If you’re an animal lover and pet owner, we know how special your furry friend can be to you. Imagine if you could make the bond you share now even stronger.
Nicole Ellis has spent her life training all sorts of different animals, whether it’s been bears, tigers, horses or leopards.
Recommended Videos
She’s also trained animals for numerous celebrities -- names she can’t reveal due to confidentiality reasons.
But despite training such a variety of animals, and getting to hang out with pets of celebrities, the biggest joy Ellis gets is getting to train her own dogs, Maggie and Rossi.
Maggie was rescued from a shelter and has since been taught more than 100 commands, from riding a bike to balancing on a skateboard and doing handstands.
Maggie has appeared in commercials for Shiseido, Footed Pajamas and RamadanDiary from Comedy Central, among others.
Rossi has appeared in commercials for companies like Xfinity, Target, Suntrust, Neiman Marcus and more.
Between the two dogs, they have made appearances on national shows such as “The Today Show” and “Nightline.”
For dog owners who want to get an up-close look at how Ellis has trained her dogs for those prominent roles, there will be two chances this week.
Ellis, in partnership with Rover.com, will conduct two free online classes this week aimed at bringing owners and their dogs closer together.
The sessions will be held Tuesday and Thursday from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Varsity Tutors.
“I’m super excited to teach families new ways to train and engage with their dog through this interactive course,” Ellis said. “Whether you just got a new dog during this pandemic or you and your pup have already spent a lifetime together, take this opportunity to learn about reward-based training and strengthen your human-animal bond.”
Ellis, who will have Maggie on each of the videos, said that all animals learn differently and are unique, and that should be kept in mind when trying to teach any new commands.
“Maggie came from a shelter and had a different upbringing than my other dog, so some of the challenges we faced together was raising her confidence so she would be comfortable around all sorts of noises and large crowds of people, something she loves now,” Ellis said.
For more information on the sessions, click or tap here.