Marin Pet Care Pros is owned by Basia Tolscik, M.A., a Certified Basic Obedience Trainer who says she has trained dogs for more than 20 years. Basia opened her pet-care business after a career in education administration and human resources and holds master's degrees in Teaching and Organization and Leadership. Her professional background also includes membership in APDT and IACP, Pet First Aid and CPR certification, and prior volunteer work with the San Francisco SPCA.
Training centers on residential Board and Train in Basia's private Novato home. Puppy Preschool accepts puppies as young as eight weeks for crate or potty training, bite inhibition, and socialization. Good Manners is available from four months and focuses on obedience cues such as sit, down, stay, recall, heel, off, drop it, leave it, and wait. Back to School, Cutie! is designed as a refresher for dogs that already have some prior training. Every program begins with a 90-minute Consultation and ends with a complimentary Training Debrief.
Basia describes her approach as positive reinforcement and redirection, using praise for desired behavior and humane correction or redirection for unwanted behavior. The website states that choke, prong, and shock collars are not used. Board and Train takes place in a smoke-free private home where dogs sleep indoors, receive supervised socialization between sessions, and are crated only when training requires it or the dog is accustomed to crating at home. The business is licensed, bonded, and insured.
