In my heart of hearts I’m a teacher. Many of my students go on to achieve amazing things with their dogs because my first and foremost goal is being the best coach/teacher I can be to my students and their dogs.
I believe this is the case because I am a creative thinker, with a flare for fun.
When I’m teaching a skill to a student/dog team I work from a triad.
- What is the human student’s learning style?
- What is the dog’s learning style?
- I present the information to that team to meet the needs of both learning styles.
When I write lectures and create videos, I consciously explain the concepts in different ways to reach different learning styles.
I take the time explain why one way might work for your dog vs a conventional approach.
I’m very process oriented, with end goals in mind, and I make sure we have fun during that process.
Sometimes the process does not “look” like what one would expect it to, to reach an end goal, but I won’t steer you wrong — there is always a good reason, and I’m always willing to discuss it.
At the end of the day, I’m way more concerned about my students meeting their training goals and being successful with their dogs than I ever am about my own.
My own Mongrel Empire dogs are titled in Herding, Tricks, Rally, Team, and Agility. I have had multiple High in Trials in Herding with multiple dogs that include pedigreed dogs and my mutt, Dori Time.
In herding some of my recent CKC accomplishments are: My Pearl Girl achieved her CKC Herding Championship in 3 days of trialing with all her scores High in Trial & Reserve High in Trial and was awarded overall High Aggregate Scores in Arena Sheep and Stock Dog Sheep.
Dori Time, was the #1 CKC Top Dog mixed breed division. She has her CKC Advanced Versatility Award, her CKC Trick Dog Championship and her CKC Herding Started Title with High in Trials and Reserve High in Trials.