Aaron McDonald
Canine Behaviorist and President of 3D Dog
Aaron McDonald is a canine behaviorist, author, dog trainer, consultant, and President of Three Dimensional Dog in Birmingham, AL.
With 23 years of experience he has accumulated well over ten thousand hours of instruction and education in the rehabilitation of canine behavioral dysfunction, canine behavior consultancy, and training.
This experience has culminated in the development of the Unified Theory of Canine Behavior, an innovative, systems-based cognitive-behavioral theory.
Aaron has participated in live radio, news broadcasts, and has been sought for his expertise by: Heads of State, CNN, Yahoo News, Southern Living, B-Metro Magazine, Eating Well magazine, petMD, the world’s largest pet health media provider.
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PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
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Personal canine instructor for the family of Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, Kurdistan, Iraq 2006.
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Lead consultant for the Kurdistan Regional Government's national canine security services, Iraq 2006.
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Investigator for UAB’s Department of Psychology, therapy dog intervention study for traumatic brain injury patients, 2014.
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Co-creator and lead manager of Transitional Partners, a Dog-Assisted Work Therapy (DAWT) program for persons suffering with mental illness at East Side Mental Health Center. This program was co-developed with Kevin McDonald, canine behaviorist and Dr. Joseph Schumacher, PhD, clinical psychology.
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Preparatory training of dog / handler teams for certification as Therapy Dog Teams to visit hospitals and nursing homes
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Training of psychiatric service dogs for sufferers of traumatic stress, present.
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Served as faculty member for Alabama Council of Community Mental Health Boards, 37th Annual Conference, “Dog-assisted Work Therapy”, May 2011.
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Hand-in-Paw recognized therapy dog trainer, 2015.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
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Presenter, Discourse BHAM: A Unified Theory of Canine Behavior, 2023
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Presenter for Mountain Brook Police Department, canine body language interpretation and bite prevention seminar, 2017.
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Presented to University of Alabama at Birmingham, Division of Preventive Medicines Grand Rounds, Dog-assisted work therapy for Veterans; Proposal for research and practice, 2010.
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Presenter at Shocco Springs 2011 Annual Mental Health Conference.
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Presenter of “Companion Dogs – A New Approach” at 2011 NAMI Annual State Conference in Montgomery, AL.
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Presented canine aggression safety seminar for parenting students at Birmingham City Schools, 2007.
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Presenter “Canine Transitional Partners” at East Side Mental Health Center, Birmingham, AL Feb 2012.
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Presenter “The Way of the Dog”, an educational seminar for Huntsville area dog trainers, May 2012.
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Guest author, Good Grit Magazine, Flourish Issue, "The Cognitive Canine", 2017.
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Guest speaker, Jewish War Veterans Post 608, "The Boy King and his Royal Dog," 2018.