providing training to their children’s families. She has been an instructor at Oriole Dog Club for over 25 years, where she trains puppies and beginner dogs. She enjoys competing with her own dogs in conformation, agility, nose work, tricks, and rally. She also enjoys singing and playing the mandolin, birding, gardening, hiking, reading, cooking and baking.

Natalie L. Keegan, BA CPDT-KA – Natalie is the Founder/Director of Operations and Lead Humane Educator at Kids-4-K9s, Inc., as well as the Owner/Lead Trainer at My Creative K9, LLC. She is an avid positive reinforcement advocate and has been a professional animal trainer and behavior consultant for almost two decades.  Her animal focused journey began when working as part of a multi-disciplinary team implementing evidence based behavior management/violence prevention in urban schools, while joining her late son in becoming a certified dog trainer. She recognized the parallel emotions and behaviors between humans and animals and the unique human-animal bonds that can inspire mutually beneficial shifts in how we think about and navigate the world. This thinking led to an Open Society Institute Baltimore Fellowship (2011) to further establish the belief that this human-animal bond could result in positive changes within a challenged urban school setting.

Drawing on many experts in the field, combined with her own experience working with both animals and young people, she officially launched Kids4K9s, Inc (2012). The children’s book, A Dog’s Fight (2023), is the latest development in printed educational materials. As a private animal trainer, she works to build the animal-human bond through meaningful learning using science-based strategies rooted in learning theory and animal cognition, with heavy emphasis on building trust and confidence. She specializes in rehabilitating shy/withdrawn dogs and combating fear-based reactivity/aggression. In addition to maintaining a training business and nonprofit, she works as a mentor at Animal Behavior College to help the next generation of dog trainers find their footing in science based practices. 

She worked for 20 years at the Marin Humane Society in Novato, California, then moved to Monterey/Santa Cruz in 1996, where she launched Peaceable Paws, LLC. In 2001, she was one of the first 136 trainers in the world to be awarded the title of Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT) and has also received her behavior certification (CBCC-KA) through CCPDT. In 1999 the Millers relocated Peaceable Paws to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where Pat opened the Peaceable Paws Intern Academy.

She has served on the Board of the CCPDT and APDT. In March of 2015 she was named by Dog Fancy Magazine as one of “45 People Who Have Changed the Dog World” and in 2018 received APDT’s Lifetime Achievement Award at their annual conference.” Pat and her husband Paul now live on their 80-acre farm in Fairplay, MD with their three dogs, five cats, two horses and a pot-bellied pig, where they operate their dog/horse-friendly training center and horse boarding facility. Pat offers dog training classes, private behavior consults, seminars and workshops worldwide, expert witness services for animal-related legal cases, and is Director of the Peaceable Paws Trainer Academies. She holds an Associate Degree in Administration of Justice and a bachelor’s degree in business administration.