Jethro was a dog of the German Shepherd persuasion, I had adopted at 2 years old from a rescue in the Poconos, weighing in at 120 pounds of pure guardian fur angel.
Jethro, or Jethie the Germ, as I sometimes referred to him, was very protective of me, so protective that he would sometimes ... How can I say this without making him sound scary, because he was in all other ways just the sweetest goofiest teddy bear ever … he would—bite. Not me, of course, or my children, or other people’s children. He loved children, other dogs and even cats.
I wished I could have trained him better, or at all. Instead, he trained me not to have people over unless they were hard-core dog lovers who were willing to observe the ritual of sitting down before Jethro came into the room. Jethro never bit anyone who was seated. The dog had scruples after all!
This puppy peccadillo—alright major behavior flaw—might not have been a problem if I had known Amanda and Sean Rivera, owners of Absolute Canine on Pineville Road in New Hope.
For Amanda, it started with Persephone, a wayward bernedoodle, the first dog Amanda owned living on her own. “She was very naughty,” says Amanda, diplomatically declining to enumerate the instances of naughtiness. “I realized I needed help and through serendipitous connections, I ended up reaching out to Sean Rivera.”
Sean has been training dogs for 30 years in various disciplines such as pet obedience, police dogs, sports dogs, explosive detection dogs, narcotic detection dogs, service dogs, seeing eye dogs, dogs for the hearing impaired, therapy dogs, and dogs for personal protection.
In his senior year at the College of New Jersey, Sean interned with the New Jersey Police K-9 Unit.
After graduation, his dog training education continued with multiple mentors in the training arena. These experiences led him to create his own dog training system that continues to evolve and grow today, “influencing and enhancing dogs’ and clients’ lives alike.”
In 2020, Amanda and Sean married. Judging from their story, “matchmaker” in addition to so many other roles is one of the wonderful functions dogs sometimes fill in our lives.
Amanda reports that when training was completed, “Persephone had turned into a model citizen, and I became Sean’s wife.”
The couple has been training dogs together ever since. They have a 1-year-old named Sabrina. I’ve seen pictures, and she’s pretty cute for a human.
Dog training is not currently a regulated industry, though there are degrees and certificates that can be completed to be considered a trainer.
Amanda says of her own training, “My education has been an immersive apprenticeship, a wax on, wax off Karate Kid style learning experience.”
To her, “Dog training is a nuanced art requiring years of learning and practice in order to be understood and applied by, not only the trainer, but shared with clients, both canine and human.”
Amanda is originally from North Jersey and came to Bucks County for a job opportunity. “I fell in love with this area when I arrived and always dreamed of living in New Hope. The dream came true!”
Sean is originally from Philadelphia. He started Absolute Canine in 1995, and then opened his present school in New Hope 10 years ago.
Their own canine family members consist of three dogs that are pets: Persey, a bernedoodle, and Leo and Twix, both Australian labradoodles. In addition, they have two sport dogs, a Belgian Malinois named Charlotte and a German Shepherd named Maverick.
After training with Sean, Persey went on to become a certified therapy dog, having gotten his Canine Good Citizen certificate. Together Persey and Amanda volunteered at Tinicum Elementary School for a few years.
Reading through some of the testimonials, I saw that in some cases, the Riveras have managed to keep dogs in their happy homes when owners were on the verge of surrendering them because of intractable behaviors.
As Sean points out, “Canine training is the cornerstone of a lasting, healthy relationship between a dog and its owner.”
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