HACIENDA HILLS DOG OBEDIENCE CLUB …
How we started out ... and grew to become an important facet of
Dog Services Unlimited!
Way back in 1969, Paul Thurner began conducting obedience training classes in the Hacienda Heights area, and his popular teaching style and effective methods soon began to attract people from all over surrounding communities. Over the next few years, word of mouth was building quite a demand for his classes. Throughout the early 1970's Paul and his wife, Patty, carefully recruited a small group of people to become instructors for their growing company, known as "Hacienda Hills Dog Obedience Club". They began conducting classes throughout the San Gabriel Valley area. (Hacienda Heights, Monrovia, San Dimas, Walnut, Duarte, and Rowland Heights) In 1974, they incorporated, and established the business name "Dog Services Unlimited" which encompassed all of their dog-related endeavors, including a successful home-delivery dog-food and supply service they had started. They continued to use the name "Hacienda Hills Dog Obedience Club" on their graduation certificates and paperwork (and still do to this day!), since that was the name so many of their students associated with the Thurners' training programs and their wonderful instructors.
As a few more trainers joined Hacienda Hills' professional staff, they expanded to additional cities, including La Habra, Brea, Irvine, San Juan Capistrano, and Yorba Linda. As word got around about their quality programs, they were approached by many recreational organizations and cities, who wanted to offer affordable and effective dog obedience training programs to people living in their communities. Hacienda Hills Dog Obedience Club became a well known organization not only in the San Gabriel Valley, but throughout Orange County and the Riverside area as well!
Today, our group includes over 25 professional trainers, some of whom have been instructing with us for 20 years or longer! We conduct a wide array of classes in over 100 different locations throughout Orange County and parts of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, as well as in-home training to suit your needs and your busy schedule.
MEET THE KNOWLEDGEABLE, PROFESSIONAL TRAINERS WHO ARE KNOWN AS
HACIENDA HILLS
DOG OBEDIENCE CLUB!
Paul Thurner
Patty Thurner
Debbie
Allen
Wendy Brookhyser
Theresa Chaffin
Marie Charpentier
Tami Thurner
Pepe Fedullo
Rose Healey
Teri Heard
Catherine Holshouser
Khara Knight
David Procida
Judy Roncevich
Shelley Schmidt
Ginger Simon
Carol Tilton
Paul Thurner, Senior Master Trainer:
Paul's interest in dogs began when he was just a teen-ager, living in Upstate New York, where he would watch and sometimes help his uncle work with and train dogs. When he came out west, to California in the early sixties to attend college, he worked at a number of part-time and full-time jobs, but soon discovered that the type of work he most enjoyed was something where he could work with and interact with people, and he also enjoyed working outdoors.
After earning his Batchelor's Degree from Cal-State Los Angeles, he worked for a number of years as a Recreation Director at a community park. During that time, he began offering a number of innovative programs at the park... new programs that would be fun as well as helpful to people in the community. One such program that proved to be quite popular was dog obedience class. Paul began offering some basic dog obedience classes in conjunction with the Hacienda Heights Junior Women's Club. Soon, word spread about Paul's classes, and people really enjoyed his light-hearted style of teaching and his effective methods. People began coming from various communities to sign up for Paul's classes!
In 1970, Paul met Patty, who was also quite a dog-lover, and soon, she began assisting him at classes and helped out as a judge at graduations. They were married in August of 1971, and both began conducting classes in several San Gabriel Valley communities, and formed an organization known as "Hacienda Hills Dog Obedience Club". Paul completed his education, earning his California Teaching credential as well as a Masters Degree in Education. He got a teaching position working with fourth graders during the daytime, but several evenings a week, and Saturday mornings, he taught four-legged students! Paul and Patty had also started a unique home-delivery dog food and supply service, which, along with the training services, was named "Dog Services Unlimited". In 1973 and '74, as demand for their popular classes grew, they realized they were quickly getting to the point where they would have more classes than just the two of them could handle. So they began searching carefully for one or two people whom they could work with and train to follow in their footsteps, using their same techniques and methods, to become trusted and valuable members of their staff. By 1977, about fifteen cities were contracting with Dog Services Unlimited to conduct classes in basic obedience at their local parks and facilities, including several Orange county cities, and the Dog Services staff had grown to five trainers in addition to Patty and Paul. Paul made the decision to give up his elementary school teaching position in order to dedicate all his time to the growing business. He was also taking on quite a few one-on-one private trainings, and word-of-mouth referrals kept him quite busy.
