I started training my first Sheltie when I still was in high school. Shelties are quick learners, agile, family-oriented and a manageable size. And they’re beautiful! Kona and Cedar’s 22 titles include obedience, agility, trick, dancing, nose work and tracking. They also have earned many fun awards like retrieving a hot dog (without having teeth marks in it) from six feet away, the most sits in a minute and limbo. People love it when we visit, young and old alike. We log about 80 therapy visits a year. I go to a lot of pain clinics and talk about how the dogs could help. The patients may be in pain, but the dogs bring a smile to their faces. They especially like it when the two dogs hug each other and when they stack rings in the right order.

When I am out and about with Kona and Cedar, I always get many comments from people about how well-behaved my dogs are, which leads to inquiries about me helping owners train their dogs with regular obedience exercises or to deal with specific problems. I get satisfaction seeing the dog become a different dog — the one the owner wants.

Training provides dogs with the basic good manners we all want — from polite greetings when guests arrive to walking nicely on the leash to coming when called. A well-trained dog is by far a happier dog!

— As told to Sherri Kimmel