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Gary Wilkes is an internationally acclaimed behaviorist, trainer, author, columnist, teacher and lecturer. He offers a wide variety of animal related services, including behavior modification, training and behavioral instruction for animal care professionals, pet owners and professional trainers - but his first love is helping pet owners develop a dog they can be proud of. He currently provides a wide spectrum of behavior services in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area by veterinary referral. Wilkes is most noted as the founder of "Click and Treat(R) Training", the first practical and humane application of operant conditioning for dogs – and the hottest trend in modern dog training. He created the method while perfecting safe, effective and simple tools that can be easily learned and used. Beyond pet training, he has taught his methods to US Army Delta Force Special Operations handlers, the staff at the Seeing Eye and Paws With A Cause - the most effective service dog school in the country. He has worked at high levels with virtually all types of working dogs in all settings . Wilkes has earned respect for his abilities in both the "real world" of dog training and the scientific world of behavior analysis. He has a unique ability to simplify complex principles into easily applied methods.
Educated at Oregon State and Arizona State Universities, Wilkes is a member of, and has lectured, organized panel discussions and taught practical workshops to the Association for Behavior Analysis - the largest international professional organization for behavioral psychologists. He is the recipient of the association's 1995 award for "Effective Presentation of Behavior Analysis in the Mass Media". Wilkes was featured in an episode of Scientific American Frontiers hosted by Alan Alda for his work with the MIT Media lab with artificial intelligence. Wilkes taught at the Ethology Institute in Hong, Denmark to graduate level students in animal behavior and is currently an associate professor of animal behavior at the Morrison School of Agri-Business at Arizona State University.
Wilkes also gives training seminars and lectures, internationally, on behavior modification and training for obedience trainers, assistance dog handlers, Search and Rescue groups, veterinary conferences and pet owners. He is a popular speaker at university psychology departments such as MIT, Temple University, Arizona State University and the University of North Texas. Wilkes is a regularly invited speaker for professional and service organizations such as the Central Veterinary Conference, American Humane Assoc., American, Canadian and UK Associations of Pet Dog Trainers, the Delta Society, Service Dogs International and Pet Sitters International. A former humane society shelter manager, Wilkes continues to work with animal welfare issues as a member emeritus of the board of directors of the Arizona Humane Society.
Gary Wilkes has written feature articles and columns for most of the major dog publications, Including Dog Fancy, Dog World, and a syndicated column for the Tribune Papers featured on the NY Times wires service. He has nine “Maxwell Awards” - the highest honor offered by the Dog Writer’s Association of America and is listed in “Who’s Who in American Dogs” Wilkes currently is a regular columnist and feature writer for Off-Lead and Animal Behavior magazine and Groomer to Groomer. He has produced three training videos and his book, A Behavior Sampler, is in its second printing.
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