Hello – I’m Kathy Shumway Lawton and I am the owner of K-10 Dog Training in Mexico NY.  I really cannot remember a time in my life without dogs.  My first recollection of a family dog was Fritz, a hound mix that hunted with my Dad and brothers.  She was often borrowed by other hunters because of her game-scenting ability.  When my brothers went off to college, subsequent “hunting” dogs became family pets for my sister and me.  We had a Springer Spaniel named Corky who was more interested in chasing butterflies than flushing game birds.  Later we had two Beagles, Punch and Judy, whose “jobs” was to sit pretty, beg for treats and sleep on the couch.

My Canine Family

The picture on the home page was my rather eclectic canine family five years ago.  Unfortunately, several of those pups have now crossed the Rainbow Bridge leaving me with Ellie who is now 16 and Strut who is 8. But below is the history of my canine family shown in that picture:

• In the Fall of 2007, I fostered Ellie, a lab mix, from the Humane Society. After three months of foster care, Ellie was officially adopted. She and I were Pet Partners – her job is to make people in hospitals and nursing homes happy.
• In 2009, I adopted Truman, a 5 ½ year old Shar Pei/American bulldog mix whose owner could no longer keep him. He was initially more comfortable with men until he and I together completed the Karen Pryor Academy. He then turned into my bestt friend forever.
• In 2010, I fostered Karmen, a three-year-old puppy mill cocker spaniel. Like many puppy mill dogs, Karmen did not bond with people. However, she soon developed a strong attachment to my former boxer mix Brandie who sadly passed away in May, 2016. Realizing that I could not separate Karmen from her newfound companion I officially adopted her into the family.
• In 2012, Bonnie Belle – now known as Bonnie Belle Barker for obvious reasons – a unique little dog who could be a Corgi / Beagle mix, joined the family.  I had to adopt her because “she just fit in.”
• The final addition to my canine family is Strut (or Strutter-Butter) who is reportedly a hound / lab /terrier mix. He joined the family in 2015.  He and I were introduced to nose-work in the Fall of 2016 and we now look forward to weekly classes.

My Training and Experience

My current journey started in 2007 after being laid off and needing something to fill my time.  I first took an online dog training class through the Animal Behavior College.  I started teaching classes at a local pet grooming shop and found I really like it.  However, with the adoption of Karmen, I realized I needed more knowledge and that subsequently prompted me to apply to the Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) in 2011.

KPA spurred a true desire to learn more about our canine friends and how they really learn.  I needed to know more of the science behind it.  Since I was working full-time at that time, I could only train and study part time.  But I eventually build up my hours and applied to take the CPDT-KA test.  I proudly passed that in March 2017.  My current course of study is canine behavior so I can focus more on behavior modification.

I became an American Kennel Club (AKC) Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Evaluator and I hold prep-classes and evaluation on an as-needed basis.

In November, 2019, I successfully completed my Service Dog Coach Certification.  If you are looking to train your dog to be either a Therapy Dog, Emotional Support Animal (ESA) or a Service Dog, please contact K-10 Dog Training.

My latest endeavor was the completion of a course for working with Aggression in Dogs in 2022.  Working with reactive dogs can be challenging, but so rewarding.

In 2020, COVID changed my training focus, cutting out group classes and really focusing on private lessons.  I love working one-on-one with clients and their pets, focusing on their specific areas of interest.

However, as of 2023, group classes are back.  In addition to private lessons, I am currently offering the AKC S.T.A.R. puppy class for puppies up to the age of 5 months on Saturday mornings.  A Group Basic Manners class is offered for dogs over 5 months including adult dogs on Monday evenings at 7:00 pm.

Other Education

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and an MBA, both through SUNY Oswego. In March, 2023, I retired from Laboratory Alliance of CNY, LLC where I was the Manager of Business Applications for 15 years.