March 14, 2017

Meet Hudson Shock of Best Dogs Ever Dog Training in Woodland Hills to Burbank

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hudson Shock.

Hudson, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I previously had a successful, high paying career as a digital effects artist, with credits on Fifth Element, Titanic, Fast Five, etc. but I felt unfulfilled. I struggled for several years to figure out what I really wanted to do instead. When someone said, “You really like dogs. Have you considered doing something with that?” it was like a light shown down and angels sang.

It’s an unfortunate fact that there are no legal requirements anywhere in the U.S. to be a dog trainer – literally anyone can charge someone money to train their dog, regardless of their qualifications. I knew that I didn’t want to be that kind of trainer. Even though I had been volunteering with animal rescue groups for a few years, I needed formal training. I joined the Hollywood Paws Pro Trainer program – a one year in-depth program on behavior science, learning theory and hands-on advanced training. And then I mentored under Janine Pierce at J9’s K9s Dog Training in Canoga Park for a couple of years.

Hollywood Paws gave me a solid scientific understanding of training that has been invaluable, but my experience with J9’s K9s gave me an understanding of working with fearful and aggressive dogs that cannot be gained just from study.

Eventually, with great trepidation and nervousness, I completely quit my old Hollywood career and started Best Dogs Ever. It started off slow, but it has been a steadily growing success. In 2016, after five years in business, I brought on a new trainer, Amanda Posen, who I knew from Hollywood Paws, and she’s been an incredibly help and success. I’m extremely proud of our reviews on Google and on Yelp. So far, we have a perfect record – 35 five-star reviews on Yelp! I’m hoping to grow Best Dogs Ever even more, though my requirements for new trainers will always remain extremely rigorous.

Has it been a smooth road?
It actually has been a pretty smooth road. My wife and I made sure that we were financially prepared for Best Dogs Ever to not make much money the first three of years as I built up my reputation and client base. I had a number in mind – if I wasn’t making that much by the end of the third year, I’d close it up and go back to my old career. Luckily, it only took me two years to reach that goal. Still, my advice to anybody thinking about jumping into a new business would be to make SURE that you have your savings and finances in order beforehand, no matter how much you believe in yourself or your business.

As with any business there are definite slow periods occasionally, though the past couple of years have been nicely steady. The bigger hurdle, especially before I brought on another trainer, was when I was _too_ busy. It’s heartbreaking for me to turn down someone who calls with a problem dog that they don’t know to deal with, and so I found myself working 7 days a week much of the time. Burnout is actually a serious issue with dog trainers. I had to learn the hard way that it’s necessary to schedule time for myself. Luckily, with Amanda Posen now working with me, I’m able to take my days off and still arrange for everyone who calls to get the help they need.

One thing that hasn’t been a problem are my clients. Unlike television shows which present dog owners as neurotic, clueless or difficult, I have to say that the vast majority of my clients are a joy to work with. These are people who love their dogs so much they’ve gone to the trouble of finding and paying a trainer to help them. They are, almost without exception, intelligent and committed to doing the work necessary, which is why we have such a high success rate with their dogs.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
We do private in-home training for dogs. We do everything from teaching people how to raise a happy, well-behaved puppy, to basic obedience and advanced tricks, to dealing with emotional issues like separation anxiety, fear and aggression.

Our real specialty is “Day Training,” where we train a client’s dog directly for them. Unlike “boot camps” or “board-and-train” facilities where you send your dog away, we come to the client’s home four times a week and train the dog in the comfort their own home. I’ve found it to be more effective than board-and-train, and it’s much easier on the dog’s owner not to be separate from their pet (not to mention easier on the dog!).

I think two things set us apart. First, we use a fully humane positive-reinforcement style of training. No choke chains, no prong or electronic shock collars, not even scolding or “acting dominant.” You’ll hear some trainers disparage positive-reinforcement, saying that it’s not appropriate or effective for certain problems, but I’ll tell you straight up – positive, force-free methods of training are *the* most effective methods of training, even (especially!) for aggression cases. I’m very proud of our commitment to humane methods.

What I’m most proud of, though, is our relationship with our clients. We work extremely hard to make training as fun and easily as possible for both the dog and the owner. Positive reinforcement applies to people, too – no scolding from us! Every training plan is customized to the individual’s needs. And the relationship doesn’t stop there – all of our training comes with what we call “Lifetime Tech Support for your dog.” We are available by phone, text or email for as long you own your dog, for any behavior or training question that ever comes up.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Los Angeles definitely needs better professional dog trainers. Not just people who think they can put a choke chain on a dog and teach it to “be submissive”, nor people who may have a good scientific understanding but still just treat it like a hobby and are fairly unprofessional. There _are_ some really excellent trainers in this city – trainers who regularly go to conferences to expand their skills and run their businesses to be reliable to their clients – but not enough for a city of this size and this spread out. So, yes, I’d say that if you’re really serious about a career in dog training, Los Angeles might be one of the best cities in the US to start.

Los Angeles doesn’t really need to do much to improve being good for dog trainers, but if it wanted to be good for dogs, it could really improve the quality of its dog parks.

Pricing:

Puppy 101 – How to raise happy, well-behaved puppy the easy, fun way: $225
Private In-Home Coaching – let us teach you how to teach your dog: $150 per hour lesson (after initial $75 consultation)
Day Training – we teach your dog directly in the safety of your home: $450 per week (after initial $75 consultation)

Contact Info: