Hidden Gems: Meet Kasey Dugan of Get Sit Done Dogs

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kasey Dugan.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My background is mostly working with horses, but I have worked with different species over the years and have always been interested in dog behavior and training.

I decided to take the plunge and worked as an Assistant Trainer at a doggie daycare and then later as an intern at a large, positive reinforcement training company in the Denver area. With the nudging and encouragement from friends, family, and training clients launched Get Sit Done Dogs at the very end of 2020.

Even in my work with horses, I always focused on the relationship and partnership first. It’s important to me to take the time to understand how our animals learn best and communicate and then use those things to help teach and educate them. Dog training is a reciprocal relationship built of trust, understanding, compassion, and effective, 2-way communication.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Heck no! It was scary AF to venture out into the great wide open, especially as a “newer” dog trainer. I was (and am) fortunate to have many great mentors, professional colleagues, and friends who are also dog trainers, so we can always lean on each other for support, guidance, troubleshooting, and swapping ideas.

I never imagined myself being a business owner or an entrepreneur. But what I realized while working for other people and companies was that I was helping to build someone else’s dream and not my own. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but I wanted more and I wanted the freedom and opportunity to try new things. I couldn’t do that while working for someone else, but I can do that while working for myself.

Having my own business challenges me to always be growing, learning, and expanding my knowledge and skill set. I can also try new things and have found that one of my strong suits is creative dog training solutions that are not necessarily mainstream or traditional.

Each dog and family to me is like a puzzle that has different ways of being solved and finding what is the best fit. What works for one dog and family doesn’t necessarily work for another. I love being able to use my creativity for good and help each family and their dog(s) be successful.

We’ve been impressed with Get Sit Done Dogs, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Get Sit Done Dogs was founded in 2020 and our core values are helping people and their dogs go from chaos to connection through play and games-based learning and activities, mutual trust and respect, compassion, understanding, and effective 2-way communication.

The relationship is the most important part to me. Without a relationship, you don’t have a foundation upon which you can build. There can be too much forcing our dogs into submission and not enough learning about normal dog behaviors how dogs communicate and why they do what they do. We treat them as humans and expect them to follow our guidelines and rules, but don’t give them a frame of reference in which to work in. They are expected to learn our language and customs with little to no feedback.

I am not your average or traditional dog trainer. I like to use creativity and tap into our dog’s natural abilities and talents to bring about the desired behavior change. I also like to support the human side of the relationship too! My compassion and empathy extend to both sides of the leash. I help people learn how to see their dogs and connect with them.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk-taking.
Absolutely! I don’t do things the traditional way and some of my techniques are a bit unorthodox, but they do get results! I used to play it safe and only work on skills that I thought would be expected and traditionally work on them. However, I have found that adding my spin to things has been extremely helpful to many dogs and their families.

I also (compassionately) challenge people to take a deeper look at their preconceived ideas, thoughts, feelings, and opinions and encourage people to expand their mindsets. Sometimes people aren’t able and willing to do that (I get it, change is scary and humans like patterns and predictability), but I can show people a different and wonderful side to living with and teaching and educating their dogs and it’s all worth it!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.getsitdonedogs.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/getsitdonedogs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/getsitdonedogz/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV_w4U5W5kdipN9cXKRDeHw

Image Credits
Alyssa Sanchez