We were lucky to catch up with Becky & Gueseppe Junio recently and have shared our conversation below.
Becky & Gueseppe, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?
Dog trainers are generally dog lovers, and trainers that work for incorporated pet stores are no different. However, the methods and ideology that corporations teach aspiring dog trainers isn’t really ideal for the client’s overall success.
The thing about corporate dog training is that it’s not really about the dogs, it’s about money, image, and pushing products.
Let’s talk about the group classes that corporation pet stores advertise. The idea is that dog owners get to learn how to train while their dogs get used to being around other dogs. Sounds great, right?
The truth is that you end up in a small room with inexperienced handlers and untrained dogs. The class ends up being chaotic and it’s a difficult environment for both the handlers and the dogs to learn in.
While in the learning phase of obedience, it’s best for dogs to be in a distraction-free environment (like at home). That’s why we strongly encourage one-on-one training where the dog is able to learn in a less stimulating environment. Group classes are not so great for learning new skills. They are better utilized in the proofing phase to challenge the dog to perform the obedience they already understand in a more difficult environment.
While it’s important to socialize your dog, it’s even more important that you understand the difference between direct socialization and indirect socialization.
Direct socialization is interacting with things. This builds VALUE. Indirect socialization is being around things without interacting with them. This builds INDIFFERENCE.
Corporations encourage customers to bring their new dogs to puppy play times and puppy classes, but this builds VALUE for strange dogs, which leads to puppies that go crazy when they see another dog because they want to play. As they progress into adulthood, this often turns into reactivity.
At Companion Canine, we teach our clients to do mostly indirect socialization with strangers, and to save direct socialization for friends and family. This way, as the training progresses, the dog builds indifference to strange dogs & people, and builds value for their handlers.
Corporations also limit their trainers to only using positive reinforcement and they don’t allow them to use crucial training tools like training collars. This is mostly due to anthropomorphism, or “humanizing” dogs. Dogs are tactile communicators, meaning they communicate through touch. Not being able to use that dimension of communication with a dog is a huge handicap. At Companion Canine, we teach our clients how to use training tools to efficiently communicate with their dog. This encourages the dogs’ primal instincts, rather than suppressing them. It’s a big topic in the dog training industry and going into depth about it would make this way too long, but it’s important to us that our clients understand that dogs think and learn differently than us.
Dogs can’t think like humans, but with practice, we can think like dogs.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Our origin stories are a little different, but for both Becky and I it essentially started with wanting to help our own personal dogs before we met. We wanted our dogs to have the best quality of life possible. We both love the outdoors and wanted our dogs to be able to run free with us, but found that it was impossible to safely give our dogs freedom without obedience. That led both of us to pursue careers in dog training, and we eventually ended up at the same board & train company where we met.
The thing that we’re most proud of is that after all these years, our mission is the same – to increase the quality of life for dogs and their humans. Our system revolves around the 4 primal elements to quality of life: education, expression, health, and security.
Education: We open up a line of communication between the handler and the dog through obedience. Eliminating confusion is the first step to eliminating frustration and creating harmony.
Expression: We encourage dogs to express their primal instincts and desires rather than suppressing them. It’s important that dogs have the opportunity to build their personalities, explore, and experience the world. However, the world can be dangerous, and it’s systematic obedience that allows us to give our dogs freedom AND stay safe. Also, dogs WANT to work! It’s in their nature. It’s just a matter of finding the right job for them.
Health: Having the obedience necessary to allow your dog to run and exercise themselves is wonderful, but it’s also amazing for their mental health. Without clear communication, dogs are in a constant guessing game of how to get what they want, and this often leads to frustration. Both mental and physical stimulation are fundamental needs for fulfillment.
Security: Our system passively builds the dog’s confidence, getting them out of survival mode and into thriving fulfillment. It also gives the handler peace of mind knowing that with proper handling, they can take their dog just about anywhere and handle any situation.
Most dog owners aren’t aware of how incredibly deep the pool of dog training knowledge is. Dogs think and learn differently than we do, and all the terminology can get very confusing very quickly and we totally understand that. That’s why we break down complicated, high caliber dog training concepts into the simplest terms and applications. We teach our system in a way that can be understood and applied by the whole family!
One of the best parts about our business is the affordability. We pride ourselves in offering fair, competitive rates for our services. We offer a free consultation, discount packages, and we don’t charge extra for behavior modification cases. We care more about helping people truly understand their dogs.
We teach everything from puppy basics to advanced sport obedience, and we personalize our approach according to you, your dog, and your goals. We work with all dogs – all breeds, all ages, and all temperaments. We offer behavior modification for any and all problem behaviors, from overly-friendly behaviors to dangerously aggressive behaviors.
We offer online coaching, private in-person training, and home-school programs where we pick up the dog, do the afternoon training for you, and give them back. We also have several ongoing projects including online courses, group webinars, and setting up for board & train services, so keep up with us on our social media and stay tuned!
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Gueseppe and I (Becky) were both working for the same dog training company at different locations. I was at the LA facility and he was working in the Bay Area. We met for the first time when I went up north to the Bay Area location for a training seminar. On the first day Gueseppe showed me the kennel maintenance routine, where we deep cleaned the kennel enclosures. Essentially, we picked up poop. And that’s where we fell in love! I continued to follow Gueseppe around for the rest of the week and we’ve been inseparable ever since. I moved up to the Bay Area and we figured out that the company was no longer a good fit for us. We were put in the position to branch out and start training dogs on our own, and that’s where Companion Canine was born!
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The good ole fashioned way – just hitting the pavement. We’ve found that going out in public to train our own dogs is the best way to network with people and showcase our work. People often stop to watch us train and we end up handing out a lot of business cards. Once our cards start circulating in the area, we begin getting referrals and that word of mouth is what really gets us established in the community. Dogs are part of the family, so people want to work with trainers that are personable and trustworthy. Like us!
Partnering with local businesses has also helped us grow. We introduce ourselves to local grooming salons, doggy day cares, and veterinarians, and leave a stack of business cards with them.
Recently we’ve been present on social media and our following has grown massively through relatable dog training videos. That’s been a fun new strategy for us.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.companioncanine.org
- Instagram: @beckyngueseppe
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/companion-canine-dennis-port-2?osq=companion+canine
- Other: TikTok: @beckyngueseppe