The Story of Hope Through Hounds

I believe that dog training is rarely only about the dog. I have long wanted to create a space for learning without shame, that builds a sense of community for the people and dogs that I meet. Hope Through Hounds is the culmination of years of experience, and the realization that some of the most amazing people I have met in my life, are friends and connections I have made through training dogs.

My training, education, and personal experience, led me to notice something deeper happening during my sessions with dogs. I watched dog owners overwhelmed by life and struggling with feelings of shame, frustration, loneliness, and self-doubt begin to experience hope.

I began to recognize patterns in the way society talks about “problem behaviors” in both dogs and people. Fearful, reactive, anxious dogs, just like their human counterparts, are stigmatized, punished, and viewed as broken rather than supported with curiosity, compassion, and someone who can meet them where they are.

The clients I met often seem to have one important question.

“Is there any hope for me and my dog, or is it too late?”

And isn’t that the question we all have deep down about ourselves?

“Is there any hope for me, or is it too late?”

Hope Through Hounds is born of that question.

The regularity and repetition of the dog training process has a power far beyond modifying the dog’s behavior. I have watched clients begin to feel successful at something they once believed hopeless, and then watched as that sense of accomplishment spread into other parts of their lives.

Both species, through connecting, discovered hope. When hope is present, we can strive for things, we feel creative, and we begin to see the joy in learning to communicate with another species.

Hope Through Hound exists because I believe humans and dogs are not problems to be fixed. We are living beings trying to navigate an often overwhelming world and building strong, positive bonds with our pets can help us build strong, positive connections with each other.