When Passions Merge

My name is David and I’m the full-time dog trainer at Petco in Barboursville, WV. My dog training journey started in 2015 when I was working as a Correctional Officer for the West Virginia Regional Jail Authority. My Australian Shepherd, Berkey, was a puppy and I quickly realized the importance of training dogs. My research began and I, like most trainers, started out by training my own dog. I had no idea what else was to come. That winter, we brought home my German Shepherd Puppy, Hezekiah. Family, friends, and co-workers started asking me dog-related questions; questions ranging from training to nutrition. Even to this point, I had no idea dog training professionally was an option.

It wasn’t until the next year that I started to get fed up with working at the jail, and without planning, decided to quit while taking “paid time off” on a boat on Lake Cumberland with my church family. It was on that boat that I realized I couldn’t do that anymore. The day after getting back, I turned in my resignation letter, and that same weekend, was offered a job at Petco. I started at the Teays Valley store, but when the full-time Dog Trainer Position became available in fall 2016 at the Barboursville store, the decision and transition was pretty easy. I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had to pursue this career, and I’m excited to further my education and continue learning.

In 2016, I started taking Vet Tech classes at Mountwest, and am pursuing an Associate’s Degree in Veterinary Technology. I want to receive my certification and then obtain a VTS-B (Veterinary Technology Specialist-Behavior) and specialize in behavior. I want to use this specialization towards my training, amongst several other opportunities I have forthcoming. Education is crucial in all professions, and continued education is especially important within the medical fields, teaching fields, and it’s no different for training dogs.

My goals are simple: to teach and educate. Studies have proven the physical and emotional effects that animals have on humans, and how a simple touch can even reduce things like blood pressure, heart rate, loneliness and reduce stress (Beetz et al., 2018). I want to replicate this for as many people as I possibly can. I also strive to educate people on the benefits and successes of reward-based animal training as opposed to the downsides of punishment-based training.

Right now, my family is small but growing. My wife, Candace, and I have our dogs—Berkley and Hezekiah—and we have three young cats: Charlotte, Edelman, and Esther. Candace and my hobbies include relaxing at home with the dogs and watching Netflix or sports, we also love to hike and camp, and enjoy the outdoors. We also have a tremendous church family that we love spending time with. We are active members at Twenty-Sixth Street Baptist Church, where Candace and I help as Youth Leaders. I am fortunate that Candace enjoys sports, and we like attending Cincinnati Reds baseball games and Marshall football and basketball games. We love to travel and take the dogs any opportunity we can!

Formerly, I attended high school at Huntington High, and had a passion for writing. I was Editor in Chief for the Highlander Press and garnered many writing and layout awards. I started at Marshall University as a Journalism major, but one thing led to another and I never fulfilled the dream of becoming a writer. Creating this blog is now a way for me to merge together an old talent and passion with a new talent and passion, and I am inviting you on this journey with me. As Dr. Andy Roark says, “Let’s be the people our animals deserve”.

 

Bibliography:

Beetz, Andrea, et al. “Psychosocial and Psychophysiological Effects of Human-Animal Interactions: The Possible Role of Oxytocin.” Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers Research Foundation, 2012, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3408111/.