Meet the trainer

My name is Chris Puls (“pulse”). I LOVE training dogs and my life has revolved around training, competition and teaching others to train their dogs. I have been training dogs for over 40 years and before that, I was training horses. I have used positive reinforcement methods since first learning about them in 1999. I am constantly expanding my knowledge and use of ‘It’s your choice’ methods and I have helped literally hundreds of people train their dogs for a wide variety of sports and activities as well as problem solving and behavior modification.

I spent many years on patrol as a police officer in Cincinnati, Ohio and I am currently an AKC Scentwork Judge and I was a Barn Hunt Judge and used to offer training to people and their dogs for those sports at my home in Indiana. I was in high demand and helped many people problem solve and overcome issues they were having in the sport as well as starting MANY new dogs on the road to rat/scent addiction 🙂 I still get messages from my students saying they miss me and I still help some problem solve by phone or digital communication.

I was President of Dog Scouts of America and during the many camps where I worked as part of the staff, I helped train people and their dogs (using only positive training) for a wide range of skills including everything from teaching their dog to paint, to more serious stuff like Search and Rescue/Recovery (SAR) foundation training. I helped develop several of the badges DSA offers including the SAR Agility badges, which include skills and equipment that look very similar to the Canine Confidence Course obstacles. So I have direct experience with introducing both pet and sport dogs to obstacles like this and also learned from an experienced SAR K-9 handler (Bob Deeds) who helped at the World Trade Center site after 9-11.

With my own dogs, I have earned over 70 of the DSA badges (which have components for both ends of the leash to master) and which introduced me to a wide range of training skills with my dogs including a Rottweiler, a couple Cattle Dogs, a Beagle, and a Malinois. My field Lab was more recent and didn’t earn any badges, but he does have several sport titles.

My Malinois was the first dog I got into competition with and just about every sport was his favorite! He is incredibly smart and had boundless energy, so we did it all and got champion titles in a few sports.

One of my past jobs was working at a large dog daycare. This job, even more so than all the training I have done, taught me to learn to read dog body language. It was critical to see the beginning warning signs of impending trouble as early as possible. I also had a Cattle Dog who, in addition to poor breeding and bad genetics, spent the first 8 months of his life in a quiet backyard, which he rarely left. When I got him, after a chance encounter with his previous owners, he was afraid of everything. It took months for him not to bolt out the dog door whenever I or my husband came home. He is the reason I found positive training over 20 years ago. And he taught me more than any of my other dogs about behavior modification training and reading dogs.

Over the years I have increased my knowledge of dog training with in-person and online seminars as well as MANY Fenzi Dog Training on-line courses.

In 2019, I lost my husband to COPD and my response was to literally sell everything I owned, bought/built out an RV, and hit the road in January of 2020 to see the country and live full time in my RV. When the world shut down, I spent several months with my parents and helped my mom with my dad and his passing. Then I hit the road again. I LOVED that life! And if it weren’t for the economy, gas prices, and the direction I see this country headed, I’d still be on the road.

In late 2022, I decided I needed to settle down and try to get more self-sufficient. I bought 4 acres in SC and I have spent the past 2 years transforming an abandoned, trashed property into my little piece of paradise. And now I’m ready to get back into working with dogs!

I look forward to meeting you and your dog(s) and helping you master the course!