About Me...
My relationship with animals started at a very young age. My father owned and trained horses outside Mexico city so I spent almost every weekend of my childhood riding and learning with my dad about horses. My true love was always dogs and everyone in my family would say that although we had family dogs, they always belonged to me.
I got involved in dog training in 2008, after acquiring my first golden retriever, Ginger. Since then, I have been uninterruptedly teaching and taking obedience classes, attending seminars and learning about dog training hands-on and autodidactically through any resources, I can get my hands on. Since 2009, I have spent countless hours as a volunteer instructor with many non-profit organizations on the island and for the past 3 years as a private coach. In 2017, I had the opportunity to spend a summer learning from one of the most well balanced, successful and accomplished trainers in North America, Connie Cleveland. That summer was pivotal to establishing my training philosophy.
A very important influence on my work as a dog trainer and coach is my “day job”. I have been a high school teacher for fourteen years and I am able to adapt my lessons to the dog in front of me but also the handler. It is part of my training and daily practice as a teacher to break down skills, concepts and problems into small pieces, to assess progress and set manageable goals. Like in my classroom, I do not measure my success as a coach on the skills and performance of my own dogs, but rather on the success of my clients and their dogs.
I am a balanced trainer and strongly believe that the best and most successful performance dog must be first a good pet that you enjoy living with. A well behaved dog that understands the rules he must live by will enjoy a much better quality of life than the spoiled brat that is always pushing the boundaries. My training approach is very eclectic. I am open to learning new methods and techniques aiming to always make decisions based on the best interests of my clients and their dogs with their safety, needs and goals in mind.
About My Dogs
Ginger
Chester
Jet
Chaos
The truth is that, despite the knowledge I have acquired over the years, the foundation of my skills as a trainer are the result of the many hours I have spent working with my own dogs and observing others working their dogs.
Ginger, Chester, Jet and Chaos keep me humble and remind me that I don’t know as much as I think.
My first golden retriever, “Ginger” (OTCH HRCH Goldngun Ginger Dare to Flirt Can *** MH UD WCX CGN RNMCL), came into my life as a pet dog, but she had other plans and opened the door of competitive obedience and fieldwork for me. A month after turning 4, Ginger achieved her OTCh title by passing 3/4 utility runs with scores over 190 with her very inexperienced handler! Ginger also excelled in the field and completed her MH, and became a Can QAA by 2014. We attended the 2015 Canadian Master National test, and although we got disqualified, it was a great achievement just to step to the line together. My gratitude to my beautiful genius dog is endless. She hooked me up with success but reminded me daily that achievements are the direct result of consistent effort...even when you are tired.
In 2012 along came Chester (NMH GMH MOTCH HRCH UH Goldngun Winchester RumbleShot MH WCX Am. CDX CCA). He truly is the boy of my dreams! Together, we have shared blood, sweat and tears to achieve so much more than I ever dare to dream. He was not easy as a young dog and still sometimes gives me “a run for my money” (hence his well-earned nickname Jackie the Jackass), but the journey has been worth it. His eagerness to work and the incredibly close bond that we have built over the years gives me a feeling of joy that I have never felt before.
Jet, AKA Jetters McSweaters, came into my life at the tender age of 12. Nobody knows if I kept the dog because of the man or I kept the man because of the dog but Jet was one special boy. He taught me so much about life, love, determination and purpose. Jet was only with me for 2 years but he left a permanent mark on my life. Thanks to Jet, I learned that a dog of a certain age, who is wise and kind has earned the right to decide what commands are reasonable to follow and disregard the rest as mere suggestions.
2020 was the year when Chaos (Zaniri Goldngun DareToLive In Chaos) took over our lives. In our favour, we named her before the pandemic LOL! That little girl is a fireball and “having a blast” is a short sell on the amount of fun that little lady brings into our days. Someone told me that “life is too short to live with a pushy bitch” but let me tell you, on the contrary, Chaos has proven that “life is too short to live WITHOUT a pushy bitch”. I don’t know what my life with Chaos will be, but when I work with her, when I watch her run, when she pushes all the buttons to see what happens, my heart tells me that the road ahead will be memorable and joyful.