MASSANUTTEN — A normal perform working day does not exist for Brant Weller — sole owner and operator of The Trusted Companion.
Every pet that comes to him for training is a diverse breed, a unique age, has distinct requires and as a result calls for a distinctive program. The Dependable Companion has worked with a lot more than 400 pet dogs — and their house owners — since opening in February 2021 and a short while ago announced its continuing partnership with Floyd County Humane Modern society.
Weller’s profession as a puppy trainer began many years ago when he observed himself on the pet owner aspect of the fence. Two of his possess pet dogs were being improperly behaved, so he employed a coach to assist get the dogs back on monitor. As the canine acquired and behaviors enhanced, Weller had finished some understanding by means of the practical experience himself.
“I found that what I was mastering could enable other people today also,” recalled Weller, a resident of Massanutten.
He began his work with a skilled doggy schooling enterprise in 2013 and worked with them for around 8 yrs just before resigning and beginning his individual small business. Although working for his previous employer, he set up connections with the Floyd County Humane Culture — a shelter that advocates for the humane cure of companion animals in Floyd. Even as he still left the enterprise, Weller carried all those connections from the shelter with him and around the training course of two several years The Reliable Companion has worked with Floyd County Humane Society to train four of their lengthy-expression canine in residence to make them much more adoptable.
“Some of our best clientele are those who appear from the shelter,” Weller said in a press launch. “A lot of moments, dogs who have stayed long-term in shelters, are kennel pressured and need an outlet or a position to do and we can aid them turn out to be much more assured and cozy.”
Maya — a female terrier blend from the Floyd County Humane Culture — completed her coaching with Weller just past thirty day period. When her temperament enormously improved, she is nonetheless hunting for the perfect endlessly house to share her exuberant electrical power with. In accordance to Weller, partnering with the shelter is a worthwhile practical experience all the way around as he is equipped to support the canine get adopted and the new operator gets a fully qualified puppy without having obtaining to go via the schooling approach by themselves.
The Reliable Companion features obedience and panic rehabilitation for dogs in the variety of a board-and-practice software or personal classes. The thought of “play” is essential in The Trusted Companion’s training technique. Weller discussed that inadequate conduct is practically always rooted in the absence of enjoy that is satisfying for the puppies who have been bred more than hundreds of yrs to do a job that they you should not have the possibility to perform when sitting down in a shelter or caught in a spouse and children house environment.
“If you do not show that canine how to be by themselves, they are likely to battle,” Weller stated.
At the moment, Weller trains canines from Floyd County at the time or twice a 12 months but hopes to continue on to increase his business from just a “one particular male clearly show” and be equipped to work with other shelters in the upcoming.
