Background

As a child my cocker spaniels used to put on shows for my friends. We had carnivals & we were the ‘dog act’. The dogs jumped through hula hoops, spoke, retrieved and impressed with ‘off’ and ‘take it’ tricks.

In the 70’s my love of 4 wheel drive trucks introduced me to some dog trainers that needed this type of vehicle to drive to fields to track their dogs. I saw my first Rottweiler & some gorgeous looking German Shepherds. I purchased a German Shepherd, Owen Simon of Redwood, from a breeder who was importing a lot of working dogs to show in the United States. Simon was a grandson of Erko vom Dinkland & Mecky vom Klemmel, a Lightner product.

I soon joined a Schutzhund club run by Dr. Herb Priser. Ken Burger from the Chicago Police K9 Corps was also a very generous member with his tremendous knowledge and experience. My martial arts background made me a natural for the receiving end of the bite work — the helper. This position makes you an integral part in the process of training all the dog and handler teams in a club.

It is easy to make a good dog look good. It is an accomplishment to also be able to make a weak dog or handler able to produce a presentable performance. Recognizing and being able to read performance and give constructive criticism is what I can offer. I have many techniques and options. I believe positive motivation and reinforcement produce a better dog than forced training methods.

I want a dog that works with his head up, tail waggin’ and as much eye contact as possible. I have trained with top trainers from around the world and worked with AKC Utility Trainers over the past 35 years. It is one thing to train an 8 week old puppy bred and picked for a particular instinct and temperament with a job to do in his future. It is something quite different to deal with regular people and families.