Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ally Fuhs. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Ally , thanks for joining us today. Innovation comes in all shapes, sizes and across all industries, so we’d love to hear about something you’ve done that you feel was particularly innovative.

As a dog trainer, I have noticed that over the past several years there has been a shift in mindset around the animals we keep in our home. To many people, no longer are they just pets, now they are truly considered family members. This change has led many people to want to bring their dogs on road trips, vacations, shopping, and more. In response to this, I offer training that is customized to these goals and I help families set their dogs up for success within their new roles. I also partner with many small businesses to create lists of pet friendly parks, stores, and events for the community.

One of the most significant innovations I have made within my small business was created almost by chance. A couple years ago, two of my best friends were traveling across the country to get married. They are avid dog loves and wished their dog, Oatmeal, could be apart of their day. Being a trainer, I offered to road trip Oatmeal to their wedding. Along the way I took photos with Oatmeal and the bride’s bouquet which went viral online. I had a number of people reaching out and asking for their dogs to be in their weddings too. In response, I created the service Wags & Weddings. I now offer wedding pet handling for all of the mid-west and beyond. My wedding packages include transportation, pet attire (including tuxedos, flower crowns, and leashes), props for photos, posing pets for the main photographer, and even snapping some photos from the pets’ perspective throughout the event.

Ally , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Ally Fuhs. I have been a passionate and dedicated dog trainer for the past six years. My journey into dog training began with social work. After I graduated from Central Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in social work, I started working with at risk teenagers. I knew from the start that I wanted to get a puppy to train to be a therapy dog to help my clients. Therapy dogs are trained and certified to volunteer in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and more. When I got my puppy, I began training right away and fell absolutely in love with the process. I became an assistant to my trainer as I wanted to learn more. After a short time, a training position was opened to me within a local box store. I accepted the job and slowly allowed dogs to take over my life- in the best way! After almost four years with the box store, I decided to branch off and begin an in home dog training business, Captivated Canine, LLC. In the past two years we have grown to offer a variety of services including private training sessions, virtual training sessions, group classes, and professional pet handling for weddings. While my education in psychology helps me train dogs, my background in social work allows me to work well with their people. Dog training is just as much about effectively communicating with humans as it is dogs. I am happy to be able to do both for my clients.
Outside of working with dogs full time, I also love to attend dog events and compete with my personal dogs in disc, dock diving, and lure coursing. You can also still find us volunteering in schools and educating kids about dog safety.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think the biggest factor in building my reputation has been being personable, open, and communicative with my clients. I enjoy connecting with them beyond the work we do together. A big piece of that has been partnering with other dog trainers and small businesses in the area to serve clients, put on events, and uplift one another. I am huge advocate for being collaborative and helping other businesses out. By doing this, we all succeed and our clients are better served.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Social media is a huge piece of the puzzle for staying connected with previous clients and having them come back again and again when they get new dogs. I take photos and videos throughout my sessions and group classes. I even partner with a professional photographer, Evergreen Photography, to provide my group class students with holiday photos and special memories. I encourage clients to follow our social media pages so they can see their pups’ photos as well as the other dogs in their group classes. I regularly post about upcoming events within the community, share other small business posts, and provide training tips. Having these pages allows previous clients to continue to feel connected and it keeps them up to date on future events and classes they might like to join.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.captivatedcanine.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captivatedcanine/ AND https://www.instagram.com/wags.and.weddings/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaptivatedCanine/

Image Credits
Hayley Marie Photography Evergreen Photography