Episode 260 - Dog Training and Behavior Analysis w/ Ran Courant-Morgan + Dr. Stephanie Keesey-Phelan

Meet Your Podcast Guests

Ran Courant-Morgan (they/them) is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Licensed Applied Behavior Analyst who holds multiple dog training certifications and has been working professionally with dogs for over twenty years. After years of working with dogs independently, Ran joined with Dr. Stephanie Keesey-Phelan to found the Dog Behavior Institute, whose mission is to provide a behavior analytic approach to dog training to support both families and professionals in living and working with dogs. Their dog behavior services help professionals incorporate evidence-based, data-oriented practices into their work with dogs and their owners, and empower owners to use the principles of behavior to improve their lives with their dogs.  Dr. Stephanie Keesey-Phelan (she/her) is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who earned her Masters and Doctoral degrees from Simmons University where she continues to teach as an adjunct faculty member in the Behavior Analysis department. Stephanie has been training dogs professionally since the early 2000s and holds multiple dog training certifications including: Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT), Certified Control Unleashed Instructor (CCUI), and Fear Free Certified Professional (FFCP) and founded The Dog Behavior Institute with her colleague Ran Courant-Morgan. The Dog Behavior Institute provides behavior analytic dog training and behavior consultation services for dog guardians, and online courses in the application of behavior analysis to dog behavior for professionals. The Dog Behavior Institute The Dog Behavior Institute was founded in 2021, when Ran Courant-Morgan and Stephanie Keesey-Phelan found a real need for the perfect blend of behavior analysis and dog training. Although DBI is relatively young, both Stephanie and Ran have been working professionally with dogs since the early 2000s. We both completed Master’s Degrees in Behavior Analysis in 2013, and we are both Board Certified Behavior Analysts. The Spokesdogs of DBI Stephanie’s dog Kerberos (aka Kerby) and Ran’s dog Beacon are an important part of the Dog Behavior Institute. They’ve helped ground our training practices and guide conversations about what works for us, for our dogs, and for other people. Our goals for our dogs may not look the same as yours, and that’s okay! Kerby and Beacon remind us regularly that every dog is an individual with their own desires, reinforcers, and environment. Look out for Kerby and Beacon on our Instagram page and in our demonstration videos; they’re still helping us learn and play a big part in our teaching process.