Kerry Hall, Certified Canine Training Specialist and Behavior Consultant

Looking back, I think it was all in the cards. I was born in the year of the dog, in Mount Vernon, NY. My very first word was the name of my family’s German Shepherd. To make a long story short, I was an animal obsessed child. I didn’t have another dog after my family’s German Shepherd died until I was in my early 20’s, while living on my own. I responded to an ad on Craigslist for an “Abused Chihuahua Puppy.” Apparently I was the only person who responded that didn’t ask to see a picture of what the dog looked like. The lady had rescued Charlie from kids in the street who were beating him. She felt comfortable enough with our email exchanges and short phone conversation to ask me to drive to Queens to adopt him. When my best friend and I arrived, out trotted an adult Chihuahua mix dog. He was white with tan patches and had the most nervous, unsure demeanor about him.

Well, from that moment forward I started doing everything for Charlie the wrong way. I coddled him when he was shaking. I gave him all kinds of freedom because I felt bad he was abused. I talked to him as if he understood me like a human being. I scolded him and pointed his face near his pee when he had accidents in the house. I didn’t crate train him. I just “expected” he would understand the rules of my world and eventually “get it.” Well, the only thing my expectations got me was a dog that wasn’t overcoming his nervousness and fear, just becoming more and more confused. So, I did what any well-meaning owner would do to help their dog; I got another one. Yes, Charlie seemed to perk up bit and follow Lucky’s confident lead in certain situations, but it only made our relationship feel more distant. Not only that, I now had a large bully breed mix dog that was pulling me down the street, completely destructive in the house and disobedient.

After many years of professional bartending, I was desperately seeking a way out from behind the bar. I yearned for a new, enjoyable career I could be proud of. After a lot of research I decided to just go for it and I looked into schools to become a professional dog trainer. I wanted the whole enchilada: a dog college, a real-deal school for dog trainers, where I could bring my dogs with me to help them. I found that in Triple Crown Academy, now Starmark Academy in Hutto, Texas just outside of Austin. This was the most comprehensive course I could find in dog training. TCA was a real trade school that taught students a plethora of methods, techniques, and training philosophies. I packed up Charlie and Lucky and hit the road for Texas. The first day of class was January 5th 2009, my birthday. There were students in my class from all over the world. It was the best experience of my life, enabling me to change my relationship with my dogs for the better. Lucky was perfectly obedient after school and no longer destructive. Charlie was so much more confident with the new obedience and structure he had learned. He even began to play out in public which he never did before!

After graduation, I got great experience working at The Ulster County SPCA in Kingston, NY, working as a kennel technician/trainer. I was dealing with fearful, reactive, and extremely human/dog aggressive dogs everyday. I was thrown to the wolves, so to speak. The time I spent at the shelter was the most critical part of any hands on experience I have gained in my career. This is where I learned my best defensive handling skills that are the core to staying safe while working with unstable dogs. I soon became the Head Trainer and facilitated evaluations, enrichment programs, and training programs for individual dogs, as well as playgroups for the general population of dogs in my care. I worked with dogs that were constantly trying to bite out of fear, stress, and frustration. Many dogs I worked with were also puppy mill dogs which were typically shut down or feral. Once we began to implement playgroups, we saw massive changes in behavior and were able to show staff and volunteers that some of the shelter’s long-term residents were indeed not dog aggressive, but just frustrated or reactive inside the kennel. There were tremendous breakthroughs with aggressive and fearful dogs through the use of playgroups. Learning these “street smarts” from the shelter is truly what has made me able to handle and problem solve the behavioral issues of some very difficult dogs throughout my career.

KERRY HIKING WITH HER BELOVED PERSONAL
DOGS: MUDD, TOM AND RAIN IN VAIL, CO.

After the shelter, I moved onto working for dog daycare and boarding facilities. I took a job in New York for Westchester K-9. As Head Trainer, I had a wide range of responsibilities. I worked one-on-one with clients in private lessons, created individual programs for dogs in the Stay and Train program, trained 4-8 dogs a day, and taught staff safety training and defensive handling. I also worked with Pet Rescue New York, the local rescue we were affiliated with, assisting them with their more difficult dogs as an evaluator.

I’ve spent over 16 years enthralled in this industry, constantly gaining new insights and practical experience. I’ve enjoyed working for companies and rescues, but 2015 is the year I decided to become a lone wolf and start my own dog training and rehabilitation company. Flash Dog Training is a culmination of all of my diverse experience in the dog training world. I am combining all of my skill sets to give the dog owners Bend, Oregon the best dog training services possible.

Rachel Clark

Rachel’s love for dogs began early on as she grew up romping with her family’s Boxers, and while she may have veered away from her childhood dream of Veterinary school during her teen years, she found her way back to dogs by way of a Kennel Attendant position in 2017 with a local rescue.

There, her interest in training emerged quickly as she watched many of the dogs in her care return time and time again with the same issues, without any resource for change. Later that year she jumped at the opportunity for a Kennel Manager and Trainer position at another facility, where she quickly joined the kennel’s affiliated training club and between the two, obtained a wide variety of behavioral, service, sport, and K9 experience.

