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

Rebekah, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Beth, my mom, works in the school system as a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA). Specifically, she works with children with disabilities. The genuine joy she experiences while helping these kids has been an inspiration for me from a young age. When you would ask her how she finds joy in her work, she’d always talk about the joy and hope those kids and their family would experience with every milestone. She has shown me that something others may consider little can mean the world to someone else. In the same way, I am happy to assist my clients to achieve their own milestones leading to improved quality of life through a trained service dog. My mom inspires me to love everyone and care for them with everything you have to give. She is the best friend, family member, and teacher anyone could ever have. My mom gives her all to everyone in her life simply because she wants the best for them. This inspires me every day of my business, to go above and beyond for my clients.

My dad always supported me to reach my fullest potential. He would listen to me go on and on about the latest biology factoid that had left me in awe. He would never complain about getting up early with me for an extra hitting practice before a softball game. Even after I had gone to college, he brought up a pop up net because I would miss open gym opportunities due to balancing lab courses and softball. In my junior year of high school, when I was overwhelmed with trying to choose a major and career path, he asked me to take a walk with him. Most people assumed I would go on to pursue veterinarian school, but he noticed my hesitation and asked why. I explained that I felt like it was the logical choice and wasn’t really sure why it did not feel like the right path. As we talked further, I finally admitted that I felt like there was more I could do, that I could make a bigger impact. He listened, really listened to me, and told me that he had no doubt I would make a difference. While neither of us knew then what career I would ultimately pursue, I think it was his constant belief in me and in my ability to make an impact, that gave me the courage to build Providing Pawsable.

My dad passed away early in my freshman year of college, leaving my entire family devastated beyond description. My mom, despite losing the love of her life since high school, stepped up and became everything my brother and I needed. She was both our rock and our soft spot to land. She handled every curve ball including my newly diagnosed disabilities and multiple surgeries. As I took a tentative step into the unknown starting Providing Pawsable, she was there supporting me with enough passion for herself and my dad. Both of my parents have worked harder than anyone else I know. They instilled that work ethic in both my brother and myself. I attribute my success to that inherited tenacity; not only in becoming a small business owner and the difficulties that come with that, but also in my ability to live with the impact of my chronic illnesses day in and day out.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am the owner and head trainer of Providing Pawsable, but a big part of who I am is how I became inspired to start this company. My freshman year of college was full of obstacles including the death of my dad and new health issues for myself. I was diagnosed with multiple disabilities that greatly impacted my quality of life and my future career. First, I was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) – a connective tissue disorder that affects the stability of joints leading to frequent subluxation and dislocations of joints. This was followed by Fibromyalgia which causes chronic widespread pain, accompanied by fatigue, waking unrefreshed, and cognitive symptoms. Last came Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and vasovagal syncope which lead to dizziness and complete fainting spells. These disabilities pushed me to seek a service dog to gain some freedom back, but I quickly found how inaccessible service dogs can be for those who need them desperately. Medical alert and psychiatric service dogs can help millions of people in the United States, but the process to obtain a service dog is arduous and expensive. On average, a fully trained service dog costs anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000 with an average wait time of 1 to 2 years before the dog comes home. For an individual with a disability, this cost, on top of mounding medical bills, makes owning a service dog unattainable. Providing Pawsable can alleviate some of the stress and cost for individuals in our local community through our owner trainer program.
Providing Pawsable creates custom, individualized training plans for people struggling with either medical or psychiatric conditions. We have so far helped clients with diabetes, POTS, autism, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), seizures, migraines, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and mobility limitations. We work one-on-one with each of our clients and equip them with skills to train their own service dogs. We empower our clients to continue growing and learning with their dog, allowing them to truly integrate their dog into their daily lives.
We support our clients throughout the entire service dog process, from when they begin searching for a prospect (a reputuably bred puppy) until their dog retires. First, we help our client find the right puppy and teach them basic skills like obedience and potty training. Second is task training; this can include medical alert, behavioral interruptions, crowd control, pressure therapy, and more. We also use scent training to train dogs to perform medical alert tasks. To name a few examples, for diabetic clients, we train the dog to perform an alert action (such as paw, nose boop, or ring an alarm) at their handler if they have low blood sugar. For clients who struggle with panic attacks, we train their dog to detect and alert for high heart rate. As the handler’s heart rate increases, the dog alerts them, allowing them to leave the situation, or take medication before the panic attack. Importantly, we also train the dogs to perform all of their tasks effectively in real-world situations.
We support our clients both virtually and in-person. And we offer board and train stays: the client leaves their dog with us for about four weeks to train specific tasks that are difficult for our client to do on their own. So far, we’ve had great success with our virtual programs which include one-on-one Skype sessions with clients, finding prospects, and analyzing training videos. We continue to expand these services to better meet demand and support more clients.
One of our most recent expansions is our breeding program, Pawsable Prospects’ Standard Poodles, dedicated to breeding puppies that have the potential for service work. Breeding can make or break a service dog’s career before it ever comes home. Even with the best training, an under-reared dog may not recover deficits from improper rearing. According to Dr. Gayle Watkins, a dog that was inadequately bred or reared is more likely to have trouble focusing, be hyperactive, and be wary of new people, dogs, and situations at 5-6 months. These traits make training incredibly difficult, especially for service dogs.
Ethical breeding resolves temperamental and health issues that lead to a service dog’s early retirement. In our program, we will prove the health of our breeding dogs by exceeding standards established by the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC). Additionally, we will prove our dogs’ workability and temperament through titling in a variety of sports and working them as service dogs. By combining ethical breeding principles with our expertise in training service dogs, we can significantly increase the success rates of our service dogs, especially those trained with us and their future partner.

