A: I never had any formalized training background. I was an only child and lived on a farm in Connecticut. My closest companions were my two dogs growing up. First a collie named Rex and then a beagle mix named Snoopy. When I was in high school I wanted to be an actor so I aprennticed (for no pay) at a local professional summer theatre named the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT. I built scenery and tried to absorb as much about acting as possible. My second summer there, 1976, they did the first production of ANNIE. They couldn't afford a real dog trainer, no one on the paid staff would accept the job so the producer knew he had a sucker in his midst and offered me a part in the show in exchange for finding and training a dog for no money. Being 19 years old and seeing a big break I accepted. So the criteria for my first animal training job was being gullable. This is all important because I felt if I could make the dog love the actress (Andrea McArdle) as my dogs loved me, they would perform. The creators of ANNIE, Martin Charnin, Charles Stouse and Tom Meehan had never worked with animals either so they let me experiment. I used positive reinforcement. common sense and my theatre training. The dog lived with us, hung out with us back stage and worked in the shop. The dog believed the theatre was his home and the actors his family. The show eventually went on to Broadway and I became a famous animal trainer at 20. No other person had been able to train a dog to be a character in a live performance in which the action of the play depended on the dog. That was 1977. I have done 11 other Broadway shows and made it up as I went along. I never have read any training books and stay away from watching movies or shows with animals. The animals tell me how to train them and I want to invent everything fresh instead of stealing other people's ideas. If anything, I read about animal behavior in the wild and study animal husbandry.

A: Because I chose to stay in NYC on Broadway, my animals never reach the type of fame as movie animals. My original Sandy did 2,333 performances on Broadway. The record for any animal. I have trained Toto in the Wizard of Oz, Asta in Nick and Nora, Bullseye in Oliver as well as commercials and movies. Celebrity is not why I do it.

A: All these animals are rescues: 5 Sandy type dogs, 5 Toto dogs, 2 bloodhounds (from Andrew Llyod Weber's 1997 flop WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND), and a Basenji. Three cats. The rest are not rescues: 2 horses, 2 llamas and an Amazon Parrot.

A: I have a very close relationship with my vet, Dr. Robert Olson, and he called me to tell me that one of his technicians had given up a Sandy dog to a pound and asked if I would go see it. Although I did not need another dog at that time, something inside told me to go. She was in a municipal pound in Portland, Connecticut. She was to be euthinized because her time was up. She had bitten someone and she was severely injured. I went the evening before her time was up and saw a dog that would not come close to humans and I couldn't even temperament test her because I thought she would bite me out of fear. The officer thought I was crazy for even looking at her, but agreed to adopt her out to me. All humane workers really hate to put animals to sleep so if there is a slim chance they can be saved, they will take it. My feeling was I had not seen a more pathetic dog since I found the original Sandy for the first production of ANNIE. I also rescued him at the eleventh hour. He had been badly abused, but never was aggressive. Cindy was growling and snarling as we threw a leash over her neck and tied her in the back of my SUV. I hoped that I could give this poor animal some peace and find her a home where she would never be afraid again.

A: What we pieced together about her past was she must have been abandoned when she was 6 months old. She lived as a wild dog for about another six months. These dates come from the fact she had a puppy collar on, which embedded in her neck as she grew and when we did find her, she was about I year old, judging from the size of her teeth. The time she was out by herself were the formative months for socialization in a dog. I theorize as she grew and the pain from the collar increased, she associated it with humans who tried to help her. She was eventually trapped by the Portland animal officer and put in the pound. He called my vet to help her out and one of his techs agreed to try and domesticate her. They did the surgery and she tried to bring her home. But she was unsuccessful in rehabilitating her and she bit one of her family. She was forced to take her back to the pound. That is when they called me.

A: Her health was easy to address. First the surgery, then letting the wound heal, curing an array of worms and giving her a balanced diet to build her coat and body up. I also believe in vitamin supplements for dogs that need extra care.