Over the next several years, Paul and Patty began expanding their course offerings, including some one-day seminars on topics such as behavior problem solving and "Alertness Training for the Family Dog", as well as developing a course especially geared for young puppies. Paul also began teaching Advanced and Open Obedience classes, and more and more cities' Recreation Department supervisors contacted him to arrange classes for their local residents. Paul's wealth of experience in the field, along with his ability to communicate effectively with his students attribute to his popularity as an instructor and his success in helping people to achieve their training goals. Former students constantly tell us how much they have enjoyed Paul's classes, and how they remember being in his classes with previous dogs 20 or 25 years ago! Over his 38 year career, Paul has helped many thousands of dog owners turn their unruly canines into reliable, enjoyable members of their families!
Paul works with students on the A-Frame and the Dogwalk....
"Sadie" (left)
shows off her agility skills.
GRADUATION DAY! Paul poses with some of his
Friday evening "Grad-Novice" Obedience students
following their evaluation test.
Paul's Saturday morning Yorba Linda students practice their heeling at different paces. On Saturdays, Paul teaches Puppy Kindergarten, Novice Dog Obedience, Grad-Novice, and a Lecture Series on Behavior Problems entitled "Help! My Dog is Driving Me Crazy!" He also gives the A.K.C. Canine Good Citizen Test.
Click here for a testimonial from one of Paul's students! Here's another! and Another! and Another!
More Comments about Paul's Training!!
Patty Thurner, Master Trainer:
Patty, a native of Southern California, remembers always having dogs as she grew up in a small, sparsely-populated community that would later be named Hacienda Heights. Long before there was a freeway or supermarkets... only miles of orange and avocado groves, she remembers her black Labrador, "Smokey", who was her companion from as far back as she could remember, until she was in her early teens. She recalls dressing Smokey up in costumes and working on teaching her tricks and commands, never considering that she would someday be making a living working with dogs.
When she met her husband-to-be, Paul, in 1970, he had been conducting dog obedience classes for the past year, and he enlisted her help in assisting as a judge at his graduations. As she got more and more interested in the classes, and realized how rewarding it was to help people turn their unruly dogs into calm and well-mannered members of their families, she was eager to become more involved in the training.
When she and Paul were married, a year and a half later, Patty started working with clients in their homes, as well as teaching some of the group obedience classes. As she gained more knowledge and experience over the next few years, she and Paul expanded their business and began teaching at many additional locations.
In 1975, Patty graduated from California State University at Fullerton, earning her B.A. degree in Art Education. She continued for another year, completing her teaching credential. For a few years, she taught various arts and craft classes through L.A. County Parks & Recreation, while concurrently teaching dog obedience classes. She also took an extensive course in professional dog grooming, which gave her a wealth of knowledge to share with her students.
In 1977, when their first daughter, Tami was born, Patty decided to give up her job with L.A. County and devote more time to her family and to their growing dog business. She and Paul added even more classes to their schedule. In 1982 their second daughter, Kristi was born, and by then, Patty was coordinating classes in about 30 different cities and supervised the staff of Dog Services trainers, (which had grown to about 13) in addition to teaching about ten group classes a week and in-home clients. Over the next 21 years, from 1982 to 2003, Patty was heavily involved as a volunteer with Tustin Girl Scouts, leading troops on every level, and serving on task forces for many community and council-level events. As her daughters went through High School, she helped as a Booster Parent for Choir, Band/Color Guard, Grad-Night, and others, while still keeping things running smoothly with Dog Services Unlimited.
