Welcome
Welcome to the website for Westhill Dog Training. We are a full-service dog behavior and training program located in Portland, Oregon.
Whether you have a pet that needs to learn basic manners, a retired show dog ready to start earning performance titles, or a young dog ready for a show ring debut, Westhill Dog Training has services for you. Westhill offers all types of dog training services primarily through the board-and-train option, but also has occasional openings for in-your-home dog training lessons or behavorial consultations. We specialize in terriers but have expereince with dogs of all breeds and mixes.
About Me
My desire to train dogs came about as a youth after I saw a video of a high-level obedience trainer. The teamwork and communication between the dog and handler inspired me and I began reading every dog book I could get my hands on. While other kids hid novels inside their textbooks in class, I hid non-fiction dog training books by Joel McMains, Matthew Margolis, Karen Pryor and other famous trainers of the 90's.
I soon began playing dog sports, and spent years training dogs for flyball, agility and earthdog. These sports moved me from the mindset of training dogs to do the things I wanted them to do, into a mindset of training dogs to do what comes naturally to them in the way I want them to do it- a truly behaviorist standpoint. This has given me much greater ability to work with dogs in all settings, be it show, sport or at home.
Currently, I train and compete with my own dogs and with client's dogs in the conformation ring and in rally, obedience, agility, earthdog, and Schutzhund. Along with the busy competition schedule, I also spend a great deal of time helping dog owners get and keep their pets under control with basic house-and-public-place manners.
I soon began playing dog sports, and spent years training dogs for flyball, agility and earthdog. These sports moved me from the mindset of training dogs to do the things I wanted them to do, into a mindset of training dogs to do what comes naturally to them in the way I want them to do it- a truly behaviorist standpoint. This has given me much greater ability to work with dogs in all settings, be it show, sport or at home.
Currently, I train and compete with my own dogs and with client's dogs in the conformation ring and in rally, obedience, agility, earthdog, and Schutzhund. Along with the busy competition schedule, I also spend a great deal of time helping dog owners get and keep their pets under control with basic house-and-public-place manners.