Meet Your Trainer
Tara Baggerman

Tara Baggerman has loved -- and learned from -- animals since she was a toddler. Although she bonded with a variety of pets from gerbils and guinea pigs to cats and chickens, dogs were always Tara’s favorite companions. Among the canines that kept her company in her formative years were a pair of Bedlington Terriers; an Irish wolfhound, a Scottish deerhound, a Golden Retriever and a marvelous Shepherd-Mix.

Although Tara never trained any of her childhood pooches for competitive dog sports (at the time she was not aware such things existed), it’s not surprising that much of her adult life revolves around canines. Involved in dog agility for seven years, Tara began training under the inspiring tutelage of Fran and Bill Seibert of JAZZ Agility training in Greenfield, NY, and is currently an ardent student of Wendy Cerilli of High Goal Farm in Greenwich, NY.

A professional canine trainer for five years, Tara has trained more than 1,200 dogs of all breeds, ages and back rounds. Tara is the Director of Canine Development for the SPCA of Upstate New York. She instructs her canine and human students in training levels ranging from puppy and adult dog manners through competition Rally Obedience to Agility to Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog preparation. A positive reinforcement dog trainer, Tara believes learning should be both a challenging and an enjoyable experience for dogs and their human owners.

Tara’s other accomplishments include past volunteer work at SPCA of Upstate New York where she devoted much time to modifying the behaviors of shelter dogs. A member of the JAZZ Agility Club since 2003, Tara held the position of club secretary in 2007. Other affiliations include membership in the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), the No Shock Collar Coalition, the Truly Dog-Friendly Trainers and being a certified Canine Good Citizen evaluator for the American Kennel Club. Tara is currently in training to become an agility judge for Canine Performance Events (CPE) which hosts agility trials across the USA and Canada. In addition to her training classes at the SPCA, Tara is also a trainer at High Goal Farm where she instructs Agility and Rally Obedience classes. Both of her own two dogs are accomplished performance pooches, competing in Agility, Canine Freestyle Dance and Rally Obedience (read more about Tara’s dogs below).

When not training dogs, Tara – who makes her home on the outskirts of Saratoga Springs, NY -- is working toward her degree in teaching.

MEET TARA'S DOGS