Patty with some of her Canine Friends
Today, Patty stays as busy as ever, scheduling well over 200 different classes in 47 cities, and working with their 24 instructors. She is usually the one answering the phones at Dog Services Unlimited seven days a week, except when she's teaching her classes. Currently, Patty teaches in the cities of Orange, Placentia, Cowan Heights, and Irvine. In her spare time, she still occasionally works with the Tustin Girl Scouts, enjoys attending theater performances every so often when she has an evening off from classes, and about once a year she loves going to the beach to build sand sculptures! She also enjoys weekend getaways with Paul, and playing with or just relaxing with their two dogs, Tattum (a Lab mix), and Teeter (a Bouvier/Terrier? mix) who are both rescue dogs.
Patty with some of her graduating students
Click here for a testimonial from one of Patty's students! Here is Another!
Tami Thurner:
Tami & "Gemini"
Tami has been around dogs her entire life, with both parents working as professional dog trainers, so her vast education of dog behaviors and training skills started a long time before she started her professional career in 1996.
Tami has worked with a large variety of dogs through her obedience classes, private instruction, and Doggie Day Care service. She has experience handling dogs in the obedience ring competing for the A.K.C companion dog degrees. She has also been an evaluator for the A.K.C. Canine Good Citizen program, and has a broad knowledge of canine sports, including Agility and Flyball. She has dedicated much of her time to studying dog behavior and is quite knowledgeable when it comes to behavior problem solving. Tami has taught in many cities throughout Orange and L.A. Counties over the past 10 years.
In her free time, when she isn’t caring for clients' dogs, Tami likes to spend time with Gemini, her Australian Shepherd/Collie mix, and Samba, a rescued mixed breed, as well as their four feline accomplices, Predator, Cashmere, Tango and Tigger. Tami also likes to spend time playing her guitar, dancing, singing, tutoring and reading to kids, and volunteering for her church. She received her Bachelors degree and elementary teaching credential, at Austin Peau University in Tennessee, and now lives there where she is a First Grade teacher. She recently purchased a big house there with plenty of space to accommodate all her critters. So, she can now share all her expertise with dog owners in Tennessee, and we all wish her the best in her new endeavors!
Carol's expertise in dog training stems from a variety of experiences, including working with a breeder of German Shepherds (her personal favorite), as well as volunteer work at Mission Viejo Animal Shelter and San Clemente Animal Shelter, where she has worked with many dogs to help make them more adoptable. Besides teaching Puppy Kindergarten, Novice, Drill/Review, and Rally Obedience classes, Carol also does In-Home training in the south Orange County area. A valuable member of the Dog Services Unlimited staff for the past 19 years, Carol has become one of our most popular instructors!
Originally from Boston, Carol now lives in Mission Viejo with her husband, two teenage daughters, a cat, and two dogs (both of which are from rescue organizations). In her spare time she enjoys lying by the pool, reading, and of course spending time with her own dogs.
Click here for a testimonial from one of Carol Tilton's students!
Here is another!
Click
here for a testimonial from one of Karol's students!
Here is another! ... And another!
... And another!
...And One More!
and More!
A lifelong animal lover,
Mairene resides in the San Gabriel Valley with her teenage son, their two dogs,
and several cats. (would have more, if she had more space and if city ordinances
would allow it!) She is a Navy
Veteran, and besides her interests in animals, she also enjoys the theater,
music, football, gymnastics, swimming, diving,
and nature, as well as studying the history of the San Gabriel Valley.
Mairene's personal comments
regarding her love for her dog-training occupation: "This is my heart.
I thoroughly enjoy meeting the families and their "children",
being a part of the "growing process", and observing the
transformations! By association, these are my "children" too!!