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

I believe that there are a few things that have helped me grow my company into what it is today. One being that I myself am disabled and at one point in my life, I felt lost and hopeless because of my disability. A service dog brought me hope again and helped improve my quality of life through task work. I think this gives me a unique insight into my clients, and I understand that a service dog and the training that my company offers is more than a luxury: it is a necessity for my clients.

While looking for my first service dog, I inquired about other programs, specifically ones who fully train the dog before you got matched. These programs are a great fit for many individuals, but at the same time are completely inaccessible to others due to the financial cost and their wait times. My own personal experience of not being able to afford these programs inspired me to create an owner trainer program that would increase the accessibility of service dogs to more disabled individuals.

Now, I can sit here and share why I think clients came to me all day long, but I’d rather tell you what they’ve told me directly.

“You made me feel like within reason you would go to the ends of the earth with me to make sure I got what was best for me” _Ashley W

“We were both inspired by our own disabilities to use a service dog to mitigate our diseases and enhance our life. You have a very positive, real world, perspective in your training style. You have not only become my service dog mentor, but a friend as well.” _Marcie D

“We appreciated your team-based collaborative approach and commitment to your craft. Your support during training; and thereafter, has made the process enjoyable, well-informed and productive” _Lynda V

“You listened and trusted me when I explained what was working with my dog and what wasn’t and you were able to give me tips and tricks that I would not have thought of myself but helped us a lot in the long run.” _Sarah

“The number one thing probably was just how much you care. You love your own dogs so much, and you love your client dogs and you are so obviously devoted to helping them be the best they can be. So I knew you would take care of Aura and genuinely be invested in her success. You have experience helping dogs achieve great outcomes, but for you, it is not just about what you get out of the dog that matters, it is what you put into the dog. You also are incredibly knowledgeable, and you can back up the things you say with science and explanations. You can apply that knowledge to real life situations so that you can utilize an effective approach tailored for each individual dog.You are a real person who doesn’t act like dogs are perfect or like handlers are perfect or even like you are perfect and you actually acknowledge the problems and the hard things so that they can be mitigated instead of just pretending like they don’t exist. You don’t cut corners. “ _Kennedy O

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I truly have two co-founders between my training company and my breeding program. I could do neither without them and would like to recognize both of them for their endless belief in me. First my husband, Michael, who has met every new idea with open ears. While in college I competed in a business competition to flesh out the idea and validity of my future company. At the time, my health was limiting my ability to take a full course load and I was considered a part time student. Unfortunately the competition was only open to full time students or teams with a full time student. Despite his already full course load and pursuit of a job after graduation, he gladly joined me so that I could present my idea. He stayed up late to review the business plan, looked at multiple website edits, and memorized his lines for the competition.

We often joke that he is my #1 volunteer, but honestly it’s the truth. Michael has done numerous projects for the company and attended countless sessions to act as a distraction or second handler. Without him, my breeding program wouldn’t be where it is either. He is the one who shows the dogs in the conformation ring, is at every sport competition filming and cheering, and has taken over handling them after my surgeries. His support and genuine faith in me is one of the many reasons I married him and wish to spend my life with him. I am endlessly grateful for him.

Here’s a little background information for the dog breeding world: it is not uncommon to “co-own” a dog, especially a breeding prospect. This is one way reputable breeders protect their dogs and program, as they still have rights to the dog since they often must trust a “stranger” with a piece of their program. My co-owner is also my mentor for my breeding program. I came to her very ambitious and wanted to do showing, sports, service work and breeding with no experience in anything except for service work. We talked multiple times on the phone and got to know each other before she trusted me with a puppy. Once she handed over that little fur ball, her support did not end. At my first show, she drove to meet us and spent hours helping me learn how to do a show trim on my puppy. For our next show, she was unable to come, but she told me who I could find there if I needed anything. It was like my network quadrupled overnight with her at my side.

It was at this show that Quil earned her first Group 1 win, a win that puts you in the ring for Best in Show. To win this, Quil had to win her class, then best female, then Best of Winners, then Best of Breed and finally Group (which include each Best of Breed winner in the Gun Dog group). When I sent my breeder a message letting her know of our win, she sent back a voice memo of her screaming and cheering for us! She was at a different show, in front of others and was so overjoyed for us that she was cheering at her phone in the middle of the crowd. This support has never faltered during the 3 years since I brought Quil home. Breeding is difficult: it demands everything from you and then some, and without her, I can’t imagine where I would be as I prepare for my first litter.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.providingpawsable.com
• Instagram: @providingpawsable
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pawsabletraining
• Other: Above I put my training company social medias but wanted to include my breeding program here IG: @pawsableprospects FB: https://www.facebook.com/pawsableprospects

Image Credits
Image of black poodle in the field – Steph Rocco Image of myself, husband and holding black poodle – Emily Matt Both have given permission