Why I Became A Dog Trainer
I never dreamed of being a dog trainer, in fact, it was never something I even considered until the day I decided to become one. So what lead me to that point?
In 2011 I got my first job in the dog industry at a doggy daycare. I was about to graduate and go on to Law School when I drove past a big picture window full of dogs. I stopped the car, walked right in, and said, “I have no experience with dogs, but I want to work here.” To my delight, they hired me! In 2012, I opened a pitbull rescue which quickly became known for taking in difficult cases; that’s when I met my soul mate. In late October, I walked into the city pound and noticed this big-eyed blue beauty named Tank. In awe, I placed my hand on his kennel door and stated that if he was dog friendly, I was taking him home. Two weeks later I got a call telling me that he was in fact dog friendly, but he was extremely, irrationally fear aggressive toward people and thus would not be available for adoption. I went in to meet him and was given the choice to take Tank in under my rescue and save his life, or leave him for a very certain fate. Naturally, I couldn’t allow that to happen, so the very next day, he was mine. We started our relationship on the right foot, working with a trainer to overcome his issues, but after 7 months a fight broke out between him and one of my own dogs which resulted in multiple serious injuries. At this point, I was left with another choice to make; either get Tank more qualified help, or euthanize him. Despite what multiple other trainers were telling me, that was something I was not willing to do, and adopting him out was certainly not an option. That’s when I called Duke Ferguson who introduced me to trainer Becky Herman, and in no time, Tank was on his way to bootcamp. It broke my heart to send him, but I knew it was exactly what he needed.
Tank was away at training for 2 months, the entire time of which I was terrified that he would come back the same dog and I would have to euthanize him anyway. To my astonishment, when Tank returned from training, I could walk him down the Halifax board walk on a sunny Sunday afternoon with children, adults, and dogs everywhere, and he just walked at my heel, looking to me for reassurance and ignoring everything else. He was truly happy, and so was I. I’ll admit at first I was terrified, but for once, it wasn’t because I thought Tank would bite someone, it was because I didn’t want to ruin this new dog that he had become. Thankfully with group classes, ongoing support, a truly amazing rehabilitation, and the perfect adoptive family, his transition into home life was smooth and effective. That was the moment I knew I wanted to become a dog trainer; I never wanted to experience such a traumatizing event again in my life, and I wanted nothing more than to help the dogs like Tank who truly need it and their owners who have found themselves in similar situations as I did.
To prepare myself, I left my job of 8 years for a position at the city pound where I could get firsthand experience handling dogs of all temperaments. It was during that time that I met Blitz, but unfortunately due to an NDA, I cannot tell you the details of his rescue. Needless to say, my job was gone and I now owned an unbalanced pitbull who I adored. In 2014 I went to the Unleashed Potential K9 Academy and studied under Master Trainer, Duke Ferguson. He helped me rehabilitate Blitz, taught me how to train dogs, and became my business mentor and friend.
In 2015, I opened Unleashed Potential K9 The Valley where I spent 6 years continuing my education and learning something new from each of the hundreds of dog and owners that I’ve trained. I travelled the country learning under professionals in the business such as Karen Laws, Tracey Franken, Ted Efthymiadis, Evan Doggett, Jay Jak, Erin Dibbin, and Jeff Gelman, as well as attending the annual International Association for Canine Professionals conference.
In the year 2021, amidst a worldwide pandemic, I decided that life was too short to be living someone else’s dream; and so, Camellia’s Wild Dog Training was born. An avenue for me to help people like you with dogs just like Tank and Blitz, to find their true potential.
