A word from the owner, Jordan:
I believe it’s important that both the dogs and the owners enjoy training. I value both parties being invested and open to learning new skills together. My goal is to create a relationship and atmosphere where the dog WANTS to listen to you and work WITH you. I love and appreciate dogs for everything they are to us and think they deserve the very best from us. You can read below to find out how I got started training and some adversities I overcame with my own dogs.
A little about me, my dogs, and how I got started
As an athlete growing up I learned early the benefits of team sports. It’s no wonder I’ve spent my time since college graduation coaching multiple sports year round. I have coached over 40 seasons of athletics, certified lifeguards for 10+ years, and have coached over 600 hours at a CrossFit gym. To say coaching and inspiring others is a passion would be an understatement. I’ve recently taken a step back from coaching as many sports, and have started a new passion — canine coaching.
My dog training journey started about 4 years ago. For all of this to make sense, it’s important you know the dogs pictured above. The black dog on the right was Buddy. He was in fact, the best dog ever. Long story short: in college I lived off campus, had roommates who liked dogs, and was only supposed to watch Buddy for two weeks until my friends aunt came to get him. Thankfully she never came and I got to keep him. He was an easy dog, the best dog—my heart dog. The dog I’d unknowingly measure my next dog against.
Fast forward almost 10 years later… Unfortunately Buddy was slowing down and our weekend adventures were much shorter and less frequent. Fortunately though, I finally lived in a house with an actual yard. All areas of my life were screaming for a puppy and in March of 2018 I adopted Duke (pictured above on the left). He was a 12 week old landshark of a German Shepherd puppy and I could not have been more excited, nor more naive. I quickly learned that comparing him to Buddy was my first mistake, he was not the next “best dog ever.” Six months and my first gray hair later I thought Duke needed a friend. He did not, he was 9 months old—he needed more training.
Enter Bera…
Sure enough, in September the same year, I brought home Bera, a 16 week old Golden Mountain Dog. She was a very sweet but very skittish pup. Bera was the driving force behind learning a lot of new things: confidence building skills, reading body language, and advocating for my dog, just to name a few. I have Bera to thank for teaching me that not everyone HAS to pet your dog and that it’s OKAY to have a timid dog.
The following year at Christmas I fostered a litter of 3 pups. I held strong to the “good-bye is the goal” mantra. Two months later, with puppy fever still running rampant, I volunteered to foster a puppy with a bad case of mange.
And you guessed it — I kept her.
Meet Lucy. Don’t let her sweet face fool you - Lucy’s nickname for the longest time was Lucifer. She was the one that solidified my deep dive into the world of dog training. She still has an incredible amount of drive, a headstrong personality, endless energy, and is just as eager to please now as she was as a pup.
Lucy has taught me to live like someone left the gate open, to have a two second memory, and that meditating (for both humans and dogs) has immeasurable benefits.
By now, you can probably see the mistakes I made. I got a puppy for emotional reasons. I got a breed I didn’t research. I got a second puppy to entertain my first puppy. I got a third dog when my two current dogs were not well trained. And while I had three unruly dogs, I lived by the old adage “a tired dog is a good dog” which brings about even more issues. You get the picture. Maybe some of this even sounds familiar?
I’m happy to say we are all doing MUCH better these days. And recently, my pack has since grown by two members: Gunner, my partner’s 5 year old yellow lab and our newest addition Cali, a black lab puppy. Life with a house full of dogs looks a lot different now than it did years ago. It was a rocky road, but I am so thankful for all the lessons learned along the way. Caesar Milan said it best: “You don’t always get the dog you want, but you get the dog that you need” and I couldn’t agree more in journey as a dog owner and trainer.
Through what seemed like an endless investment of time, money, and resources to train Duke, Bera, and Lucy, I gained so much knowledge I was able to share with my friends and family. After seeing success with their dogs and my own, I decided to take my passion into the community and start this training business. I truly believe my coaching and teaching background sets me apart from other trainers. When all is said and done, the magic doesn’t come from me training the dog, it comes from me teaching the owner how to train the dog. I’m confident you’ll leave our training sessions with a thorough understanding of how to build a better team with your dog.