In 2020, I worked a neighborhood pharmacy where I would meet a being that would forever change the course of my trajectory. I named him Tuco and he would become the rosebud that propelled my interest in the world of training.

Like the majority of those in the dog field, my story is no different, I grew up with dogs. When I was about eight, my older sister took me to a Yorkie litter where she decided upon ‘Venus’— my first dog experience. As the years passed, my mother would take strays, and after I acquired my home I too continued the tradition. I would utilize forums and sites to either find their original home or rehome them.

Tuco was emaciated, bruised and swollen at the hindquarters from injury, he also had a severe disorder of chasing his tail, catching and biting it until it bled. This obsessive behavior would consume the entire day. I frequented websites at first, followed by veterinarian clinics to find the reason for this behavior, unsure whether it was parasitic or pain. The variables were vast and the solutions a mystery, somewhere along the search I began working with him; I cannot remember if I had come across information relative to his condition or if my patience with the battle had come to a precipice. We started small, ‘sit’s, ‘down’s, and maybe a ‘speak’, but even with this minute introduction of teaching, changes began to happen. I questioned his intelligence at first, but soon learned despite what I thought was unintelligence, was just a lack of unlocking very competent potential. Time went by and I was rewarded by his behavioral improvement through training, structure and discipline.

Growing up with dogs, we often fail to appreciate the species by coddling and corrupting their strengths with the lack of leadership and stability—absence of even tough love, at times. I developed an understanding that though love and affection is paramount, so too is structure and the awareness one needs to heed as it effects the animal. After a DNA test for breed, I learned Tuco was a German Shepherd dog and so sought realms in which he would exceed. I learned his breed was created by a man who also developed what would become a popular dog sport in America called IGP/Schutzhund. It was then that I began searching for a dog club that included such sport, to further Tuco and his training and also my thirst for the training world. Seeing Tuco transform from such a unlearned, mentally imprisoned being into a more proficient student, who excelled in a variety of lessons, is what ignited my passion for dog training.

Tuco is still in my life and he always will be. He now lives with a wonderful family where we continue to keep connected, be that visits or through the world wide web. My hope is to instill some of my fondness that is the craft of dog training into others, so they too can enjoy their lives even more with their dogs and the dogs can be a stronger version of themselves. Behavioral modification and even obedience is not an over night endeavor, but nothing great happens over night! I have much more to learn and never plan to stop being a student of the field. This is my pursuit of passion, not wealth.