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"Helping
you to be your dog's best friend!"
About the Owner
The
question I get asked the most; other than "My dog does … what should
I do?" is "How did you learn how to be a dog trainer?". Here's my
answer - Ever since I was born I have had many dogs around me. They
were always part of my family. I learned a lot at a very young age
from my grandfather and parents. They were breeders of English Field
Setters and had a large kennel on our property. A typical day growing
up would be to run back to the kennel and play with a new litter
of puppies, clean runs out, go to the vet, feed, water and walk
the dogs, and watch my father and grandfather train the dogs for
hunting in the field. At the time I didn't realize I was learning
a lot, but as I got older I realized I had. When I was old enough
to read I had tons of books on dogs, some of which are in my library
today. I credit my family for teaching me how to respect a dog.
As a young adult, I got a Labrador Retriever. I took her to every
dog training class there was. I even enrolled in classes with her
completely trained just to find out how different trainers taught.
Over time, I volunteered as an assistant trainer at St. Huberts
Giralda for over two years, traveled around the country to attend
behavior and obedience conferences and continued to read. Finally,
I offered my services for FREE for one year and then I opened Courteous
Canines. Since then I have adopted an adult Beagle from a shelter,
and also have a Shepard mix. All of the dogs in my life have probably
taught me far more than I taught them. I would say that the one
thing that sets me apart from some other trainers is my strong devotion
and respect for dogs. Dogs pick up on that, and it always makes
for a wonderful training environment.
P.S. I encourage all dog owners to ask for a resume from their
potential dog trainer. Not everyone has extensive training experience;
and lack of it can be harmful to you and your dog.
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