Colleen Johnson, “High Prairie Dog Trainer”
It’s been a rough few years for many of us, with circumstances changing at the drop of a hat. Five years ago I had a nice little startup business breeding French Bulldogs. I finally felt like life was going my way. Unfortunately, COVID struck and gradually destroyed the market for French Bulldogs. I began searching for a job, not realizing that it would lead to a wonderful opportunity.
From the time I was a little girl we owned about every type of animal. My mother loves animals, and Dad was always bringing home little injured wild animals for her to nurse back to health. We had domestic, wild, farm and exotic animals. (The day Dad brought home a Caiman Crocodile, though, he crossed the line. Needless to say, Mom was not impressed. A baby skunk would have been accepted in a heartbeat, but reptiles were not her thing!)
I spent a large part of my early childhood playing with baby animals. When I was about four or five years old, dogs captured my heart. My mother explained the basics of training a dog (as were used back in the day). I was fascinated, and started “training” our dogs. I remember having some success even back then. I was so proud of myself! Although over the years training took a back seat, my love of dogs never did.
I have recently learned a lesson in following your heart when the chips are down. While looking for a new job, I felt really discouraged by online job search sites. They took me in circles trying to get to the applications and contact numbers. Then I saw a job offer from Petco and became very excited. However, once again I could not get the application to “send” after filling it out. At first I was disappointed and ready to give up. Then it occurred to me that there is only one Petco in the area, so I called them. Not only did they send me an application, they walked me through their whole process. Within a couple of days I had an interview. Afterward, I still didn’t know if I’d get the job – they had a few more people to interview.
A funny mistake ended the suspense. I noticed that autofill had put my son’s name on my application. I almost cried, because I figured they’d think I was a complete idiot. No way was I going to get the job. I called the hiring manager to tell them about the mistake, and he said, “Oh, that’s no problem. I was just getting ready to call you. You blew us away, so we decided not to even interview the others. I have an idea for you, though. How would you like to be our Dog Trainer?” Of course I said yes!
It was quite a process going through online training for the position; but once I started actually working with dogs, I realized I was a natural. I communicate with them on their level and they cooperate. Sometimes it feels like magic. More than once, I explained to the pet parent what behavior I was going to teach the dog and what the dog was going to do. Then I took the leash and the dog just did it. It’s like the dog had listened to the conversation and thought, “I’ve got this.”
I learned the basic techniques from Petco’s Program, but it was confining. I didn’t like the restrictions of the program or the atmosphere I was training in. I felt Petco was holding me back. I wanted to give my clients their money’s worth and the dogs the opportunity to advance naturally. I knew I could offer more if I did things my way. I started studying other types of training and offering my own style that I had used in training my French Bulldog puppies from birth.
Then my dad got sick and almost died from septic shock. He needed a caregiver, and I had that experience in my tool box. I quit my job at Petco so I could be up here in High Prairie helping Mom and Dad; but I became aware of another great option for dog training: I could go mobile. People had asked me many times, at Petco, if I could do outside training at their homes or meet in parks. I had had to say no. Now, however, I can offer personalized sessions instead of boxed deals, and I can go to my clients. I no longer work for Petco, but I am now a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and get to do what I love. I am much happier and still able to be here for my parents.
The moral of this story is… Never give up. Know your worth. Believe in yourself. Be yourself. Never let anything or anyone hold you back. You’ve got this.
This is Piper, a wonderful and very energetic Border Collie mix that I trained while working at Petco. I wish I’d been able to train her my way. Though we got her trained, it was made much more difficult because of the crackerbox, one-size-fits-all Petco program.
Our Locations…
704 Centerville Hwy (The Old Fire Station)
701 Struck Rd (Community Center)
783 Centerville Hwy (3 Family Yard Sale)
410 Centerville Hwy
1030 Horseshoebend Rd
Other locations to be determined…
Maps at each location