Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Cobb.
Hi Karen, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Karen grew up in a family of veterinarians. She started training dogs in 1994. Her first dogs were two Shiba Inus, which is a breed not known for being obedient. Training Shibas is actually similar to training a cat. Karen competed in agility and obedience competition with them and they were ranked in the top 3 for their breed in the country in both sports. She studied psychology at the University of Miami, read many books, apprenticed under talented trainers, attended many training seminars and classes and began training dogs professionally in 1997. She focused mostly on behavior issues, problem solving as well as aggression problems.
For her next dog, Karen decided to find a more cooperative breed and decided on a Briard. She got “Norman” in 2009, and planned on having him be her obedience and agility competition dog. Karen decided to also teach Norman a few tricks, like wiping his paws before he came in the house and wiping his beard after drinking water. This then lead into teaching amazing tricks like riding a bicycle, riding a scooter, skateboard, jump rope and even teaching him to surf. Karen and Norman have since achieved more than they ever could have imagined. They went on to star in two seasons of the Hallmark and Animal Planet reality show “Who Let the Dogs Out?” Karen had a training tips segment on the show teaching viewers how to solve household manners problems. You can see some of these tips at http://www.normanthescooterdog.com/training-tips They hold Two Guinness World Records for Fastest 30 m on a Scooter by a Dog and Fastest 30 m on a Bicycle by a Dog. The duo then won the prize of Best Trick on the CW World Dog Awards, hosted by George Lopez, in 2016.
Norman and Karen have been feature multiple times on The Late Show with David Letterman, Good Morning America, Fox and Friends and also appeared on, Rachael Ray, Anderson Live, Wheel of Fortune, Inside Edition, Today Show, a few National Geographic documentaries, as well as a few other cable documentaries and over 150 local news shows. Karen and Norman have surfed on a Guinness Record setting float in the Rose Parade and have traveled the United States and Canada, performing their tricks. Norman also was a spokesdog for a major dog food company for 5 years. They now have settled back home in Georgia and Norman is now competing in obedience, agility, rally, drafting, barn hunt, lure coursing, nose work, tracking, dock diving and more. They also do therapy work together.
Karen and Norman have achieved the FIRST and ONLY Advance drafting title for a Briard, and First Rally Championship for a Briard and in the Top ranking Nationally for herding dogs. Her dog also ranked #1 Nationally in Obedience, Dock Diving and Agility for the breed for multiple years.
Karen resumed her career of canine behavioral consultation and problem solving in 2014. She loves problem solving and helping dogs who have failed elsewhere. Karen’s training style is a balanced approach based mostly on positive reinforcement. She is now also focusing on training animals for television and movies. Shiloh her Collie has already been featured in a full length film.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Dog Training is hard because the better job you do the less your client needs you. You have to keep finding new clients. You don’t get repeats until they get another dog 8 to 10 years down the road.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about www.ScooterDogTraining.com ?
We were a Dog Training company that specializes in complex behavioral issues. Anything from housebreaking to aggression issues. We specialize in reactivity to dogs and people.
What sets us apart from other companies, instead of them having to board their dog, we train their dog while they stay in the comfort of their own home. We also give training videos after to help the client remember what we taught them. I believe we’re the only company around that does this. We do offer board training as well for any people that still prefer this method.
We also teach an emergency back up, recall command that we have created and perfected on our own. It’s a great way to trust your dog off leash without the need for electronic collars, which are often used by other companies.
We pride ourselves in teaching the owners as well as the dogs. Our owners get more individual training than our competitors offer.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
What I like best about our city is the numerous parks that we have to go to. There are many options and many outdoor shopping areas to train your dog. What I like, least about the city is a lack of mass transit and the fact that dogs cannot ride on what Little we have.
When traveling in France, Italy, etc. the dogs can ride on the mass transit and you can take that anywhere. No need for a car.
Pricing:
- Group classes- $225 for 6 weeks
- Inhome lessons- starts at $125/hr depending on location
- Daily training -12 day program -starts at $1750 This is where we train your dog for you in the comfort of her own home.
- Board training –12 day program $1750+ boarding fees
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ScooterDogTraining.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scooterdogtraining?igsh=MXd4M3N6dzUwbzBhMg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ScooterDogTraining/
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@NormantheScooterDog/playlists
- Yelp: https://yelp.com/biz/scooter-dog-training-canton-3
- Other: https://marketplace.akc.org/trainer/scooter-dog-training
Image Credits
Kaylee Cobb
