For those of you whom I've not met your pooch through a training class, you may not know that when I'm not holding a camera, I'm holding the other end of a leash as a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Knowledge and Skills Assessed (CPDT-KSA for short) by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers.
When I left my corporate career as a vice president of worldwide sales for a software company, I went to the dogs - literally. I couldn't think of anything I wanted to do more than spend time with my dogs whom I missed so terribly when traveling (and my husband would humor me by lifting up to the camera on Skype calls). I started agility classes with one dog and earned a Canine Good Citizen certification with another; I loved training as much as I loved photography which led me to formalize my education and become certified. I still love it as much today and spend hundred of hours a year on continuing education which also benefits how I engage with pups when behind the camera.
I started training at Camp Bow Wow in Coppell in April of 2014 and on December 23, 2017 celebrated my 100th graduating class which was covered by a number of our local newspapers. Each class is six (6) weeks long and has between three (3) and five (5) students, so a LOT of well behaved dogs have walked out that door. I love seeing my students around town, it's not often that I go to the grocery store or a local restaurant and don't bump into someone I know. I'm excited for 2018 and have a packed class schedule with most classes selling out weeks before they even start.
It's fun when I photograph a former student, they get so excited to see me out of context (i.e. not in the training room at Camp) and their parents remark that they're always on the best behavior for me. I like to think they can tell that I truly love dogs, but it also might be the fact that I'm often wearing food as my treat bag rarely leaves my belt.
