How It All Began...

In my teens, I attended an Obedience Commands class with my older sister for her German Shepherd, Baccus.  I was intrigued with what I saw and   proceeded to initiate these same sessions with Midnight, my sister's aggressive Shepherd, at my sister's home, where I was staying for the summer.  In two weeks, I had Midnight doing everything that Baccus had learned.  She was stellar.

When I returned home and tried this on my mother’s toy poodle, Suzette, the same thing happened.  I was a cheerleader at the time, so I would put Suzette on a Sit-Stay while I would run through some of my cheers before calling her to come to me.  This dog, who was loyal only to my mother, sat like a statue for me until I called her to come!

Fast forward to my married years with a 13 year old daughter, named Michelle, who brought home Cesar Millan’s first book, “Cesar's Way”.  I didn't really grasp the concepts at the time, as I flipped through the pages, so I gave it back to her and forgot about it.  A few weeks later, however, Michelle, showed me some video clips of "The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan” online.  I was intrigued!  We ordered the first season of “Dog Whisperer...” on DVD from the library, then the 2nd, then the 3rd and so on.  I finally bought them on Amazon.  Now I was understanding and learning!

Aside from the incredibly successful techniques that Cesar uses, I was impressed that his methods would be endorsed and carried by the National Geo channel. I saw that the public loved him and appreciated his no-back-down style of rehabilitating a dog’s inappropriate behavior.  I also saw a parallel between Cesar's training philosophy and what we as parents should be doing in raising our children (minus the collar and leash, of course!)  Since child training with character holds a very dear place in my heart, I moved forward with a plan for my own dog behavior rehabilitation business, so that I could influence and help a clientel of my own.  (See Credentials).

I originally started a Dog Walking/Pet Sitting business called “Walks & Wags Pet Service”.  In a short period of time, I added a service called, “Behavioral HELP for Dogs!” which was the training/rehabilitation part.  I wrote a curriculum for both classroom and 1 on 1 instruction that would assist me in conveying these methods to my clients.  It was very well received by the public and very effective. 

Later I saw the need to add a service that would assist people in selecting the right puppy for them, bring it home correctly, get it situated and train it so that the client would end up with a dog that they could live harmoniously with for years to come.  This I named, “Start ‘m out Right ~ Puppies!"  

My last service to add in was “Matchmakers” which enables me to aid my clients in selecting the right dog for them no matter what age the dog or where we attain it from.  

In January of 2015 I sold Walks & Wags Pet Service, LLC to my daughter and assistant, Michelle, who has been with the business from the beginning and now runs it with excellence.  She handles the Dog Walking and Pet Sitting under the Walks & Wags banner.  I then started Behavioral HELP for Dogs! LLC, since my heart and skills are centered in assisting my clients in the ways I have described above.

Over the years, I have been able to help SO many people to understand the appropriate way to relate to their dogs, thus eliminating the sources of irritation or danger that they call me out for.  In some instances, I am their last resort before putting their dog down.  We have never lost a dog to euthanasia. (See Testimonials)  I have come a long way from that Obedience Commands class I attended with my sister.  What I do now includes so much more and gives people their lives back, so that they are free to fully enjoy their dogs and create healthier family dynamics.