We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alan White. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alan below.

Alan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

It all started in 1969 when Alan got his very first German Shepherd. In 1972, he donated her to the military to become a Military Working Dog with the stipulation he would be her handler after completing training.

This began an eleven-year journey in the military (USAF & USMC) where he would train and handle five (5) different dogs as a Patrol Dog and/or Bomb/Explosives Dog Handler working on stateside bases; in the American Embassy in several foreign countries and ending his service with HMX-1, the Presidental Helicopter Sq.

After the military, I held several different positions, but always wanted to get back into dog training. After retiring from the Veteran’s Administration, in 2017, I was asked to help train a friend’s dog… then another and another… It grew and grew until I decided to open a training facility to “fill the need” I was seeing in the local area. From 2018 through 2023, we trained the community’s dogs in Basic Obedience, Advanced Obedience, Public Access Training and Therapy Dog training and certifications. I am currently an approved Evaluator for the American Kennel Club (AKC) and The Bright & Beautiful Therapy Dogs, Inc.

Due to an incident in the Summer of 2023, we have realigned our company to only do Training & Certifications for the Bright & Beautiful Therapy Dogs and Evaluations for the AKC.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

We charged a tuition fee for the lessons & group classes that we held. We were also a non-profit organization and received private and corporate donations for funding.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

We limited to our classes to 10 dogs and their humans. This allowed for more personal, one-on-one attention to the client and their issues with their dog. Even though it was a Group class, we trained the dogs as individuals, and not as a “cookie-cutter” class. We also offered Private classes/lessons for those that just could not commit to a schedule of our Group classes.

When we had our facility, we were able to offer training in rain or shine, hot or cold weather with or indoor training and our 1 acre fenced, outdoor facility.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.WhiteHavenCanine.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhiteHaven.Canine
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@whitehavencanine3771