TLC DOG TRAINING
Teach • Love • Communicate
Meet The Trainer
Desiree Drake
Desiree's world has always involved animals. Growing up hunting and fishing, she knew she wanted to get into a career with animals. She earned her Bachelor's of Science in Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences from University of Missouri - Columbia in 2015. However, instead of a career involving wildlife, Desiree found her calling training dogs. She is primarily self-taught and has trained her own dogs to compete in various venues and sports. Her three dogs have achieved many titles, placements, and awards in Rally, Obedience, Disc, Tricks, Fast CAT, and Nosework. Desiree continues to further her education and experience in the dog training community.
Foundation
TLC Dog Training was established in 2022 with an aim to provide personalized, affordable, in-home private lessons and to bridge any communication gaps between dogs and their family. The company's name came from Desiree's three dogs: Tipsy, Louie & Chloe. They have been on the journey with Desiree and have each taught her something new thus yet again proving that one training style does not work for all dogs. Desiree is comfortable teaching through positive reinforcement, as well as a balanced approach using various methods depending on the learning style of the dog and the abilities of the owner.
TLC is founded on three principles: Teach Love & Communicate.
Teach
To learn a new behavior, a dog must be taught. We can't expect a dog to know what we want without teaching them first! This goes for owners too. Our job as trainers is to teach you, the owner, how to understand your dog and help make your lives together more cohesive.
Love
We love our dogs, or else we wouldn't have them in our lives. With a little help, we could love our dogs even more when they learn what we want them to do, which includes staying out of trouble. A well-mannered dog is such a pleasure to live with.
Communicate
A dog doesn't understand English, so we have to communicate in a way the dog does understand. I like to think of this as feedback. We are giving the dog signals to let them know when they are doing a good job, or when they could use more improvement. Mixed messages are very confusing for dogs.
