Behesha Doan

Behesha is the founder and training director of This Able Veteran and owner of Extreme K-9. Extreme K-9 is a professional dog training business focused on training both working dogs and pets and rehabilitating problem behaviors. Behesha brings a unique perspective to training and communicating with dogs and is a highly sought-after resource for professional trainers seeking to better understand the dogs they train. She and her staff have conducted seminars for and coached professional trainers throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

As a trauma survivor herself, Behesha brings an uncommon insight to how a correctly trained service dog, combined with a trauma resiliency program, can make a difference in the lives of those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injuries and those with co-occurring substance abuse. Through This Able Veteran, she has developed a veteran-centric model of care that involves the veterans, their clinicians, the service dogs and This Able Veteran. This unique model for trauma recovery not only trains dogs but also integrates them into a team of two with their veteran. Only This Able Veteran provides a custom-selected, highly-trained service dog specially adapted to meet the needs of one particular individual. This model of care has proven to be effective where traditional therapies have previously failed.

Behesha is a gifted public speaker, lecturer and published author on the subjects of canine behavior, communication and training.

Her credentials include:

  • Certified Life Coach, specializing in trauma resiliency
  • Member, Institute of Coaching, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School Affiliate
  • Certified Dog Trainer – International Association of Canine Professionals
  • Founder and Training Director of This Able Veteran
    -Contributing Author, PTSD Service Dog Best Practices Paper for Assistance Dogs International
    -Invited Speaker, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, This Able Veteran’s PTSD Service Dogs
  • American Kennel Club CGC Evaluator
  • Approved Instructor – Illinois Law Enforcement Training & Standards Board in:
    • Law Enforcement Narcotic Detection K-9 Certification, Remote Collar Training for K-9 Reliability
    • Police K-9 Unit Tactical Operations
  • Certified:
    • Basic & Advanced Trainers Course, Michael Ellis School of Dog Training, San Francisco, CA
    • Narcotic Detector Dog Trainer, Alpha K-9 Training Center Trainers Course, Jackson, Mississippi
    • Narcotic/Explosive Detector Dog Trainer, Vohne Liche Kennels Certified Trainers Courses (twice), Denver, IN
    • Mantrailing K-9 Trainer, Salem, IL
    • Remote Collar Trainer, Honors Graduate, Las Vegas, NV
  • Licensed by: Illinois Department of Agriculture
  • Administration, State of Illinois – Narcotics Detection Dog Certifier

Awards

Rotary Service Above Self

Southern Illinoisan’s Leaders Among Us