Today we’d like to introduce you to Caitlin Crittenden.
Caitlin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My passion for dog training started when I was in middle school and pining to have a dog of my own. I initially began learning about obedience training and dog breeds and care out of a desire to own my own dog and to train it well enough for it to be able to accompany me places on and off leash. I had dreams of traveling with it, hiking with it, and just sitting outside at restaurants with it.
My favorite breed was the Border Collie. When I adopted my first dog, Mack, who is a Border Collie, I also began learning everything that I could about trick training in an effort to keep him mentally challenged, so that he would be happy and calmer. My interests gradually expanded into other areas of dog training.
Looking for solutions to various behavior problems, different ways to train the various commands, different methods of training, the science behind various training approaches and dog behavior, the effectiveness of various tools, and so many other things.
After over a decade of doing dog training as a hobby in my spare time; having spent hundreds of hours learning anything that I could about dogs and training through books, videos, webinars, online training courses, dog training forums, dog sporting, and conformation event attendance, talking with other trainers, attending things with my own dogs, and practicing what I had learned on various dogs, I decided it was finally time to pursue training as a career. I began Life Dog Training in 2015.I am the sole dog trainer with Life Dog Training. Although I will occasionally utilize assistance from other in business or dog training, I am mostly a one man, or woman, show.
After over a decade of learning about dog training, the main challenge when I began my own business was learning how to market and handle the legal and logistic side of the business. When you go into business for yourself, and you are small still, you become a person of many hats and hopefully learn how to perform a lot of different jobs. It’s just part of the process but the challenge can be fun too.
Most of my clients come from word of mouth or online referrals. It’s a very personable business. I am passionate not only about dogs but also about people, and about helping people get to the place where their dogs are a source of enjoyment and not a source of stress. This plays a large part in my referrals, in addition to the actual training that I provide. It’s important for any business to provide great customer service and to make people feel valued, even businesses that work with dogs.
A lot of dog training is also problem-solving. Since the majority of my clients are Private, in-home, dog training clients, I do a lot of problem behavior resolution. I am constantly trying to learn more about different training approaches in order to improve my skills as a trainer. When I come across a more complicated issue, it can take creativity to create a program or technique that will help that specific dog. It is not a one size fits all.
I have addressed the exact same issue with two very different dogs before and taken a completely different approach with each. You have to tailor the training to the specific dog and situation. I believe this approach helps my clients and has contributed to my success.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been a smooth road always. The main struggles have been having to learn the business side of dog training early on, without always having someone besides the faithful google to ask. Even knowing what types of questions to ask, what types of licenses to get, and what types of records to keep.
Probably the hardest part has been marketing though. I have had to try a lot of different forms of marketing in order to discover what works, and it is not a finished task by any means. I am constantly trying new things in an effort to learn how to market more effectively and efficiently.
Of course, there is also the client and actual dog training side of things. I will be the first to admit that I have had to refer business out before because I simply do not have the resources needed to deal with certain dog training needs. I hate not being able to help a client personally. I normally refer out people related aggression cases and some more complicated dog related aggression cases.
I do not have a large staff to help me safely socialize and counter condition an aggressive dog. I do not have a large facility to facilitate certain types of safe interactions, needed to help with aggression, and I do not have access to a facility full of dogs needed to deal with certain, more complicated, dog-related aggression.
It’s one of the drawbacks of being small, regardless of the level of tailored training, attentiveness, and knowledge that I can provide.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Caitlin Crittenden Life Dog Training is a dog training company. I provide mostly Private In-Home training. These training sessions include the dog, owner, the family if desired, and me. I occasionally teach Group Obedience and Puppy Kindergarten classes at a local Pet Supermarket that has been kind enough to host me.
I also offer group classes that are a mix of your conventional group class and private training, where I will conduct a group training class of four or more dog and owner training couples in a client’s home if the client provides the space and the participants. It’s a way for neighbors and friends to have their own training class in a less intimidating and more fun setting.
I also offer Day Training Packages, where I will come to the client’s home without them needing to be present or even home, and I will take the dog out for training with just me. This type of training is typically combined with Private Sessions also so that the dog’s training is kept consistent. I also offer Skype and phone training sessions and email or messenger question and answer services.
In these settings, I handle problem behaviors such as barking or stealing food, I teach obedience, including Basic Obedience, Intermediate Obedience, and Advanced Off Leash Obedience. I help families get off to the right start with new puppies. I help families or individuals choose their next dog or puppy. I help clients prepare for the arrival of a new puppy. I teach tricks of all sorts. I train special requests and unique needs. I also do some online consulting for other pet-related companies.
I am proud of the fact that I have studied many different methods of dog training. I feel like this approach helps me serve my clients better, since my clients, their dogs, and their circumstances often differ. I am also glad that I have studied other non-training, pet related things, such as breed characteristics, dog foods, dog care, and dog products. I feel like these things often play a part in dog training.
I think what sets me apart in the industry is my focus on people in addition to dogs. I care about the people even more than the dogs, and that is saying a lot. I think what also sets me apart is my knowledge of different training methods and my willingness to think outside of the box to help a client.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was friendly and sweet around people, often the peacemaker in my family of five sisters. I often marched to the beat of my own drum and liked to do things in new and unique ways. I loved to explore and imagine and be the hero in games.
I have always loved animals, and have many memories of “rescuing” small critters from our outdoor cats. I remember digging in the dirt for earthworms, catching lizards, fireflies, ladybugs, granddaddy long-legs, and butterflies. I had a string of pets ranging from goldfish, to gerbils, to box turtles, to a guinea pig, to a bird, to cats, and eventually dogs and even mice. I always wanted to do something adventurous or something working with animals when I grew up. I did not want to do something that excluded people, however.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lifedogtraining.com
- Phone:(770) 862-4153
- Email:LifeDogTraining@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifedogtraining/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/lifedogtraining
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFEDogTraining
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/life-dog-training-canton
- Other: https://nextdoor.com/pages/caitlin-crittenden-liife-dog-training-canton-ga/
Image Credit:
Cosby Crittenden
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
