About Us

Story: 

Erica received a degree as a teacher at NWMSU with a passion for teaching and for dogs. After getting a teaching position, she was searching for ways to work with dogs. She finished up the first year of teaching and decided being in a classroom wasn’t for her. With the support of family and a loving husband, she went on to learn to become a professional dog trainer.

 

The reason they decided to pursue this passion through a dog business is for two main reasons. Erica loves working with dogs- she connects with them and looks past the behavior to see what the dog is trying to communicate.  Her success at training dogs to detect gluten, teaching pet dog behaviors through obedience, and teaching clients how to work with their dogs comes from a combination of her teaching education degree and her certifications as a dog trainer.

 

Another reason this business is so important to the Gates family is that it enables them to be at home with their baby (soon to be "babies"). They have a babysitter come to their home to help with their son’s care, as well as workers to assist with cleaning and playing with the dogs. This ensures that each dog is receiving optimal training, care and boarding experience while Dylan and Erica can also both be present for important milestones with their son.  The Gates family have reached out to partner with teens through the community who are interested in learning more about the business and love to interact with dogs!  

 

By offering these services to our community we are able to fill a need that we have for our area.  By partnering with our local vet, we are striving to create a clean and safe environment that is consistently improving.  Being on site creates a higher quality of training, boarding and care, providing the Gates family the continual opportunity to grow and expand their business.

 

As a service dog trainer, Erica works with local shelters to find the perfect dog to match the client who is in need of a gluten detection dog. A gluten detection dog is for clients who are highly allergic to wheat, rye, and barley. Having a gluten dog has helped improve the lives of clients who have Celiac Disease by alerting them that the food is not safe to eat. Erica is incredibly passionate about training service dogs because she has seen how these dogs have improved the lives of people who have been struggling with their health.

 

Starting a small business has been challenging!  It has taught us how to love each client and their dogs, how to always learn more, and do the best that we can with the knowledge that we have. Even though we have had ups and downs, like all new small business owners, our long term goal is to continue to provide for our communities needs!

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