A little bit about us….
I grew up always wanting a dog and begged my parents year after year with no success until finally once I graduated high school and had a job (promising to pay for everything) my mom finally agreed.
I found a farm that was giving away free puppies due to an accidental litter from a Labrador and a Great Pyrenees. I picked one out and named him Smores. Shortly after getting the puppy, I joined the Coast Guard and went to boot camp. After finishing boot camp, I came home to my dog being quite large and quite out of control. After getting stationed in Florida, I had ongoing problems with Smores. Smores would run out the door and around the entire apartment complex, chew and destroy everything in the house, get into fights with other dogs, hide every time there was a thunderstorm, and was difficult to walk on a leash. Having no control over such a large dog came with lots of difficult and embarrassing moments.
I realized it was necessary to train Smores.
I learned to truly appreciate the process of learning training methods from YouTube videos and watching Cesar Millan’s show, and fell in love with dog training and the results and relationship I built with Smores. I was able to take Smores everywhere: hiking, kayaking, Home Depot…if dogs were allowed, Smores came with me. It made having a dog enjoyable. Life became easier day to day, and life was just better. I thought, If I had these kinds of problems with my dog and was able to enjoy the process and results this much, I would love to be able to help others experience the same thing.
I met Sarah while we were both stationed in Astoria, OR. We happened to both have our contracts ending just a few months apart from each other and Sarah was able to convince me not to resign, but rather, pursue my passion of becoming a dog trainer after my 12 years of service.
Once we got out of the Coast Guard, we moved to Santa Barbara, CA where Sarah got her master’s in environmental science and management and I started automotive classes at the local community college and found part time work at K-Nine Solutions, voted the best dog training company in Santa Barbara 5 years in a row. I started as an assistant trainer, absorbing knowledge from the lead trainers and always volunteering to help with different dogs. Within 3 months, I was asked to become a lead trainer. Once my first semester finished, I became a full-time lead trainer at K-Nine Solutions. I ended up training and assist training over 300 dogs within a year and a half and enjoyed the work so much, I knew I wanted to open my own business.
Before starting United We Train, I wanted to go to one of the most elite dog training schools in the world, the Tom Rose School for Professional Dog Trainers. I took the master dog trainer course, a 5-month program that tests you and your dog’s ability to learn and perform tasks including: American Kennel Club (AKC) novice agility, AKC novice obedience, Internationale Gebrauchshund Prüfung (IGP) 1 tracking, IGP 1 obedience, scent detection, AKC Canine Good Citizen, Therapy Dog International, search and rescue/felon search, guided retrieve, protection decoy/helper, and teaching group and 1:1 classes. Graduating requires performing the curriculum as if competing in these dog sports and gaining a passing score for each.
For the program, I trained a Rottweiler (Major) and a Giant Schnauzer. The Giant Schnauzer, Wrangell, is now our personal pet, and Sarah’s very first dog. With these two dogs, I graduated the program as a master dog trainer.
That 5 month program was more challenging than boot camp, but learning from different world class dog trainers deepened my understanding of dog training. I learned about dog psychology, precise technique, the importance of play and how to use play sessions as training sessions and so much more. The Tom Rose School helped me become a better, well-rounded dog trainer.
Through all my experiences in the past 3 years, I have come to realize dogs need to have guidance on how to live in our human world. They need to be challenged mentally and physically, to have a strong bond with their family, to have clear communication they can understand, and consistent and fair expectations. Everyone needs to be towing the line in the same direction and work as a team, united!
At United We Train, we want to work with families and their dogs to improve their lives and their dog’s lives.
