About Christine Dewson, Delaware Dog Trainer
Christine and her first Great Dane, Lily.
Growing up with dogs brings about some of my happiest memories of childhood. I loved everything about having dogs and being able to take them to the beach with us. Looking back, I realize we were able to do this because we had really well behaved social dogs.
I rescued my first dog while I was in the Army. She had such a big impact on my life that I started volunteering with shelters and rescues. Being super passionate about fellow service members and their dogs, I spent a few years traveling the world helping a non-profit bring dogs who had been rescued by soldiers back to the States. In the process of all these travels, I had the opportunity to engage with many types of dogs and circumstances that challenged my skills. I was determined to learn more to help each dog have a better transition to a life of freedom!
Fast forward to having 3 dogs of my own and realizing they needed me to be their advocate and not just their human. I had a Great Dane, an Anatolian mix from Afghanistan, and a tripod I rescued in Bosnia—quite the mix, as you can imagine! George, the Anatolian mix, had lots of “quirks” that were beyond my skill set. We struggled through bite incidents with both people and dogs. I couldn’t board him at most facilities because of this aggression and forget having guests over without a physical door between him and others. But I love him and I was unwilling to give up; we were in this together. I spent thousands of dollars on trainers/behaviorists trying to get him the help he needed, only to be told again and again to euthanize him. That was unacceptable to me so I ended up carefully managing him and his environment instead.
Left to right: Little Star, George (sitting), Christine, Dudley, Cupcake, and Jade.
Meanwhile, the tripod, Little Star, began having issues with my Great Dane, Jade. She also never listened and was quite sassy overall. It was through Little Star that I discovered balanced training. I sent her to a board and train program where amazing behavioral changes began to happen. When she came home I had to put in a lot of effort to maintain her new skills, and I realized I was beginning to truly enjoy her. This made me want to learn more about balanced training, so I took George to a weekend seminar. Just after one weekend of learning about balanced training I was able to confidently walk George without having to worry about “Cujo” appearing!
It was so refreshing to enjoy spending time with my dog off my property that I decided I wanted to help other families enjoy life much more with their dogs, too. This was the catalyst that motivated me to pursue a career in dog training. Even after launching Chaos to Calm K9 Training, I continue to shadow trainers, work with mentors, and attend seminars to make sure I’m offering the best possible service to my clients.
I chose to name my business “Chaos to Calm” because that best represents what balanced training has done for my household. What was once chaos—carefully managing George’s aggression and sassy Little Star taking issue with my Great Dane—was now calm. It is no exaggeration to say that balanced training has changed all of our lives for the better, and that is what I hope to share with others.
Thank you so much for visiting my website and reading about my journey. I hope to meet you and your dog soon!
