We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michael Lobato a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Michael , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?

Over the years doing dog training I’ve seen and been victim of becoming absolute in any one method/way of working with dogs or how to convey that message to owners. When you first start out as a trainer you only know what you’ve been shown. Generally by someone else that has been doing whatever that thing is for a long time. These mentors or methodologies can become the end all be all in anything we do, because we only know the information they gave us at the time. When you don’t know other methods or ways of doing things you can end up in a bubble and dismiss new information. Part of this, I believe, comes from fear. The fear that you will have to learn new things or the fear that what you have taught or shown someone might be wrong or not the best. You have to address that fact that we may have to go back on something the past version of us said. This stops a lot of people from growing. Earlier as a dog trainer I had one method and I would argue up and down to anyone that had new ideas or said anything different. At the time, I thought knew everything. Luckily I grew out of it, but there are a lot of folks that get stuck there and never grow. In dog training it becomes very obvious and dangerous to get stuck in any one way of doing something. That dog in front you doesn’t know about that class you took and that in a workbook he’s supposed to do A when you do B. I have plenty of stories and carry many scars from bites where being stubborn on “this should work” didn’t work. Now when I work with dog owners and other trainers. I always say “as of this moment, this is how I feel and what I think, but this will and should change as time goes on.” You have to be open to grow. To help dogs and owners you have to be open to new ideas and concepts. Not just in dogs, but I believe in anything you do.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I really got started working with dogs at 16. I got my first dog, a Boston Terrier named Crunk. When I got crunk I dove into all the dog training material I could find. I was obsessed with dogs as a kid, but didn’t have one until now, and I wanted to have the best relationship I could have with him. We found out crunk was deaf and the opened up a whole new window of figuring out how to train my first dog, but also a deaf dog. I worked with a trainer with him and got hooked. I started working with not just trainers, but others in the dog world to grasp any new information I can get. Fast forward I started training with some clients, running group classes, etc. At this point we were at an adoption event and my now wife and I adopted a rescue cattle dog, Prudence, that became very dog reactive. That led me down the world of working aggressive and reactive dogs. Not just as a dog trainer, but as someone that was going through what my clients were going through. It allowed me associate with them more and get them and their dogs great results because I was able to experiment with her daily to see what worked and what didn’t. This led me to being one of the go to trainers in our area for reactive dogs. I’m now happy to say I have helped and worked with over 3,000 dogs and people over the span of my years. Offering options that fit their and their dogs needs. One of the greatest things we’ve been able to create is our giant group walks. These are walks designed to keep the training going with our clients. These are part of our training programs. I love that we get to see people and their dogs over the long term, not just during their designated training times. Nothing is cooler than looking at a trail with 40+ dogs and their owners walking calmly. Many of them former dog reactive dogs now being able to enjoy these moments in life.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Showing results. Most of the people that reach out to me have either seen a dog I worked with or know someone who I worked with. I stand by the training programs we offer. My programs come with follow ups and group walks. Once you sign up for my training, you are entitled to that. I can’t run away from you if we don’t get where we need to be. I don’t care if I get paid once and we work with your dog for 2 years. Im going to be there. I don’t stake my business on the cash transaction, but on the long term effect we can have on the dog and the owner. This commitment to the dogs and their owners is what I’m here for. This gives people the confidence that we can change their relationship with their dog for the better.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Anyone reading this might be coming from my instagram page. Recently I leaned in to creating more content broadly for dog owners, not just dog training. Mostly in the form of memes. I know it’s cheesy and kind of a cheap trick way of getting folks to land on your page. However I have a blast making them. It’s my way of putting out the “we’ve all had one of these situations with our dogs.” It’s a fun creative venture. I love that people will send me a random clip of a show or a movie and say “you could probably do something with this.” For growth, I know everyone says it, but it’s deemed true. Post consistent and find what folks are engaging with. Engage back, be authentic, and have fun. Don’t just take the templated Canva format and post the same material 50 other people in your niche are posting. Try to venture out, take a risk, if it doesn’t work, try something else. No ones paying as much attention as you think.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lobatodogtraining.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lobatodogtraining/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LobatoDogTraining/
• Youtube: https://YouTube.com/lobatodogtraining