Our Journey

Training Journey

A few months before I adopted Sadie and Dexter, I had returned from a medical mission to Iraq and had severe PTSD. I had become very attached to them and began searching for someone who could help us. Dexter was very destructive in the house when I was gone (AKA separation anxiety). In short order I had large holes in my carpet the size of manhole covers, he tore a book into tiny pieces, and ate through several electrical cords. He even chewed on doorways and cabinets. He ate at least 4 or 5 dog beds, and put a decent hole in the drywall from INSIDE his crate.

Taking them for walks was like an Olympic sport. Sadie could have been a sled dog for sure. Dexter had extremely high prey drive and went after every bunny and squirrel. I got a concussion while walking him because he went after a bunny and I was afraid to let go of his leash. My feet slipped out from under me because it was raining and my head hit the ground. A friend stayed with them for a weekend and she twisted her ankle badly. Dexter almost dragged me off of a cliff on a hike and I had to drag him back up onto the trail by his harness. We tried every collar and harness I could find, and finally one day I found a trainer who told me about a prong collar. This was the beginning of a whole new life for us. He taught us to walk safely on leash, how to go to place and lay down and be calm. 

I could take them to coffee shops and go for hikes without fearing for my life. I could actually enjoy my dogs, and so could the people around me. I could trust them to be around children because I knew they would stay in place. In my nursing career I have seen horrific and life altering injuries from family dogs; dogs that people NEVER thought would hurt their children. I never want this to happen to anyone else. There is so much more to our story, but I want you to know that I know where you’re coming from. I have been there with my own pups and I know there’s a solution. You can have the life you’ve always wanted with your dog. Coffee shops, hikes, bike rides, a peaceful existence at home. This is possible. There is hope.

And even if your dog does pretty well most of the time, maybe a selective listener, or you just want to expand their world and be able to trust them in more circumstances, I can help you achieve your maximum potential.

Nutrition Journey

When I brought Dex and Sadie home, they had been re-homed twice already. Probably because Dexter was a real handful. I was incredibly unprepared for adopting two big dogs. Besides destruction and anxiety issues, within a few weeks, Dexter started having severe GI issues and intermittently refusing to eat. Sadie soon followed. I tried many things to coax him to eat, went back and forth to the vet, tried every dog food out there, etc. Maybe you’ve been in the same boat. As the months passed and I exhausted all of the options from a medical standpoint, and spent ridiculous amounts of money, I decided to change course. I was extremely sleep deprived from Dexter’s emergency diarrhea in the middle of the night, and there wasn’t a square foot left of carpet that hadn’t been puked or pooped on by one of them. 

Since the vet had ruled out medical issues, I had to evaluate what I was feeding. I knew nothing of pet nutrition until I started asking questions and doing the research. I had no help, and didn’t know where to get help. Unfortunately, our vet was not on board with going the real food/raw food route, although she eventually acknowledged that it worked. The initial part of our journey was about a year of multiple nights a week of projectile diarrhea and vomiting, then about 6 months of healing their guts with a raw food diet and strategic supplements. Once we were sleeping though the night, and the dogs were eating and gaining their weight back, I realized we had survived. 

I would have given anything to have someone help guide me through all of that without the guesswork and hours and days spent researching. I could have saved hundreds of dollars on bad food and vet visits, and saved my pets from some of the suffering. I decided to become a certified pet nutrition consultant so that I could help others avoid some of the frustrations that we endured.