We were lucky to catch up with Romario Romain, Alexandria Sanchez-Moral NA recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Romario Romain, Alexandria Sanchez-Moral thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The biggest risk we’ve taken would hands down be opening not only one franchise location but two locations. Our first location opened up in Indianapolis about 2 years ago and that was one of the most thrilling/scariest decisions we’ve made. Making that initial investment and becoming a franchise owner was something we both never thought we would ever do. Romario and I were the traditional 9-5 workers who relied on a steady income, so switching into becoming our own bosses and relying on our success rate to generate income was a very unsettling feeling for us. However, after a couple of months the business took off better than we could ever imagine! Romario is a master of his art and he alone is the reason why our Indy location has such a high success rate. He’s made so many valuable connections in Indianapolis and created a great rapport for not only himself but The Dog Wizard as a whole. In fact, the company is doing so well that we were able to expand and hire another amazing trainer named Tabitha who has also brought such high value to our company. Once Indy was able to operate without us there full time we entertained the idea of opening another location here in Denver. Unexpectedly we were brought the opportunity to open the second location and we dove right in. The complete truth is that we didn’t have a plan on how we were going to operate and get Denver up and running, we played it by ear and did everything we needed to do to stay a float. Between the two locations, Denver was the most risky move we made because we were not as prepared as we were when we opened Indy. However, Romario and I have been investing so much time and effort to promote our new location that it has been very rewarding! Although we just recently opened up a couple months ago, the market looks very promising and we are confident that with our knowledge and experience our company will improve the lives of dog owners by creating trusting well-balanced relationships.

Romario Romain, Alexandria Sanchez-Moral, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Romario and I both have a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a question we get often when talking with clients is, “Well what made you guys get into dog training then?” The one word answer is simple, Saint. Saint is our Cane Corso who changed our lives for the better and is the sole reason why we decided to get into this profession. You probably have seen or will see his big headed wrinkly face all over our social media platforms and that is because he provides so much meaning to why we do what we do. To start, Saint is no Saint, we should have picked a different name for him if we’re being completely being honest. For those who do not know about the Cane Corso breed, they are a well respected guardian breed who can be great family dogs, however they are NOT for first time dog owners, or even owners who have never dealt with such a similar, powerful breed before. The popularity of this breed has exploded over the last couple of years and unfortunately a lot of people have no idea what they were in for, us included. Growing up Romario and I had many different power breeds ranging from Rottweilers, Pit bulls, German Shepherds, the list goes on. I thought since we had experience with dogs before and are no stranger to large breeds, Saint wouldn’t be any different. However, that was not the case, and we were in over our heads. At first Saint was really a Saint, he was social, had great basic obedience, and was a cuddle bug; he was the epitome of a giant lap dog. Unfortunately that didn’t last very long once he started going through adolescence. Looking back at certain scenarios and how we initially handled them, if we knew what we know now back then, Saint would have been such a different dog, but you live and you learn. Saint started to have leash reactivity, stranger danger, and really started to push boundaries with myself and even Romario. We got to a point where we felt like prisoners in our own home because we couldn’t have guests over because our dog was out of control. Doggie play dates were now out of the question because Saint became “reactive” towards other dogs. He even started to resource guard our bed, the couch, and myself and Romario. My husband and I couldn’t express any form of PDA without Saint getting riled up, it was awful. There were multiple times where I wanted to surrender him because I couldn’t handle it anymore, and if it wasn’t for Romario, Saint probably wouldn’t be here today as horrific as that sounds. Romario was determined to change Saint’s behaviors so that we could return to our normal social lives. Through countless hours of training and behavior modification, Saint finally started to calm down. Although it took about 3 years to get him where we always imagined and hoped for, that journey was 100% worth it. Saint is now capable of being an off leash dog and is able to have play dates with certain dogs. He is also a gentle giant with our 9 month old son which is miracle to witness. We know the struggle of owning a dog that is a potential risk and it is a very embarrassing, uneasy frustrating feeling. I truly wish we could have captured Saint’s journey, the before and after would be the perfect example for people who are the same predicament. With structure and consistency we want to help families build a better relationship with their dogs so they are able to enjoy more activities together and over all have a better life. We want our potential clients to know that they are not alone, and that we can relate better than anybody in regards to the struggles of having a problematic dog.

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

Being personable is what helped build our reputation within the dog training industry. It’s not about the money for us, we’ve been in the position as a client before and we know the feeling of being lost, helpless, and frustrated. We know the struggle of owning a nonfriendly dog and we want to help people who can relate. The last thing we want to see is a family surrender a dog who has so much potential but lacks proper guidance. With our background and prior experience, that makes our brand more personable and easy to relate too. We take time to understand our clients needs and walk them through the process of obtaining their goals. Selling dreams is something we do not do, we take pride in being blunt with our clients regardless if it’s what they want to hear or not. Often times, owners expect certain behaviors from their dogs when in reality that dog doesn’t have that temperament they are hoping for. Not all dogs are the same, just like how all humans are not the same, and people tend to force dogs into situations that they are not cut out for and unfortunately those dogs are the first to get labeled as “aggressive” or “reactive.” Helping owners understand their dogs by using clear cut communication and being realistic are traits that we believe makes our company stand out among the rest.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There a million books, podcasts, and documentaries on dog training. While most are all great resources, there is one book in particular that we resonated with and encourage our clients to read so they can get a better understanding of their dog. The book is called, “Understanding the Dog’s Mind Through Survival & Comfort,” by author Calvin Wilbon. This book is hands down the best book we’ve come across that easily explains a dog’s thought process. It is a huge reality check for dog owners and provides a different understanding of the relationship between an owner and their dog. Calvin does a tremendous job at explaining why a dog behaves the way it does and the meaning behind their motives.

Contact Info:

• Website: thedogwizard.com/locations/co/denver
• Instagram: thedogwizarddenver,
• Facebook: facebook.com/thedogwizarddenver
• Other: thedogwizard.indianapolis (IG) thedogwizardindianpolis (FB)

Image Credits
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