Over the years Rachel has titled personal and client dogs in sports including Obedience, Rally Obedience, Conformation, Dock Diving, Nosework, Agility and Canicross; while also regularly competing and placing in Canine Obstacle Runs and Bitework. You may recognize her as Season 2’s winner of America’s Top Dog with her beloved pitbull mix Chewy.

While she has enjoyed competing in such a wide array of dog sports, Rachel is an enthusiastic ambassador for the sport of Canicross, and joined the Flash team in Central Oregon eager to bring the sport along with her.

Lucas Gonzales

Lucas Gonzales discovered his love for dogs at a young age while spending summers in Dallas, Texas watching his uncle care for rescued pitbulls as they prepared for new homes. Lucas’ father is a breeder/trainer producing Boykin Spaniels in Houston, Texas, so it’s safe to say that working with dogs was always in the cards for him.

When a stray pit bull with epilepsy unexpectedly entered his life, Arya quickly became far more than a companion—she became his greatest inspiration. Caring for her daily and navigating her extreme behavioral issues due to the epilepsy, inspired him to pursue a career that would allow him to spend as much time with her as possible. That journey led him to the world of professional dog training.

Lucas began working at dog daycares and training facilities in the Denver metro area in 2017 and gained experience there navigating large packs of dogs. Lucas was promoted to Manager at both his dog facility jobs due to his outstanding work ethic and reliability. He also began his training apprenticeship at one facility shaping the rest of his career. Within a few years, he was promoted to Head Trainer helping many dogs and their owners live their best lives together. He took his career step further when he joined the training team at Flash, was again promoted to Manager, and has been an integral part of the company ever since, fully operating the Colorado location.

Today, Lucas spends his days helping dogs and their owners build stronger, healthier relationships through communication, trust, and balanced training. Alongside Oromis his Boykin and his two Schnauzer-mixes Protégé and Charlie, he continues to live the life that Arya helped make possible.

Zahra gained so much freedom through her e-collar training, and I gained a sense of safety and control over my dog…

Zahra and I were referred to Kerry from another trainer in town who told us she was THE expert in e-collar training. At the time, while I was head over heels in love with my adorable new border collie puppy, I was also losing my mind trying to manage her incessant energy on my own. While I consider myself a pretty active person, Zahra came in to the world like a lightning bolt of nonstop energy and engagement. She was whip-smart and ready to learn/play/work ALL DAY LONG – and then some. I knew that I needed to find a way to combine Zahra’s exercise with mine if I was going to continue managing my busy work schedule and her needs, so I wanted to take us both on long hikes every week. Fortunately we live in gorgeous Colorado, so the mountains are literally our playground!

Last year I enrolled Zahra in Kerry’s 3-week e-collar board and train program while I was traveling over the holidays, and I honestly am not sure I’ve ever spent better money. Zahra gained SO much freedom through her e-collar training, and I gained a sense of safety and control over my dog. Today, when she sees me pull our her e-collar, she starts leaping with excitement because she knows it means that we’re going outside on some kind of adventure, and usually one that involves her getting to run at top speed to her little heart’s content. Watching Zahra run and leap in the mountains is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen. She’s like a blur of white fur – practically flying and barely touching the ground!

I Iive in a VERY busy part of Denver, but with her e-collar on I can also let her off-leash in the middle of a nearby city park, and have full confidence that she is safe to play Frisbee with me without EVER running towards cars or other dogs. She just gets it. It’s amazing. I can’t even feel her recall level on the e-collar! We do this a few times a week when things are busy and we can’t make it to the mountains.

Kerry also installed a much-needed ‘off’ switch in Zahra – and my favorite of all commands, “Place!” I can’t even say enough about how much this changed our lives. Having the ability to tell Z to calmly stay in place while I have guests over, or need to work, is amazing. She also helped Z learn to LOVE going into her kennel, where she can also rest and turn off. Z screamed in her kennel for the first 2 months of her life so again, I can’t express how much relief it brought us both for this to stop being such a challenge.

Finally, Kerry helped me learn a ton about feeding Z a raw diet – and we’re now forever fans. Several vets were unable to fix Zahra’s sensitive tummy issues and 2 AM diarrhea episodes – once we had her on a the raw diet recommended by Kerry, her fur got shinier, she started liking eating, and she hasn’t has ANY tummy troubles since!

Kerry will forever be family to me and Zahra and I’m so grateful to call her a friend as well as an incredible resource.

Jen K.

Denver, Colorado

Their recall off leash is amazing and we trust them anywhere

We took our dogs, Auggie and Blue, to Flash Dog Training when they were both a little over a year old. After months and months of “do-it-yourself” training, we realized that much of what we were doing was not working. Auggie, a stubborn and happy-go-lucky field golden, pulled like crazy on his leash and his recall was great until there was a distraction like a bird, other dog, or squirrel. He also could not control his excitement when other dogs or people would show up to our house or we would encounter them on a trail. Blue, a more nervous but highly energetic collie mix, had trouble relaxing and didn’t like to do anything that she was told to do. On leash walks, she used to love grabbing the leash in her mouth, shaking it, and trying to escape from it. Of leash, rather than getting in the car after a hike or ski at trailheads, she would race around barking at us and refuse to come. Similar to Auggie, we thought her recall was great–until it wasn’t because of something she wanted to do more than come to us. Ultimately, we knew that based on our lifestyle, both us and our dogs would be happier if we did some sort of formal training.

