2024 has been a fun and exciting year for Golden Paws Dog Training!  We celebrated our second year in our new training building.  It’s such a perfect setup for dog training classes!  This summer, we finished our agility field, a 110×110 foot fenced-in area. It’s so nice to have the room to run full courses!

I continue to employ two part-time trainers, Angela and Teri.  They have been such excellent, kind, and caring instructors.  I appreciate having both of them on my team!

We continued to offer puppy and manners classes this year.  One of my goals this year has been to educate puppy owners on how critical well-run puppy socialization classes are for the behavioral health of their puppies, and I feel that we’ve done a good job getting that message out.  The whole reason that I do this dog training thing is to help improve the relationship between dogs and their owners.  Dogs are so special and we are lucky to have wonderful bonds with them, and training makes that bond even stronger!

In addition to puppy and manners classes, we offered dog sports classes such as rally, tricks, and agility, hosted seminars by other instructors, hosted our own seminars, and offered training for the local 4-H club.  Working with the 4-H kids and their dogs has been so rewarding!

I’ve been busy teaching online classes, webinars, and workshops with Fenzi Dog Sports Academy.  Each term I’ve offered two classes and presented workshops and webinars on many dog sports topics.  I also had the pleasure of teaching at the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy Training Camp in Ohio this past fall.  It was so fun meeting many of my online students in person!

Our own pups had a pretty fabulous year also!  Strive is our oldest at 11.5 years old.  This year her and 14-year old Lexi finished their RACH2 (Rally Championship), which is a HUGE accomplishment.  Lexi and Strive ended up 4th in the country for Junior Handler Rally points.  The highlight of their year was attending the Junior Handler Invitational in Orlando, FL, this past December.  Strive and Lexi placed 5th in the agility competition, and qualified 6 out of 6 times in rally, earning two 1st places, a 4th place, and high combined.  It was an incredible experience and both handled the atmosphere like pros!

Here is one of their agility runs in Florida!

Not to be outdone by his mom Strive, 7.5 year old Excel had a pretty great year too!  He finished his RACH this past fall, which makes him the 4th dog in his litter to earn championship titles.  In addition, Excel became my youngest daughter’s 4-H dog this year.  They had a great show at the county fair and are looking forward to competing at state next year!

My puppy Rise is in the middle of adolescence at nearly 1 ½ year old!  He’s a fabulous puppy and is so much fun.  Rise earned his Novice Trick Dog title at 16 weeks and has been working on learning all the things.

One of the jobs that I’m most proud of is being the St. Louis County 4-H Dog Project leader.  I love working with the kids and their dogs, teaching them to use kind training techniques and bettering their relationship with their dogs. This year we had four kids attend the state show, and they were incredible!

Hailey and her toller North won 2 blue ribbons in Agility, including an Award of Excellence!  In showmanship they earned a Reserve Champion!

Joy and her golden Bailey earned a blue in agility and a blue in rally!

Levi and his labrador Kyra earned a blue in agility, Reserve Champion in obedience, an award of Excellence in rally, and Reserve Champion in showmanship!

Lexi and her golden Strive earned a Grand Champion in Agility Standard and Jumpers, a Reserve Champion in Rally, and a Grand Champion in Obedience.

It was such an exciting year for our 4-H kids!  I’m so thankful for the opportunity to teach these kids about dogs and dog sports.  They are the future of the sports I love, so supporting them is very important to me!

Wow, what a fabulous year it’s been!  This coming year, I hope to offer even more high-quality dog training opportunities for dog sports in our area, as well as growing our puppy and manners classes.

Thank you to all of my clients and students for all the support.  Without you, none of this would be possible.  I wish you and your dogs a wonderful 2025, and I hope to see you in class either at Golden Paws or online!