Joel Silverman (born December 21, 1958) is a celebrity animal trainer who hosted '' Good Dog U'' on

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel focusing on the animal kingdom owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1 ...

from 1999–2009.

Early life

Joel Silverman grew up in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

and at the age of 13, the first animal he ever trained was the family dog, Shadow. At about the same time, he and his family spent their summer vacations in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

and would go to

SeaWorld SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by United Parks & Resorts. The parks host shows st ...

every year, and after a number of summers watching the trainers riding the

orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

s, Silverman developed a fascination with the whales and trainers. At the age of 16, he got hired to pick up trash at

, and after helping out the trainers and years of hard work, Silverman was hired as a trainer. He started off with Pacific and Atlantic

bottle-nosed dolphin The bottlenose dolphin is a toothed whale in the genus ''Tursiops''. They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus contains three species: the common bottlen ...

California sea lion The California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of Califo ...

s, and eventually orcas. * In 1983 Silverman shifted his focus into training

animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a ...

for

movies A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

TV shows A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platfo ...

and commercials, and currently training animals for

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and TV. * * From 1988 to 1992 Joel was the trainer of Dreyfuss from the TV series ''

Empty Nest ''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to June 17, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Richa ...

''. * * In 1989, Joel wrote and hosted his first

dog training Dog training is a type of animal training, the Applied behavior analysis, application of behavior analysis which uses the environmental events of antecedents (trigger for a behavior) and consequences to modify the dog behavior, either for it to a ...

video called, Joel Silverman's Hollywood Dog Training Program. It was sold as an

infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of di ...

and had sold over 300,000 videos at that time. * * In 1999, Joel hosted his first TV series called, "GOOD DOG U" which aired on

from 1999–2009.

Dog Training Style

Although there are a variety of styles and methods to train dogs, Joel Silverman's style is what he calls a "hybrid"

method. This method combines parts of

he learned from training

dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

sea lions Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

, and orcas, as well as the training of

dogs The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers ...

. Joel also adds a personality based

style called What Color is Your Dog? This method teaches people that there is no "one size fits all" approach to

. He believes dogs should be trained based solely on their personalities.

Partial TV & Film Credits

* 1988-1992 -

- Dog Trainer * 1997-2014 -

IAMS Iams () is an American brand of dog food and cat food manufactured by Spectrum Brands in Europe and Mars, Incorporated worldwide excluding Europe. The food is formulated for the puppy/kitten, adult and mature stages of life. Veterinary formul ...

National print and commercials - Dog & Cat Trainer/Animal coordinator * 2005 -

A Good Year ''A Good Year'' is a 2006 romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Ridley Scott. The film stars Russell Crowe, Marion Cotillard, Didier Bourdon, Abbie Cornish, Tom Hollander, Freddie Highmore and Albert Finney. The film is ba ...

- Dog Trainer * Full List
IMDb

Videos

* 1989
The Hollywood Dog Training Program
* 1999 - "Unleashed" - A series of videos for the

PETCO Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. is an American Pet store, pet retailer with corporate offices in San Diego and San Antonio. Petco sells pet food, products, and services, as well as certain types of live small animals. Founded in 1965 as ...

pet store chain * 2009–Present
Joel Silverman's Dog Training DVD Series

Authored Books

*

' (2009) - Explains how to train a dog based on the dog's personality. *
Take 2 - Training Solutions to Rescued Dogs
' (2010) - Explains how to find the right dog to adopt, as well helps the reader with problem solving issues. *
Bond with Your Heart, Train with Your Brain
' (2012) - A self-help book for parents, teachers, managers, and supervisors for building a better relationship.. all animal based. *
More What Color is Your Dog?
' (2015) - Follow up book to Joel's first book What Color is Your Dog? Explains how to train a dog based on the dog's personality. *
Rituals
' (2019) - In this book, Silverman talks about patterns that dogs can develop, and sometimes it is a good thing, and at times it can be a bad thing.

Playing Self in Commercials

In October 2014,

Chase bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Trade name, doing business as Chase, is an American National bank (United States), national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the retail banking, consumer and commercial bank, commercial banking su ...

was looking for people that they thought had mastered their careers, and contacted Joel Silverman and asked him to be involved with their new Chase Mastery Campaign. This campaign involved Joel Silverman.

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WT ...

Tim Morehouse Timothy Frank MorehouseElfman, Lois"Our Olympic Moment: Tim Morehouse Heads To London" ''Chutzpah'', July 25, 2012. Accessed July 26, 2012. ""Much of his sense of determination is inspired by his Jewish heritage. His maternal grandmother and two ...

, and

The Rockettes The Radio City Rockettes are an American precision dance company. Founded in 1925 in St. Louis, they have, since 1932, performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Until 2015, they also had a touring company. They are best known for sta ...

. Joel's pictures were in most of the Chase banks for a good portion of 2015, and Joel's dog Duchess starred with him in the commercial and was seen in the banks, taking the receipt, and holding it in her mouth. From August 2015 to April 2016, this commercial aired nearly 4,000 times nationally. https://www.ispot.tv/ad/7U7g/jpmorgan-chase-chase-mastery-dog-trainer-feat-joel-silverman

Joel Silverman's Dog Trainer Certification Course

In January, 2017, Joel Silverman launched his "hands on
Dog Trainer Certification Course
This course is for individuals looking for a career in dog training. Silverman selects four to five dogs from a local humane society somewhere in the U.S., and over a five-day period, the students train the dogs to sit, stay, come, heel, lie down, and "go to a place".

Television series

* Hosted Good Dog U on

- 1999 to 2010 * Hosted, wrote and directe
What Color is Your Dog?
2011–Present

Awards

* 2008 "Dog Trainer of the Year" Purina Pro Plan 54th Annual Show Dogs Dinner * 1986 (IMATA) International Marine Animal Trainers Association "Behavior of the Year Award"
"THE TRIPLE BOW"
on two Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphins

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Silverman, Joel Living people 1958 births American television personalities Animal trainers Dog trainers