Hello and welcome. I was starting to write this from a 3rd party perspective, as so many of these things are but it wasn’t going well. So instead, I am here to tell our story as if I am talking to a new friend.

 How it started:

              I had been working as a nurse (LPN) for about 10 years and was on my way to becoming an RN. I was getting sick of the nursing field though. Don’t get me wrong, I loved being a nurse. What I did not like was the politics around it as well as how corporate everything was becoming.

              In the meantime, I had been diving into dog training. From a young age I had loved working with my dogs. I had taught our family dog Penny, a springer spaniel, to unwrap herself from the tree her run was attached to with the cue “other way”. I also taught her to find treats I would hide and play hide and seek with me.

              As an adult I dove into training with my German Shepherd. For the first half of her life, I thought that there were certain situations in which she would always be a “bad dog”. She was reactive and even aggressive with any other dog. Taking her on a leashed walk was a nightmare. I had tried taking her to training as a puppy, but was removed from a class because she was too disruptive. I turned to a few other people but it seemed there was no one local that could help.

              Eventually I began teaching myself. I did tons of research. I enrolled in CATCH Canine Academy and became a certified trainer. Then I dove into behavior modification. I studied different theories and why or why not they worked. I found my nursing background, especially the mental health pieces, helped me understand the concepts I was learning.  

              After working with my own dog and seeing amazing results I began working with other peoples’ dogs. I discovered that I had a knack for it. More than that, I loved doing it.

              The pieces started falling into place. The training I was doing was only supposed to be part time outside of nursing, but it was starting to pick up. I put a business plan together and went over it with Mark. Pretty soon I would be leaving nursing and switching careers. I was not only doing training but dog walking, pet sitting and even boarding dogs in my house. When I decided I needed a place to train dogs in inclement weather I reached out to a family member and as luck would have it, she had office space for rent. The facility that is now known as Daley Obedience was born.

How it’s going now:

               I was managing boarding, daycare and training. Mark would help when I was busy on weekends. He started joking about leaving his job to work for me. We thought it would take years for us to get to that point. Joke was on us!

              Mark is certified in refrigeration and had been working for the same company 20+ years. He was ready for a change. As you can probably imagine, the idea of putting all our eggs in one basket was pretty scary. We spent a lot of time talking about if the time was right. Finally, it was time to jump in.

              Mark really enjoys working with all the dogs that come through the door. He is normally the one you’ll see when dropping your dogs off in the morning. He has really enjoyed the change from being behind a desk all day to spending more time outside walking dogs. He also enjoys the silliness that goes along with playing with them.

We are both continuing to grow and learn. He is in the process of learning how to train the basics. He has also been learning some of the behavioral concepts through helping me. It has been very helpful having someone who understands what I am doing and asking of him when working with more serious cases. Soon he will start the same mentorship program I completed this past year.

Where it’s going:

              Daley Obedience has teamed up with another local trainer in the area to provide some group classes. This gives you 2 trainers to work with, explain concepts, demonstrate handling and follow up with. We are looking to get more group classes together starting this spring.

              We have already been able to add another kennel to our facility. Eventually we are hoping to move to our own property where we can live and work in the same place. This will keep in line with providing a homey experience for dogs in our care, as well as treating each dog as if they were our own.

              We are so thankful for all the support we have received. We have met some wonderful people and have been able to help some great dogs. We plan on being a resource for the community for a long time, or as long as you will let us!