25/07/2022
“He’s peeing all over the place!”
“She never settles down!”
“My puppy is afraid of everything.”
“Walking this dog is impossible.”
“He never listens! It’s like I don’t exist!”
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I’ve been there. A million questions and even more answers, from every direction. With so much information available, it can feel overwhelming. You know where you want to be, but you don’t know where start, or where to go from here.
That’s where I come in.
My name is Kelsey Koetting and I am the training director at The Dog Yard Training Co.
I started out like anyone else, over ten years ago. I had a dog that I loved, but had no sense of direction. Eventually, I realized that dog ownership wasn’t enough — I wanted to know as much as I could.
My background in animal behavior did not start with dogs. I grew up with a passion for wild wolves and horses, and spent countless hours studying canine and equine ethology. After suffering an injury while pursuing a career working with horses, I changed direction and set my sights on our canine companions.
I started from the ground up in a kennel, running a daycare, and eventually got pulled into the training side of the business. I took that experience and ran with it, and twelve years and hundreds of dogs later, and The Dog Yard Training Co. was born.
After years of working for high-volume training kennels, where obedience training gets pumped out like parts in a car factory, I have found myself in a place where helping dog owners do more with their dogs through relationship-based training methods trumps all else.
The biggest setback of this kind of “mass-produced” training is the lack of support and coaching for dog owners, and the lack of education they receive. The dog will perform, depending on who is holding the leash, but the relationship between dog and owner was always lacking, and seemed stoic, removed of any kind of engagement or willingness to participate.
It was so sad to see, and even though it was my job, I found it hard to do. Teaching your dog how to live with you, and to relay expectations in a way your dog understands, should never suck the life out of you, or your dog. Living with dogs can be hard, but you don’t have to be miserable.
It IS possible to have fun while learning, to enjoy your dog, all the while maintaining crystal clear boundaries within your household.
It takes work, but that’s why I am here. Our love of dogs is timeless, and I want to be there to help you establish a healthy relationship with your dog, through clear expectations, proper management of boundaries, play, and learning.
Training methods continue to change and evolve as we learn more about canine psychology, but the constant remains the same: our love for them. Not just emotionally, but in how we care for them, as well.
Vet visits can be stressful, but they don’t have to be. With over 1,500 hours and counting of hands-on experience working in a veterinary clinic coupled with years of experience working with dogs, I can coach your dog or puppy through routine veterinary care for exams, nail trims, conditioning for gentle restraint techniques used by veterinary staff in preparation for preventative care, anesthesic procedures, routine lab work, and more.
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SERVICING THE SAINT CHARLES COUNTY AREA AND SURROUNDING MUNICIPALITIES: Lake St. Louis, Wentzville, O’fallon, Dardienne Prairie, Cottleville, St. Peter’s, St. Charles, Chesterfield, Lincoln County, etc
• Individual private lessons
• Private lesson packages
• In-home problem-solving and management coaching
• Headstart Puppy Foundation Packages
• The Perfect Patient: Cooperative Veterinary Care packages
PM today to book a consult!
