My Pandemic Pivot - The Full Story

Watch the Replay

I love serving the world by teaching. Teaching is my truest passion, whether by teaching dog behavior one-on-one or on a larger scale.

I started my business in 2008 but what I do now looks very different from what I did back then. 

Now, I have two kids, ages 6 and 8, and since having them I moved from teaching group classes (in the evenings and on weekends) to focusing on one-on-one training. Prior to the Pandemic, I would travel from home to home while they were in school. I would work directly with clients and I had also developed a program where I could do much of the training with the dog while people were at work. 

In March 2020, I went to a training conference, one I had been looking forward to for months. I was in KY for 2 days and on the day the conference was due to have their opening ceremony, they canceled. Needless to say, I was both selfishly devastated and also had no idea what was to come. I couldn't get a flight home for another 2 days. I decided to self-quarantine for 2 weeks while my kids began their virtual schooling. That's where it all began...

An entrepreneur at heart, my head never stops spinning. During that 2 week span, I decided to start offering virtual training over Zoom but I had never used Zoom before. I had to start somewhere. I watched all the videos, tried all the technology I had at hand, and gave it a go. I offered virtual training to my current students to start with. A couple of them dug into it with me but most of them wanted to wait. They didn't feel that they were in a rush.

Well... they would've had to keep waiting and waiting. Soon, 2 weeks turned into 3...4...5. By then, I had gotten most of my current clients on board and started brainstorming ways to get others to give it a try.

I took on new one-on-one cases and people started to love it. They loved that their shy dog wasn't off hiding in another room because a stranger was in the house. They loved that they could replay our sessions. They loved that they didn't feel like they had to prep their house for a visitor (as much as I tell them not to worry about it... we all do it) and I think they secretly loved that they didn’t have to put on shoes​!

But then, I got a client who was very worried about her new puppy not having the opportunity to socialize with kids. After having recently lost their fur family members in the year prior and having dealt with a lot of anxiety and reactivity in them, they wanted to get this new pup really well socialized so she would be comfortable with their nieces and nephews. And well… I have kids. I was home. I had a fenced in yard and the ability to help. So I did.

​I offered what would become my Pandemic Puppy Program to them first. I set up a safe social-distancing drop off and pick-up setup and I jumped in. We socialized her like crazy. My kids helped me create games that other kids could play at home. We set up puppy stations, we practiced safe petting, we worked on her manners, we made all kinds of videos so her humans could see all her learning, we planned some puppy playdates. It was a lot of fun!

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Pretty soon, one puppy led to another from word of mouth and social media and before I knew it, our summer was filled with new puppies all the time and my opportunity to help clients get their pups off on the right paw with an opportunity to expose them to kids, to a new household full of new noises, new smells, new people. I was able to use those puppy videos I would make to help other puppy owners who were further away or couldn’t necessarily bring their puppy to me. ​

I have since been able to turn that content into mini courses and by the end of this month, I’ll be opening my Canine Homeschooler Academy. A place for dog owners to go to get videos lessons, courses, workshops, group coaching, games, challenges … all with the school theme. Elementary Pup, High School Pup, College Pup will be the standard levels to progress through for general manners and learning. Then there will be different extra curricular options and related arts: Sports, Tricks, Health. There is also a library, which is where you’ll be able to access all the resources as you need them. Finally, you’ll be able to earn extra credit treats during extra participation opportunities. Extra Credit Treats will have a monetary value so you can put them toward any add-on tutoring sessions or courses. Tutoring sessions on specific skills will be offered regularly. All members will get exclusive access to them at a discounted rate. 

My hope is to offer more people the opportunity for transformation, not just information.

If you are interested in learning more, I would recommend getting in on my next 5-day challenge. You'll get a taste of my live teaching style and will learn how to get your dog to listen up and stop ignoring you. Because a dog who doesn't listen when it counts ... well, we have to start there.

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Click to learn more!

The next challenge starts September 14th!