Who is Canine Conversion?

My name is Randi Moen.  I owned my first dog at 21 years old.  I decided to get a German Short Hair Pointer named Kaja after a trip to Norway.  I hade zero experience with dogs at the time.  I made mistakes and I know now that a lot of my dogs problems were caused by me and could have been corrected.  I continued to educate myself on dog training by watching a lot of Ceasar Milan "Dog Whisperer" series and reading his books.  My first real hands on training came when my mom got a service dog Caleb to assist her with balance.   Part of the process included going to Pennsylvania to the training facility and spending four weeks transitioning Caleb to come home with her.  This was one of the most valuable dog training experiences I had.  I was able to participate in his training and also assist with other dogs that were in training.  I spent all of my spare time doing this.  This was a game changer for me.  I started to understand tools better and how to properly use them to assist in training a dog.  I continued to add dogs to my household including a second German  Shorthair Pointer Kjell - aka BO BO.  Not the sharpest tool in the shed, but the most kind gentle giant you would ever meet.  After the passing of Kaja and Kjell, I had another German Short Hair that I took in through rescue, her name was Halla.  I will say after each dog, my training and understanding of what dogs really need became apparent, they need a calm assertive leader.  I would then take on three doodles to complete my pack.  At this point I had four pretty well behaved dogs.  Constantly learning and growing.  Looking back now, there were definitely things I could have done better, but I would have to say I definitely mastered the walk.  I was asked by other people for help with their dogs walking and people noticed. Not a formal dog trainer by a means, but a resource for people I knew.  I was working in corporate America and was married at the time.  In June of 2022 my world was turned upside down. I would end a 24 year marriage and learn to be the strongest person you would ever know. I had some time off from corporate life and in March of 2023 I would start my journey in dog training.  I reached out to two local trainers I had researched and asked to have a meeting with them.  I was toying with the idea of becoming a dog trainer and looking for advice.  These two ladies would change my world by offering me the opportunity of a lifetime.  Having two valuable resources available and starting an internship with one of them, Amber Barry from The Kinetic K9 in Duanesburg.  At the same time I would be a dog walker for a local company giving me the opportunity to fine tune my skills even more.  Amber is an amazing trainer with an impeccable reputation in the industry.  She was willing to share with me every single thing she knew and continues to look for training opportunities to expose me to.  I decided I was experienced enough and producing great results to start my own dog training LLC in December 2024.   I am in the process of building a home and my facility in Delanson NY and will continue to work in tandem with The Kinetic K9 and Amber. I am American Red Cross Certified in pet first aid and CPR.  I also am a dealer of Herm Sprenger and E-Collar Technologies. I have two GSD of my own, Liv and Finley, both are certified Advanced Canine Good Citizen and are working on certifying as Therapy Dogs.  In addition to training I work with elderly, disabled and hospice patients with my personal dogs providing happiness, healing and much more.  I also have a great love for horses and had my own hobby farm and have owned horses for for over a decade.  Training dogs and horses has many parallels so I am finding out.   As far as dogs go, I am experienced in basic obedience training (sit, down/place, heel and  recall) and some behavioral issues such as leash reactivity, jumping, counter surfing, barking, impulse control, crate training,learning to ignore other dogs.  I have observed and assisted with, but will not handle highly aggressive dogs or those that need significant behavioral modification.  I will refer those out to my friend and colleague Amber Barry from The Kinetic K9, this is her wheel house. Her web site is :  www.thekinetick9.com