This is me, Terri Dickerson, on just an ordinary hiking day. I love what I do because I’m doing what I love. I’ve been training dogs off and on for the past thirty years, but it wasn’t until I discovered Sit Means Sit Dog Training that I started seeing miracles happen.

I’ll be the first to admit I could have never hiked with 8 dogs off leash expecting them to come back. I couldn’t even walk my wolf dog, Keyonnie, on a leash easily. You can see the proof here!

There are 8 dogs total in this picture, 3 of which had only been training with me for a week and a half. On top of that 4 of them are just puppies about 6 months old, and furthermore, one of those puppies is deaf. Oh, and did I mention, the two shepherd mix puppies in the right hand corner are siblings? All of them were off leashes by the end. Man was that an exhausting hike and not because it was long! I only had the help of my assistant Emily, but we made it and got some interesting looks from other hikers and bikers along the way.

If you live in the area you’re bound to see me at a Farmer’s Market or a Home Show, stop by and say hi.

On the right is my assistant Emily. She is the young girl on the other side of the phone when you call. It was hard, but I turned all office work over to her and though I’m still getting used to it, it feels great! I don’t have to worry that I’ve forgotten to make a call in the evening because I’ve passed it off to her. She also keeps me organized. She’s a lifesaver!

When she’s not busy with college classes I can send her to shows or to do a lesson with clients that might need some extra help. Did I mention how vital she has become to me?

This is Keyonnie my wolf dog. She is part of the staff, but only works part time. She doesn’t perform tricks, but she is a crowd pleaser. I take her to home shows with me and she catches eyes. People can hardly believe she is part wolf. Shows are enough for her to earn her keep at my house, other than that she goes on group hikes with us. She’s my baby and I love her.

Then there is Captain the border collie. He came to me from another trainer that didn’t know how to work with the symptoms of his traumatic beginning. He was found as a young pup abandoned along the river and then teased mercifully by a man and young boys (so the story goes). He used to be a loose canon with everyone, but I’ve been able to teach him that not all people are bad.

I didn’t think I’d ever have a border collie, but he’s become such a loving boy that I can’t imagine life without him.

He is extremely intelligent and talented, but he gets a bit of stage fright at shows. He would be perfectly content with a life of herding sheep instead of all the fancy stuff. I haven’t totally given up on Captain though. He is the best bait dog I have. When I’m working with dog aggressive dogs I can rely on Captain to stay on place the entire time, as much as he dislikes it.

I got this little girl when she was just 5 weeks old. She is a Miniature Australian Shepherd and her name is Tango.

When I finally admitted to myself that Captain was never going to be the social, outgoing dog that I needed at shows for the crowd I decided to buy her.

Everybody loves her and she loves everybody! She is everything the standard size Aussies are, just in a cuter, smaller package.

She goes to all the shows with me because she is my rising star. She has a repertoire of tricks that she loves to perform. If you see us at a show stop by and we’ll do our best to put on a great show.