Dave grew up in San Jose, CA where animals were a regular part of his life. He grew to know animals and appreciate their pure nature at an early age. As a young child, Dave had cats, dogs, turtles, fish, birds and frogs as pets. Working with and training animals was one of Dave’s interests as he grew up.
Dave and Becky met in college and were married. They began their family in Long Beach, CA where they had dogs of many different breeds. They trained their dogs and were very proud as their dogs won obedience awards. After Dave retired from the Long Beach Police Department in 1991, they moved to the Northwest looking for a better environment in which to raise their family. Dave and Becky started dog training professionally.Dave and Becky had dogs and horses at their new house in Woodinville. Dave wanted to learn all he could about animal/human communication and he began by attending a horse whispering demonstration and clinic given by horse whisperer Frank Bell in 1996. Dave began studying the art of Natural Horsemanship under Frank Bell’s guidance and is now a certified horse trainer. Dave also wanted to help performance animals that needed help with muscular injuries so he went to Equissage (Round Hill, VA) and became certified in Equine/Canine Sports Massage Therapy in 1997.
Dave combined his intuitive ability with animals and his newly expanded training to help Becky break the human/animal communication barrier. Soon, Dave was handling difficult training cases and together, he and Becky have been able to help numerous animals and their owners develop great relationships.
Dave also used and continues to use his technical abilities to write and maintain the Puppy Manners web site. He continually strives to make the site informative, helpful, and fun for all visitors. He always enjoys feedback regarding the website as it was his own concept and design.Dave assisted Becky on the movie set of Practical Magic, a movie filmed partially in Coupeville, WA. They handled the dogs on the movie set and used their expertise to get the best shots with the dogs.
As the dog training business grew quickly and dramatically, the dot.com bubble burst. The company for which Dave was working went out of business so he joined Becky full time in the dog training business. He now tends to the technical aspects of the business including technical development, accounting, and personnel management. He works on the Puppy Manners Ranch, the training facility, and their computer network and internet needs. He also conducts private lessons and assists Becky in group training classes. Many have referred to Dave as the “dog whisperer” after they see his compassion and dog-quieting abilities in person.
Dave truly enjoys helping people with their animals and works hard keeping Puppy Manners running smoothly to the benefit of all their clients.
