Meet Patrice Kuiken of In Good Paws Dog Training in North Denver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrice Kuiken.

Patrice, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I began volunteering for the Boulder Valley Humane Society during my freshman year at CU Boulder. I initially walked dogs and kept kennels clean and then I found out about their STAR (Specially Trained Adoptable Rovers) program. A local trainer volunteered her time and led a weekly group class for the dogs in the shelter. As a volunteer for STAR, I was assigned a dog to take to class and work with them throughout the weeks until they were adopted.

It was a profoundly rewarding and challenging experience and this was when I realized I had the training bug. I started reading any training book I could get my hands on and attended seminars on dog behavior and training. After earning a BA in Psychology, I got a job as a head trainer at Petco. This was a great starting point, but I realized I wanted to build my own company so I could reach more people with my vision and passion.

My own dog was enrolled in dog sports with another local training company and after chatting with the founder about how he got started, I was offered a job! I did private sessions and group classes for basic obedience and behavior problems. After a time, the founder wanted to take a step back from training and this was the perfect opportunity to strike out on my own.

I founded In Good Paws Dog Training in August of 2013. I had a full-time job in customer service and would do private sessions on evenings and weekends. After much effort, I leaped into a part-time job so I could focus my energies on building my business. In a couple of years, I was able to move to my business full time and have been growing it ever since.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been a bumpy road, but because I know this is what I am meant to do, that made it easier to persevere. My main struggles have been financial. It is tough to move your business from a side project while you work full time elsewhere to make the financial leap of faith into your business full time. I did this in pieces. First moving from a full-time job to a more flexible part-time job before making the jump into my business full time. Each change was pretty terrifying, but I am so thankful I did it!

Getting new clients was also a struggle. Marketing in this field is challenging without money, so I spent a lot of time building relationships with dog-related businesses. Though time-intensive, it has paid off and the word of mouth about my business has gone into motion.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
Good Paws Dog Training is about providing people with the most up-to-date and humane training methods for their dogs. I am a force-free dog trainer, meaning I will not use pain, fear or intimidation to train dogs, but I do not sacrifice efficiency either. I work with anything from basic obedience to fear, but I specialize in reactive dogs (think of the dogs that bark and lunge at others on leash) and out of control adolescents.

I also teach a fun dog sport called Nose Work, where we teach dogs to use their nose to find birch, anise, and clove hidden in tins in the container, interior, vehicle, or exterior searches. I am currently enrolled in a prestigious dog training school called The Academy for Dog Trainers. This is known as the Harvard of dog training schools and is an intensive two-year program. I am proud of how far my skills have come during this time in the Academy and am hoping to graduate by the end of 2019.

My dedication to continuing to learn and provide the most up-to-date methods, both for training dogs and coaching people sets me apart. I have a fierce passion for dog training and am committed to help both people and their dogs have better lives together.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My biggest supporters and cheerleaders are my parents and sister. They challenge me to be a better communicator while wholeheartedly offering me support and help when needed. Without them, I am not sure I could have made it through this journey. Whether it is coming up with marketing strategies or listening to me after a challenging day, I always feel their love and support.

My friend JoAnne is another big supporter and advocate. She suggested in 2018 that we become accountability partners and this goal focused bi-weekly check-in helped me continue to improve and grow. Constantly re-evaluating where you are, where you want to be and how to get there has definitely improved my success in my business.

Troy Mills of Guy and A Leash Dog Training has also been a huge help and support. I would consider him my first mentor. It was his company that I started with as a private and group class trainer following my time at Petco. He has always been there to help give me advice and was fully supportive when I started In Good Paws back in 2013. To this day we are regularly in touch (my dog still takes Nose Work classes from him) and I know I can always bounce ideas off of him.

I recently added a team member, Kara Polanksy and I couldn’t be happier to grow In Good Paws with her. She is an experienced and wonderful trainer in her own right and works as an independent contractor to help me provide quality training to more people. She is dedicated to people and their dogs and is seeking to grow her skills and In Good Paws alongside me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ingoodpawsdt.com
• Phone: 720-248-7212
• Email: patrice@ingoodpawsdt.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ingoodpawsdt/

Image Credit:
Uhli Photography 2015 for the 2 images with my Aussie and I (me wearing a grey shirt walking with my dog and a grey over shirt sitting with my dog).

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