About Me

My name is Leita Hagemann. My journey with dogs started when I was in high school. I helped a family friend train her dog since she was busy working and couldn’t find the time. Under the guidance of my mother who taught me the basics and, Bo, a fun loving and eager to learn Golden Retriever I discovered I quite enjoyed training. However, It would be years before this passion became fully realized. 

    Many years later I fell in love. My soon-to-be fiance was nervous about my happiness since he had taken a new job and would be working long hours. I told him “That’s ok, just get me a puppy!”. Little did I know how these casual words would change my life. After moving and reading most of the books in the “dog” section of Barnes and Noble I found a breed and a breeder who would lead me down a totally new life path. 

   We brought Denali home a few months after we moved and I was so nervous. I remember googling “average respiratory rate of a puppy”. Everything was new and I wanted so badly to do right by this little ball of fur. We started training right away and he was so smart. We socialized with everyone that was safe and had playdates with other puppies in our class. I loved every minute of teaching him and watching him learn! Seeing the understanding in his eyes and communicating with him is what drove me to train dogs. Seeing owners and dogs have that “aha! moment” together is the highlight of my life. 

Denali and I had moments where it felt like the blind leading the blind and we definitely have stumbled along the way. I remember the horror I felt when I realized he had pooped in my best friend's living room. Potty training right? However, soon enough I had a well socialized happy-go-lucky, well mannered pup! 

I decided I was ready for the second pup and to go through the puppy process all over again. We named him Logan. First off, I love him. He is a fantastic dog and Denali’s best friend. However, everything I thought I knew he challenged. Logan can take most of the credit for why I went into training. Had I never had a “problem” dog I might never have been able to relate to the stress owners feel. He never was aggressive, or crazy, he was just defiant. He jumped on friends, he was super mouthy, he would dig in the yard, he would chew up EVERYTHING and he never came when called. I had to learn a whole host of new methods with Logan and I am a better trainer because of him. I am grateful to say that today he doesn’t jump on guests, and instead of mouthing them he runs to get a toy. He no longer digs in the yard, and hasn’t chewed anything up in years.