After doing research, we landed on Flash Dog Training and submitted a form online. Ali, the Head Trainer in Colorado, quickly followed up on our inquiry, explained the training process, and answered our questions. We were immediately impressed with the program that they offered and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. After dropping our dogs off, Ali was communicative and responsive if we had questions, and filled us in on progress as the training progressed. One thing that stood out the most about Ali and Flash Dog Training was the individualized approach they took with each dog. Auggie was highly food motivated and wanted to please, and the Flash Dog team used this as the foundation for his training. Blue, on the other hand, was not food motivated and highly skeptical of anyone telling her what to do. For her, the Flash Dog team focused heavily on building her trust and formed a relationship with her before getting deep into the training. Ultimately, the outcome was the same for both–they came home happy and in many respects it is still hard to imagine how much they learned in their 3 weeks.

Both now love to learn and thoroughly enjoy refresher trainings (both with us and Ali). Their recall off leash is amazing and we trust them anywhere–distractions or otherwise. It is hard to emphasize to those who don’t have e-collar trained dogs the freedom it brings to both you and your dogs. But once you have them you will never go back. They can enjoy themselves off leash, explore, and do dog things, and you have the piece of mind to know that even if a squirrel, moose, or other dog pops out on a trail your dog will come back to you when you call and ignore the distraction. It takes work to get here, but Ali and the Flash Dog team lay the foundation for it. Additionally, both dogs now understand and enjoy walking on a leash. We can take them anywhere dogs are allowed, like the hardware store, and they will heal throughout, ignoring other people and dogs. Further, the work Flash Dog does with commands like place help give you dogs a better chance to relax at home. The best example of this is when we have guests or other dogs come over, our dogs now wait on there place for the excitement to subside before we release them to say hello. This simply would not have been possible without Flash Dog Training.

I don’t think either of us imagined that a dog training program would change our lives and relationship with our dogs as much as Flash Dog Training did. We will be forever grateful for Ali and the Flash Dog Training team. They do amazing work and we recommend them to all of our friends, many of whom have taken their dogs to Flash Dog Training and now have seen the results for themselves first hand. If you are looking to train your dog, Flash Dog Training is the best out there. We hope that everyone can experience the transformation that we did.

FDT Graduate Success Story In OREGON

Sending both of our dogs, a 6-month-old high energy puppy, along with our 10 year old rescue, to Flash for training is one of the best decisions and investments we’ve made. Our older rescue dog, Marley, has struggled with leash reactivity, pulling, and various triggers (skateboards, loud trucks, scooters, and more) for years. Despite working with various trainers, we never found the right style or tools to address the root of his behavior effectively. Avoiding certain situations or areas became a norm, and it became a source of frustration and stress for all of us. Our newly adopted rescue puppy, Finn, brought different challenges. With boundless energy and a tendency to get easily excited, he struggled to sit still or settle, always seeking attention or playtime with our older dog. He was also going through fear periods: getting spooked by everyday objects (strollers) and noises (kids playing, construction) during walks. We quickly realized that addressing these issues head-on and establishing strong, consistent communication between both dogs was incredibly important. Flash’s board and train program stood out from the beginning. Their facilities were spotless and it was clear they tailored their training approach to each dog’s personality and quirks, making us feel completely confident (for the first time) leaving them in their care. Our trainer, Amanda, has been exceptional throughout our entire training journey. Her commitment to both dog’s training and continued progress has been evident every step of the way. Despite our dog’s contrasting personalities and challenges, Amanda understood their individual needs and provided tailored advice for each of them – and has cheered on our wins every step of the way. Unlike some other training programs, Flash has provided us with tools, follow-up lessons, and support, to ensure that the training has been consistent and easy-to-follow now that they’re home. This has been paramount to their continued success. Both dogs have undergone incredible transformations that have made our relationships with them stronger and more joyful. Our older dog, Marley, no longer pulls on leash and looks to us for guidance. His body language is relaxed and he’s no longer on edge, which has reduced or eliminated most of his leash reactivity. Our adolescent puppy, Finn, now understands how to relax and settle using the invaluable ‘place’ command and has gained an enormous amount of confidence. He’s no longer fearful or spooked around new sounds or sights, heels and looks to us for direction, and isn’t as easily distracted in stimulating environments. The positive impact of Flash’s training program cannot be overstated. I’m now comfortable taking them on walks together – something that had started to feel impossible – even in busy areas with past triggers. One of the most impactful breakthroughs has been with Flash’s e-collar training. This newfound trust in their training and recall has opened up a world of off-leash adventures for us. Watching our dogs explore the outdoors, unrestricted and free, fills us with an overwhelming sense of happiness. We are so grateful for finding Flash and the immeasurable difference they have made in our and our dog’s lives!