But her emotional well being was something else. I was facing two problems. One was her fear of humans as a result of her initial interactions with the people who abandoned her and two, her being "feral" or wild during her socialization phase. I first dealt with her fear of humans because that could have been dangerous. I let her have her own space. At my home I have a large outdoor run, attached to the back door, to confine the dogs before I let then out on my four acres. I let Cindy free in that space and left the door to the house open. At first she would cower in the farthest corner and avoid us. She observed my other dogs, playing and working and getting treats from me, which I hoped would let her know I wasn't going to hurt her. I also fed her out in that run at first. But as the days past I slowly moved her bowl closer and closer to the house until I finally got her to come inside to eat. Once I got her in and gave her space, I eventually closed her in with me. Again I would give her space and let her watch my interactions with my other dogs. Day by day I would get closer to her food while she ate until she took food from my hand. Many weeks went by until she allowed me to touch her while she ate without running away. Once I made that connection and showed her I wasn't going to hurt her; she melted in my arms. After about three months of her letting me touch her I had to start domesticating her. Remember she was feral, so for those first three months I had to let her soil in the house, chew things up and bark all night long. I was afraid any correction of these behaviors would have ruined the trust work we had done. I took about another three months of gentle training just to housebreak her. But the real problem was up till then I was the only person she would trust. With that accomplished I thought I may be able to get her to trust someone else and find her a quiet safe home to spend the rest of her life.

A: It is called being in the right place at the right time. Around this time of progress with her, I was involved with the development of the sequel to ANNIE entitled ANNIE WARBUCKS in 1991. It was written and directed by the original creators of ANNIE, Martin Charnin, Tom Meehan and Charles Strouse. We had been working on it since 1989 and they had a theatre in Chicago named the Marriott Lincolnshire who wanted to continue with the process. It meant I would have to go out there for 3 months for rehearsals and the run. The theatre was in a Marriott hotel and we were to be housed here. When I go to out of town jobs I have my trainers housesit and care for the animals. But as it turned out, Cindy was no where near trusting anyone else and I didn't want her to regress after the six months work I had done. So I did a very stupid thing, I decided to take an untrained dangerous dog on the road to a hotel in Chicago. I thought because we were working and staying in the same building I could run back and forth to the room and check on her and continue her training. When the cast found out about Cindy they volunteered to help with her training. During our breaks, they would work with me and Cindy to prove to her humans were not bad. So now she had an extended family of about twenty people who would give her cookies and love. This was the thing she needed. Again, she made a giant leap and started acting like a regular dog. Although, she bit two people when they touched her scar on her neck. It was completely by accident and everyone gave her the benefit of the doubt because she did not break their skin, just gave then a bite as if to say "Please don't hurt me again." In those three months she really shined and became everyone's pet. Even though we had a dog named Chelsea playing the role of Sandy; Cindy was the company's pet.

The run was successful of ANNIE WARBUCKS and they extended our run for another two months. By then Cindy had done a little bit of damage to the hotel, but we were able to keep that a secret. Other than that, she was learning so well I began thinking she might be a dog for a show someday. By then over 8 months had past and she really won my heart and I knew deep down I would never give her up. So as a joke I made her the understudy. Never in a million years would she go on, but it gave me the luxury of bringing her to the theatre and rehearsals. She of course knew all her actor friends and very quickly learned to like back stage. The creators knew that she was not really an understudy but went along with me because they love dogs too.

That run ended and the show was booked on a six months tour of the country. San Bernardino, Houston, Seattle, San Diego and Los Angeles. While Cindy was doing really well, the number of tricks was overwhelming our main dog, Chelsea. Half way during rehearsals of our first stop I took a big chance and asked the creators if I could try Cindy (now named Cindy Lou by one of the leading actresses, Alene Robertson) in the role. She was doing the show perfectly when no one was around and when I showed them what she had learned they were really impressed. So Cindy Lou made her debut in the San Bernadino production of ANNE WARBUCKS. She surprised us all and was wonderful. She did the whole tour and did the Off Broadway production of the show. While the sequel never really flew, the creators really took a liking to her so when the 20th Anniversary Broadway production came along they wanted no one else for Sandy but Cindy Lou.

A: Once I broke through her hard shell, she bonded to me very quickly and trustingly. I believe she is a collie/ Airedale mix. The Airedale terrier gives her a stubborn edge that makes her what to figure things out for the reward. The collie side gives her an undying devotion to her master. Mix the two together and you have a fast learning trustworthy dogs who does her behaviors right almost all the time. An example, in ANNIE WARBUCKS, Annie and some friends are trying to convince President Roosevelt to give funding to poor farmers in the Tennessee Valley. The number was called Before Its Too Late. In it the director wanted Cindy Lou to bark on a specific beat in a musical phrase. Never before had an animal been asked to be part of a musical number in which the dogs bark had a response in the next lyric. Once we found a position where she could see me offstage, she did it right over 500 times missing only twice. That is a good dog.

