My Story

Training, competitions, sport dogs, hiking partners, best friends. Dogs have been a important part of my life since I was extremely young. 

I got my first personal dog at 16 and never looked back. Training him created a passion in me, that was the beginning of a fulfilling career path. “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.“ 

Getting my start working at a cage free boarding facility, I earned a lot of hands on experience with dog behavior, socialization, different dog breeds and personality traits. As I grew, I continued to work with and learn from a plethora of different trainers, with varying training styles. Hands on seminars, video seminars, books and certification have allowed me, and continue to allow me to learn and grow as a trainer. Continuing education in any field is important and I find it extremely important to not only continue education but, to work among my peers through dog sports with my personal dogs. Being a part of our local Retriever Hunt Club (Which is my current sport of choice with my dogs) allows me to do this. 

Throughout the years, my personal dogs have allowed me the ability to explore different sports and jobs for them. I’ve trained and titled in IPO (a sport consisting of high obedience skills, tracking and protection training), started my dog as a human remains detection dog for Search and Rescue, dabbled in agility, and currently train and have titled dogs in AKC Hunt Test. 

Training my personal dogs, hiking and being outdoors with my family and our dogs, training with our local hunt club, and trialing my goldens are a few of my favorite things. Thoughtfully breeding AKC Health Tested Goldens with my good friend and fellow trainer Nicole Peacock, is a great passion of mine and something we both put a lot of heart & soul into. You can view our breeding program at www.Gritgraceandgolden.com