Meet Nicole Parayno of PupScouts Dog Training in Woodland Hills

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Parayno.

Nicole, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m actually allergic to dogs, but I grew up with dogs my whole life. Despite the allergies, I’d spend every day with my dogs, training them and playing with them. Since I was a young girl, I had always dreamed of becoming a Veterinarian… I always knew I wanted to work with animals.

When I was 18, I got my first dog; a Lab/Chow mix named Lily. Using what I learned growing up and what I could absorb from books and videos, Lily and I began training together. We started with basic obedience and experimented with tons of tricks. Lily was my best friend and our time together really is what taught me what I know now.

Years later, I had a new dog named Cookie; a Dachshund mix, who I also self-trained. At that time, I was juggling a full-time job as a Medical Assistant during the day while working part-time as a manager at McDonald’s at night. With each day passing, I knew I’d rather work with dogs and that I was capable; I just needed to find a workplace that I could make a living from. I landed an opportunity to work for a dog training company; the company liked my training experience so far, and I was ready to continue learning. But after several years with the company, I found that they no longer aligned with my values.

And when boyfriend of nine years, a songwriter and producer, had an opportunity to move out to LA, and with me now being self-employed, I figured I had nothing to lose! So, here I am!

Has it been a smooth road?
The entrepreneurial road definitely hasn’t been an easy one. The most challenging part of being self-employed is wondering where your income will come from. The newfound freedom and instability were both exhilarating and terrifying.

I wasn’t entirely unprepared; I had been building myself up as a dog trainer in the community throughout the years so now that I was venturing out on my own, I was grateful to find that I had plenty of friendships and connections I could get in touch with. With that in mind, I let everyone know I was taking on more clients. I worked extra hard, figuring out creative ways to extend my reach, build my clientele, and increase brand recognition.

And even with that little bit of preparedness I felt, I still had too many reasons to worry and stress: one of those reasons was that I doubted myself a lot. I wasn’t sure that I could be successful on my own. I didn’t think I was good enough to run a business. I couldn’t fully believe I had value. I also felt limited.

While I enjoyed making money on my own, that first year was spent dipping into my savings account just to pay all my bills. Toward the end of the lease, I was left with almost nothing.

And when my boyfriend recently had an opportunity to relocate to Cali, we hit many bumps along the way. Long story short, we ended up couchsurfing for nine months. We were with amazing friends, crashing in their living room, eager and waiting for the OK to finally move. But when weeks turned into months, we took some initiative for ourselves and found a place in California with friends who offered a room in their home for us.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the PupScouts Dog Training story. Tell us more about the business.
Back in Las Vegas, I was known for being a trainer that offered private, in-home training sessions focused on basic obedience and socialization, training service dogs, and setting up pack walks & hikes. Now that I’m in California, I’m beginning to build my reputation out here and essentially starting all over again. While doing this, I still visit Vegas monthly to work with clients there as well!

Since COVID-19, I began offering virtual training sessions so that even if we can’t see each other, I can still offer training tips & techniques and walk you through training!

I teach clients how to build a firm foundation with their pets, how to maintain a healthy relationship with dogs, and address behavioral issues they may be experiencing. Since the way you train one dog may not be the same way another dog learns, and client’s issues can vary, I personalize our training sessions and cater them to their specific needs.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I don’t know where I’ll be in the next 5-10 years, and since I only moved here a couple of months ago, I’m really just focused on building myself out here. I do, however, definitely have dreams and plans of running my own training facility in the future. That’s definitely going to happen!

Contact Info:

• Website: Pupscoutsdogtraining.com
• Phone: 702.350.9210
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: Instagram.com/PupScoutsDogTraining
• Facebook: Facebook.com/PupScoutsDogTraining
• Twitter: Twitter.com/PupScoutsLV
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pupscouts-dog-training-los-angeles-2?uid=abzIJZ1HBSsCh3X7xUAZ0w&utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Image Credit:
Elmer Abapo

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