Mission
Our mission at Paws for Thought is to foster a strong bond, confidence, harmony and trust between our students and their dogs through education and the pursuit of excellence in training.
Philosophy
Famed “Horse Whisperer” Buck Brannaman has said “A lot of times, rather than helping people with horse problems, I’m helping horses with people problems.”
At Paws for Thought the focus is helping trainers and care givers to understand how dogs learn. We teach methods for applying that knowledge successfully, whether the task at hand is herding, competition obedience or becoming a treasured companion and part of a family.
The goal in training is shaping a canine partnership. This means creating a relationship in which the human partner has a basic understanding of what motivates the dog. We use this knowledge to shape a dog who offers prompt and correct responses to what we are asking of him.
We have certain expectations in dog training. We want the dog to be eager, attentive, precise, and cooperative. Most important of all, we want him to love his work. We teach training methods that enable the dog to meet our training expectations through an understanding of canine behavior.
We feel very strongly that the key to having a reliable canine partner in any dog training endeavor is “people training for dogs”.
About Brooks
Humble Beginnings
My first training project was an Easter present when I was three. “Squeaky” followed me everywhere, always came when called, and walked to the country store with me on a harness and leash. She waited patiently, tied to a mailbox, while I went in the store. My mom was a very fussy house keeper, refusing to let Squeaky live in the house, so despite my protests, my best friend lived outside in a dog house for the ten years of her life. (Squeaky was a white Pekin duck.)
Next came Fritz, a Dachshund that my dad brought home as a birthday surprise when I was nine years old. Fritz learned all sorts of tricks and suffered the indignity of performing with a parakeet on his head much of the time.
After Fritz I owned and trained Alaskan Malamutes at the same time I indulged my lifelong passion for horses. With two toddlers in tow, it was tough to get out to ride so I started training dogs more seriously, getting hooked on AKC obedience competition.
Competition Obedience Dogs
The Newfies
My first obedience dog was Moonlite Buccaneer, Utilty Dog Excellent, Water Dog Excellent, a 150 pound Landseer Newfoundland who was unfailingly kind and gentle. A great water rescue dog, he thought everbody who was swimming need rescuing.
Next came Zach, a Newf rescue with severe behavioral issues who got an AKC Companion Dog title and a water rescue title. Both were in the top ten obedience Newfs on national ratings systems.
A Tribute to Tori
Obedience Trial Champion Whimsy’s Ghostwriter, Utility Dog Excellent became my next competition obedience dog, earning her obedience trial championship in three months with numerous high combined and high in trial awards as well as two Dog World Awards. “Tori”, an English Springer Spaniel, was a very classy obedience dog who was the top Springer in the country and nationally rated in the top ten sporting dogs, competing and placing in several Gaines Regionals and Classics. Tori celebrated every day. I can still see her diving off our boat, flying through the fields, and taking the wrong directed jump before I had a chance to send her! She was a pistol.
Remembering Jet
Having some success with Tori gave me the courage to try a border collie. Obedience Trial Champion Macana Mach Five Utility Dog Excellent, “Jet” earned his obedience trial championship in one weekend, winning every open and utility class. He earned Dog World Awards and numerous high in trials and high combined awards as well as winning the open class at both the Gaines Regional and Detroit World Series of Dog Obedience competitions. Jet was the brightest dog I have ever trained but most important of all, he always ate the black jelly beans.
A Passion for Herding
My Teachers
A friend talked me into working untrained Jet on sheep. We promptly put six ewes with heavy fleeces into a pond on our first try at herding. Who knew sheep could swim? Next I bought my own sheep, put them through a fence and lost them in the woods for two hours. As a result, I sought out the best herding trainers in the country from whom to learn and I am still learning today.
I started training Skye, Companion Dog Excellent who came from a herding background. Skye, my first herding dog and my last competition obedience dog, earned two Dog World Awards, multiple high in trials, a Gaines Regional placement and was awarded the Northeast Border Collie Association Novice Dog of the Year Award in herding. He later placed at the open level in sheepdog trials. Since herding had become my passion, Skye, who was the obedience dog I had always dreamed of finding, retired from competition obedience to spend the best years of his life teaching me about working and training sheepdogs. Skye took every step with me for 18 years.
With sheep came the livestock guardian dogs. I am grateful to Akbash dogs Atik and Amir, now gone, Medor and Bonnie, 12 and 13 retired (who fought bears for me), and Pyr/Akbash crosses Maddie and Oscar as well as Anatolian Shepherds Tarik and Aslan who are all working now.
The border collies have been my greatest teachers…Skye who did everything I asked him to do, Rush who taught me about “eye”, Zach who was simply the dog of a lifetime, Jiggs who was perfect in his heart and nearly perfect in his work, Reno who was my best friend, Roy who was a great farm dog, and the dogs in training now (Chrome, Levi and Nix) who are still works in progress, as am I.