Terry Ryan

Terry Ryan has been a dog trainer and instructor since 1968. She is the president of Legacy Canine Behavior & Training, Inc., a school that specializes in reward-based dog training methods. Terry and her staff teach community classes including puppy head start, pet dog manners, performance events and fun classes designed to keep owners and dogs involved. They also do behavior consultations and offer a private dog park for their clients. Terry Ryan is involved with continuing education and team building workshops for zookeepers, veterinary staff and various corporate and government organizations. Terry has been on the faculty of the Karen Pryor (Clicker Training) Academy since 2008. She is a certified TAG I teacher (Teaching with Acoustical Guidance).

Legacy's Training Center in Washington State hosts several long-term international courses. For years Terry hosted Marian and Bob Bailey's Operant Conditioning Courses. The Terry Ryan instructor’s course, "Coaching People to Train Their Dogs" is held annually on the home campus. Many of the courses taught at Legacy's Training Center involve working with chickens as a science-based exercise in classical and operant conditioning. The students are then taught how to transfer those skills to training dogs.

In 1990, Terry Ryan began teaching several weeks a year in Japan. She established a national pet dog instructor's school through the Japanese Animal Hospital Association and a national canine good citizen program. Having turned much of the instructing over to Japanese staff, Terry still visits on a regular, but not so lengthy basis, working for several different organizations.

In addition to her ongoing work in Japan, Terry had a long-term contract to create and instruct dog training and instructor courses in Australia for the Animal Welfare League. Yearly she teaches at several locations in North America, Europe and Asia. She has taught long-term repeat courses in S. Korea, Taiwan, Germany, Norway and the UK.

Terry Ryan was Program Coordinator for the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, from 1981 until 1994. The programs involved the study of the human-animal bond and implementation of animal-assisted therapy programs. From 1997 to 2002 Terry taught ten-day behavior courses at the American Wildlife Foundation in Battle Ground, Indiana, using imprinted wolves as the study subjects.

Terry Ryan has maintained membership and held various offices in local, national and international organizations including past president and Life Member of the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors. She is a charter member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.

Terry has trained and exhibited her own dogs in conformation, obedience, tracking and other dog sports. Terry is an American Kennel Club (AKC) obedience trial Judge Emeritus.

Terry has written over 300 articles on dog training for national and international dog magazines including the American Kennel Club Gazette and Dog Fancy. Her books and booklets include: Puppy Primer, 1990; Games People Play… To Train Their Dogs, 1995; Life Beyond Block Heeling, 1996; The Toolbox for Remodeling Your Problem Dog, 1998; The Bark Stops Here, 2000; Outwitting Dogs, 2004; Sounds Good CD series, 2006; Textbook for instructors: Coaching People to Train Their Dogs, 2005, 2008 and The Toolbox for Building the Perfect Dog, 2011.