CANDY CRAWFORD, PROFESSIONAL DOG TRAINER
Candy Crawford, a nationally sought after dog trainer with more than 33 years of experience, has dedicated her life to training dogs. At age 17, she began instruction with the Jackson, Mississippi Police Department for patrol and narcotics. She was initially taught by Vietnam veteran K-9 handlers there, who are considered some of the most highly skilled dog trainers in the world. The knowledge she gleaned during those early years was instrumental in molding her ability to successfully train any breed of dog at any age. She holds a certification from K-9 Command Dogs Academy in New York, New York; 1983.
Crawford devotes her life to the betterment of all animals and to those owners who want and desperately need help with training their pet.
Whether Crawford is called upon to help find the perfect family pet, train an out of control dog, train a service dog for someone with disabilities, provide a protection dog for a family or guard dogs for a business, she understands how to train a dog to listen and immediately respond to their owners. She believes a well trained dog is one who is attentive and is willing to please their owners at all costs. Her goal is to answer a tremendous need for compassionate dog training for individuals who want to learn to effectively communicate with their dogs.
Volunteering hundreds of hours in nursing homes for pet therapy, Crawford also provides demonstrations for public and private schools and gives a lecture on animal training and psychology to students at the University of Memphis. She donates countless hours at several local animal rescue groups so that the dogs will have better odds at adoption. She also adopts and trains dogs with aggression problems who might otherwise be euthanized. Currently, Crawford travels extensively working with and for some of the most highly acclaimed trainers in the world for specific aspects of dog training and behavior.
PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY, COMMERCIALS, AND MAJOR MOTION PICTURES
Crawford has trained dogs for several major motion pictures including A Family Thing, The Painted House, and Black Snake Moan to name but a few. Her dogs have debuted on Terminex commercials, The Junior Miss Pageant, The Great Outdoors Event, and Petco Pet Stores. Additionally, Crawford provides dogs for several professional photographers, API, and Sunshine Mills’ Joy Dog Food. She has worked for United Artists and MGM since 1994 and was asked to audition for Animal Planet, as a dog trainer in 2002. Crawford is a member of the Memphis Film Commission and Tennessee Film Commission. Recently, Crawford completed the Humane Law Enforcement Course on Animal Cruelty Investigations for the ASPCA.
Interviewed on Channel 3, CBS, Crawford exhibited protection dogs as effective crime deterrents for individuals and especially for senior citizens. She was featured on Channel 24, ABC, for training and placing a service dog with a handicapped individual living in a local nursing home, a first in Tennessee history. She appeared on Fox 13 Morning Show to discuss dog training and related information.
HORSE TRAINING
Also a lover of horses, Crawford began training horses at the tender age of 7. She was an excellent horse trainer and professionally showed horses throughout the United States until age 19. She received more than 300 ribbons and 500 trophies during her youthful stint with horses. Crawford was Mississippi State Champion for several consecutive years in western horse shows (MWHSA) and was Tri-State Champion (including Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee) before the age of 17. Her first professional assignment was at age 15, for Playboy Magazine, when she was asked to train a black AQHA Stallion for a photo shoot.