Dogs.  The beginning...

My love for dogs was a springboard for my own dog training and grooming business in the 70’s.  I began to learn to "read" body language in animals.  Those years also taught me how to set up my own business and the value of being highly organized.

In those days I lived on farmland and raised some horses, pigs, and chickens.  I discovered a lot of what I learned about dog behavior also applied to other animals.

A Wilderness Education...

I moved on to my adventure of a lifetime in the 80’s as a licensed professional guide in Idaho’s mountain backcountry and General Manager for one of the most respected horsemen outfitters in the state.  We lived in the wilderness for months at a time in remote tent camps.

This taught me the value of logistics and organization as every single item we needed on our backcountry trips was packed in on the back of a mule.  

At the time there was no electricity,  no cell phones, internet or any of the high-tech things we take for granted today.  If you forgot something -- you did without. 

I also learned a great deal about working calmly with livestock, reading their body language, and became very observant of the wildlife surrounding us.

My appreciation grew for a  “calm & quiet” life along with a very keen sense of self-reliance.

We wintered back at the ranch where we had electricity.  In the early 80's I discovered something new called a computer.  Spreadsheets and data became powerful tools to help run the business.  Self-taught, I took to computers like a duck to water.

My Education in Technology...

Back in Barrington for the '90s, I worked with my brother, Scott, in his business, Venning Enterprises.

We broke ground in the burgeoning cellular telecom industry from the days when cellphones were in the shape of bags & bricks to the arrival of way-cool smartphones.

I took those hard-won computer skills and learned to handle the telecom needs of some of the largest firms in Chicago.  My specialty became logistics and operations. 

During those years I earned a solid reputation as an innovative problem solver dealing with complicated technology upgrades for large banks and law firms.

Dogs and Agility

At the same time in the 90's, my free time was always with dogs.  I immersed myself in the world of dog agility and was an avid and successful competitor and instructor.  For years I spent most weekends on the road traveling to agility trials all over the midwest.

Countless hours of training and competition taught me to notice subtle changes in a dog's body language that signal what he's going to do next. 

I retired from Agility and looked for something else I could do with my dogs that didn't require so much running...

Dogs and Sheepherding

... and I found herding sheep on a friend's farm nearby.   Fortunately herding required more strategic thinking from me and less running at full speed.  :)

My dogs and I learned to "read" sheep and position ourselves in such a way as to get the sheep to move in the direction we wanted them to go -- all the while working calmly and quietly so as not to spook the flock.

I also learned to shear sheep on my own.  My early years using clippers to groom dogs proved quite useful.  I gained the skill to give "haircuts" to the flock of 100 for a few years.  My experience was an advantage -- I could move quietly among the sheep, read their "energy" and be able to calm them before they could spook.

I learned that those same skills translate to working with all animals -- but in my case I was particularly interested in dogs.

Just Dogs

In the summer of 2000 I finally found my forever-home tucked away in the trees here.  I knew instantly my life was going to change again.  Ever since it's just been me and the dogs.

I’ve combined a lifetime of experience with my love of dogs and ended up with a small business I am perfectly suited for.

My priorities have always been:

•  Provide a calm and safe environment for the few.

• Make it something I can really enjoy.

• And have the dogs who stay with me absolutely love coming here.