About Seattle Unleashed

Seattle Unleashed, LLC is a fully licensed and insured business. Maria Maugans Stopforth has been professionally training dogs full time since 2002. She has a B.S. in Equine Science from Colorado State University, where she attended animal behavior classes with the renowned Dr. Temple Grandin, author of “Animals in Translation”. She is also a Certified Pet Dog Trainer with APDT, and a Certified Dog Trainer with IACP.

Maria’s scientific education, plus 20 years of dog ownership have led her to develop a passion about proper animal nutrition and how it is linked with pet training and behavior.

From regularly attending seminars and conferences, Maria has kept up to date with various training styles and methods of dog obedience. Her training styles are not cookie cutter, because there are multiple ways to train a dog, and not all dogs are the same. She is a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (www.apdt.com), International Association of Canine Professionals (www.dogpro.com), and National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors (www.nadoi.com). Also she has completed an internship at Cougar Mountain Zoo, where she assisted in animal behavior enrichment.

Maria was sought after to be the Western Washington field representative for Paws with a Cause, a service dog organization (www.pawswithacause.org). One her dogs, Gibson, is used as a demonstration dog to show the intricate skills that a properly trained service dog must have.

Check back here soon for the latest up dates in Maria’s continuing education on pet training and behavior. Please visit the Services page for information on dog training classes, private lessons, and basic obedience.