DOGGIE DOG BLOG

Posted by: David Harris

Pictures by: David Harris 

I first came to Lexington, Kentucky, in 1987 to start my professional dog training career.  I had spent many months preparing my business plan and had chosen this part of Kentucky after thoroughly researching the demographics of the area.  I was convinced that this area would be perfect for the type of service I was interested in providing to the public.  As a matter of fact, SERVICE was the middle name of my business then - Canine Services Unlimited.  You can still see my old website using the way back machine at http://www.archive.org/web/web/php, an unusual site that archives websites that are no longer on the web. You can see my old website here: http://tinyurl.com/3sqypz it was created many years after coming to Kentucky.   At first my business model was not very sophisticated and was based solely upon the referral of established veterinarians in the area.  I set up appointments with local vets, showed them my portfolio and explained how our two services complimented each other.  I was very well received, and my very first referral came in less than a week of living in Kentucky.  Dr. Michael Gentry, then working out of Richmond Road Veterinary clinic, referred a client to me who had an unruly Old English Sheepdog named Blarney.  Having no physical business location at that time, Blarney was trained at a local park.   

 This picture shows Blarney and his owner working with me more than twenty years ago.  Since then, there have been thousands of referrals and thousands more Blarneys, but each and every one has a unique history and a unique story to be told. From then until now my training service has been based on addressing the individual needs of each dog and each client.  There are many, many ways to effectively train dogs.  Which method used must be based on a realistic understanding of not only the dog’s needs, but that of the owner.  There is very little use in telling an owner to use a method that does not suit his or her own unique physical and mental abilities.  For example I once retrained a dog for a woman that was in her late seventies.  Her previous trainer had tried to teach her to train her dog to down using a leg sweeping method popular at the time, but this owner was physically incapable of using this method.  Predictably, both the owner and the dog failed to learn and the trainer did not assume blame; instead the dog was blamed for its failure to learn, when in reality the blame lay in the method of training, not in the dog or the owner. Every dog can learn!  Every dog can improve!  It is just a matter of finding the right method to fit the individual needs of the home unit.  I take into consideration everything: breed and age of dog, sex, pedigree, individual temperament, upbringing, nervous structure and reactivity of the dog as well as all the relevant details of the owner’s experiences and home life.  Armed with this type of information and a wealth of knowledge based on thirty years of study and practical application of ALL methods of training, I devise a plan that has a very high degree of success when applied correctly.  Even then, I often find myself learning on-the-job and flexing my methods to fit as the situation ebbs and wanes with the flow of life. Having realistic expectations, solid goals and a firm understand of WHY their dogs do what they do, arms my customers with the tools they need to gradually and continually move their dogs’ behavior into better alignment with the owners’ expectations and needs of them.  Once both the dog and owner are in understanding of each other, we find a sort of harmony coming into their lives.  At this point both the owner and dog begin to enjoy each other on a level never felt before.  That is the goal of my life - to enhance the joy of owning a dog, to help and guide people in their understanding of how wonderful dogs can be when their lives are guided into a better rhythm with their owners so that everyone is having their needs meet. If you have training questions or needs please feel free to write or call. 

David Harris

dogmailcsu@aol.com 

502-542-9747