FAQs
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
My typical process for working with a new customer varies greatly depending on the services desired as well as the dog's temperament and whether or not there are any behavioral issues. For boarding and/or training in my home, I require a consultation so that I can meet the dog as well as test his or her temperament with other socialized and friendly dogs that they do not know. For training, I like to do a brief thirty-minute cosultation just to introduce myself and discuss training goals. For everything else, I like to meet ahead of time just to make the client more comfortable, but it is not necessary.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have been handling and working with dogs since I was 7 years old. Professionally for about two years. I have worked under 5 different mentors, learning varies training styles and methods. I have trained hundreds of dogs with a hundred different behavioral problems and have yet to meet a dog that I couldn't help.
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
My parents brought home an 8-week old Austrailian Shepherd puppy when I was 7 years old. From that day forward, I was a dog person. I worked with and loved that dog for 16 years. She was my best friend and I learned more about life from her than I could ever even remember. After her passing, I adopted my current personal pet dog, Khaleesi. She was 3 at that time, a little abandoned Siberian Husky that had no social skills, not desire to be with humans, and had been on the streets for an unknown period of time. I spent the next year working her through her issues of anxiety, stress, aggression, and running away at any chance she could. She now goes to day care, plays with other dogs, and goes on daily hikes completely free to run without a leash. That is about the time Lucatiel, my 2 year old working Plotthund, came into the picture. Through her, I learned an immense amount about working really high drive, aggressive and defensive dogs that don't know how to not bite everything. She has since gone on to win multiple obedience titles, as well as participate in agility, hunting, tracking, and protection work. Along the way, I was constantly being asked for help from family and friends for help with issues they were having with their dogs. After enough prompting, I decided to leave a career I had been very successful and was well established in, and pursue helping any and everyone with their dogs that I could.