You might recognize Brooklyn-born Mark Spivak’s work from his credits working with PBS’s “Nova” series and various television news programs where he shared expert insight. He has co-authored 17 peer-viewed studies in the field of canine neuroscience. Some of his projects were with the world-renowned Emory Canine Cognitive Laboratory. He has participated in or supervised the training of more than 50,000 client dogs and over 100 client cats.
Locally, Spivak serves as head trainer for Comprehensive Pet Therapy where he helps owners tackle tough issues like PTSD. Spivak noted, “The difference between the average dog trainer and an elite behaviorist is the mastery of art and science. There’s an art to communicating with dogs and their humans…and from the scientific perspective, knowledge of canine and behavioral psychology is mandatory for achieving optimal outcomes, especially in complex behavior cases.”
Spivak was originally destined for a career in finance with his Bachelor of Science in economics from Wharton School of Finance and an MBA from the University of California Berkeley. He recalled, “I was too iconoclastic for the corporate world and realized I enjoyed training dogs more than office work. Now because of demand, I am hiring more trainers and looking for other locations in addition to Atlanta and Eugene, Ore.”
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Spivak’s own pets have excelled: his German shepherd, Topper, was a regional champion and national competitor in “schutzhund,” a dog sport combining tracking, obedience, and protection. He also achieved advanced tracking titles and competed in the KNPV nationals — a working dog sport associated with police dogs. Spivak’s other shepherd, Akbar, was trained in tracking, protection, and agility; performed in commercials and movies; and was a certified therapy dog that frequently visited the Weinstein Center. His cat, Simba, learned several…
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