About Rachel
Before starting Rachel's Dog Training, LLC, Rachel Gutierrez (Owner/Trainer) developed her abilities through both formal classes and lots of hands-on experience. Rachel grew up with purebred Akitas as the family pets and at age 11 she took on the responsibility of caring for and training the Akita her family had at the time. In addition to owning purebred dogs, she has also rescued mixed-breed strays off the street which provided valuable experience in working with adult dogs who had missed out on early training and socialization. She has always had an interest in dog training which has prompted her to read extensively on the topic starting at a young age. In 2010, Rachel started volunteering at the Solano County Animal Shelter. Several years later, she started working full time at a boarding facility where she was responsible for the care of the dogs who were staying at the facility. In addition to this work, she also assisted a groomer. During her time at these facilities, she gained valuable experience with many different kinds of dogs and puppies from various backgrounds. She also noticed that many dog owners had trouble training their dogs to be well-behaved, pleasant companions, and wanted to help.
In order to refine her skills and learn how to apply them toward helping other people with their dogs, Rachel attended classes at the Michael Ellis School for Dog Trainers and shadowed several other professional dog trainers on the job. Since starting her own business, Rachel has helped rescue organizations by fostering dogs who need training before they can be adopted out. She continues to expand her knowledge and experience by participating in dog sports. Rachel competes in Agility and Mondioring with her personal dogs. Rachel is also a certified AKC evaluator.
Helping Dogs Adapt to the Human World
"Rachel has been amazing to work with. We got our boy Bohdi as a rehome when he was a year old. We are experienced dog owners and have trained all of our past and present dogs. Bohdi however had trust and aggression issues and he would charge other dogs. Taking him for a walk was exhausting and no one enjoyed it. He would go hide in his kennel when he saw the leash come out. We needed help and Rachel has been amazing. Bohdi now runs to the door and waits for his walk he is so excited. He and I both have a good time going for walks now. He still gets nervous around other dogs but he no longer goes crazy and out of control. He is still improving every day and we can't thank Rachel enough for helping Bohdi and us."
Tristan D, Vacaville
About the Training Programs
Instead of trying to fit every dog into standardized training programs, Rachel's Dog Training, LLC offers customized training programs. This means that we will work on the individual goals that you have for your dog and take into account what is best for both you and your dog. We also use a slightly different approach for each individual case since certain techniques work well for some dogs and not for others.
We start with a consultation where we will discuss your goals and any challenges you are having with your dog, and then we design a customized training program just for you and walk you through it step by step.