A: All my dogs know basic obedience, which gives us a common language. Most of all they know to trust and listen to me the first time I ask them to do a behavior. When I get a job that requires something new I will spend 5 to 10 minutes each night, before feeding time, teaching them the behavior in my kitchen. Once I am sure they have it, I do the same thing in different places in the house. If it is to be performed outside, I practice in my yard. And if she has to do it for someone other than me, I have my wife Dorothy practice with her. I don't belief in putting my dogs through the paces when they are not working just in case that big break should come. When they don't work they are just dogs, free to run, play, sleep, or whatever on the farm.

A: I believe that there is a casting process for performing animals but is has nothing to do with talent, brains, looks or personality. My criteria for animals that will shine are based on their ability to deal with stress. If an animal is not happy performing, I will not force it to. When working dogs have me there which is really all they want in this world. (Maybe a few treats too.) But if the surroundings frighten them, most time I do not have the time to teach a timid dog to trust what is going on around the set. So my dogs are the type that will sleep though thunderstorms, crowds of people and loud noise going off. That is what I base my casting principals on.

A: It comes when they are asked to perform. Most people I meet or work with think a trained dogs is a robot that comes onto the set, gets commands, performs them repeatedly and is not distracted. These same people will spend days or weeks rehearsing the human actors in their parts, give the technicians time to perfect their craft and prep every other aspect of the show. Once you get to shoot, the cost per hour is very high. I come in and often am given no chance to introduce the animal to the actors, set or action before they begin. So the common problem on every job is overcoming the animal's confusion so it can perform. Time and time again I try to explain this to directors but they just don't get it. And once the animal gets confused, then it takes twice as long to get them back on track and it seems like the animal is poorly trained. For example, on all union stages, both theatre and movie, no one is allowed to work on the stage unless a minimum crew of electricians and stage hands are paid to be there. That could cost thousands of dollars. So when I get onstage is when everyone else does. And the confusion is so great then animal hardly ever gets a chance to sniff around to make sure it is safe.

A: Although all the animals I have trained in my career have come from a rescue situation, they all had a certain sense of well being and never had bitten anyone. Understanding aggression in any creature that can't speak to us it very difficult. And then for me, even if I can understand it, I can't put unpredictable dogs with unsuspecting actors. Someone may get seriously hurt. Cindy Lou came to me not with the intention of being a performing dog. When I found that the same love and affection method I use on training dogs could repair a serious case of abuse, it gave me self-confidence as a trainer I never had before. Not that I have changed my opinions about theatrical animals, but I since have become much more involved it helping other abused animals. I now do private lessons and am the behavior consultant for the Humane Society on New York. What Cindy Lou taught me was my gift as an animal trainer could be used for helping many other people, not just entertaining them.

A: No time. Their recreation comes from digging up my lawn and barking at the mailperson.

A: Denial... The first year my wife and I toured with the show. The last year and a half, she was with my trainer Todd Serenbetz. When they leave I don't say goodbye. It's a guy thing. I would start to cry if I really thought about it. I rationalize it by saying they all have to leave and work to help support the others that are being saved. Once they retire, I have hem until the end of their days. And when they die? Well I am still waiting for all of my beloved dogs to come back home. I just pretend they are still on tour somewhere.

A: Any abuse has negative effects on the personality. Most of the damage is permanent. The cases I have had have been repairable. But, if anything it is more time consuming than when I have a normally raise dog. But the end result is what is interesting. A dog hat was abused that you have trained to trust again, works at a much better level than a normal dog. It is as if they are grateful to you for saving their lives. Whereas a normal dog has no terrible times to compare the good times to.

A: My most satisfying aspect of animal training is a very simple moment. After a show when I leave the stage door without the dogs and there is a crowd gathered, sometimes I hear someone say the following and it makes it all worth while. How did they make that dog do that? I smile because I am the only "they" and I do it with love.

Special thanks to Molly Haydon of TMG Marketing & Publicity
Photo Credit to Carol Rosegg