Though it may seem like a lot of work, in the long run, it is definitely
worth it!!!" Click here for a testimonial from
one of Mairene's students!
Here's another!
Here are more comments.
More Here's another student's comments.
Shelley's expertise in dog training draws from a variety of experiences,
including her two years as an exotic animal trainer at Knott's Berry Farm, where
she learned a great deal about canine behaviors from working with Timber Wolves.
She still occasionally conducts animal presentations for elementary schools
through Knotts, and enjoys interacting with people and sharing her knowledge and
experiences.
Shelley has been working as an obedience instructor with Dog Services
since 1993, and has taught many group classes in various cities in Orange and
Riverside counties over the years. Currently, she conducts classes in
Anaheim Hills, and In-home lessons in many central Orange County cities.
She is known by her students as someone who is extremely patient and
genuinely concerned about making sure each of her students understands the
canine communication skills she teaches.
When she is not busy working with other animals, Shelley enjoys training
and having fun with her newest family member, a Cocker Spaniel she rescued. Click here for
a testimonial from one of Shelley's students!
Rose Healey has been conducting dog obedience classes with Dog Services
Unlimited for the past 15 years, and has always had a love and enthusiasm for
dogs. She works with several rescue organizations, helping homeless dogs
find new families. Rose enjoys helping her students transform their unruly
pups into well-mannered, cooperative canine family members. She teaches
over 20 group classes each week, in various cities from Long Beach to Diamond
Bar, as
well as doing In-home lessons. Besides working with dogs, Rose's other
interests include gardening and tole-painting, and spending time with her
faithful four-legged companions, which include
a Red Australian Shepherd several elderly Pugs. Click
here for a testimonial from one of Rose's students! Here's
another! And
Another! And one
more! More! ....
Rose's students keep on writing! ...
And writing!!
Here is another student's comment!
Theresa currently teaches Novice Dog Obedience and Obedience Refresher/Drill
in several cities, including Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, and Long
Beach. She has been working with Dog Services Unlimited for the past
thirteen years, and really enjoys teaching her students how to help their dogs
become enjoyable family members.
Click here for a testimonial from one
of Theresa Botello's students!
Here's another student's comments!
And another!
And another!
And yet another!
One More!
More!
More!
Her students just keep writing!
....And writing!
...And writing!!! ...And
writing!!!
Theresa Botello and her faithful companion, "Rip" Pat Wahlen:
Pat
Wahlen began her dog training
career in 1992, when she began an apprenticeship program with Dog Services,
studying under many instructors, including two who have inspired her the most,
Denise Rehder and Carol Tilton. She
began teaching obedience classes with Dog Services in the summer of 1993, and
was soon teaching five days a week in a variety of cities. In 1997, she also
began teaching agility classes. Pat continues to add to her expertise by attending as many
agility seminars as she can, and she also trains under AKC judge, Ella Hoselton,
and enjoys earning agility titles with her dogs. Pat supervises one of her Junior Handler students working on
the A-Frame in her Glendora class
Teri began her dog training career with Dog Services in
1982. She currently teaches Puppy, Novice and crash classes in Orange and
Walnut as well as in-home training. Teri is a graduate of Animal Behavior
College where she earned her certification as an ABC Certified Dog Trainer.
Other interests include riding and showing her horse Tonto, gardening, running,
and playing soccer with her dog Korbie. 7 Koi fish, 4 birds and a cat are also
a part of her animal family. She is committed to continuing her education
through seminars and articles to keep up-to-date with new methods in the
industry. She enjoys teaching the public how to effectively communicate with
their dogs and improve their quality of life.
Ginger Simon: Ginger teaches Novice Dog
Obedience, Puppy Kindergarten and Refresher/Drill classes, and has been a member
of the Dog Services team for over 15 years. She has taught in many cities
throughout Orange County, and currently conducts classes in Newport Coast,
Yorba Linda, and Huntington Beach. She is often accompanied by her
faithful Standard Poodle, Spencer.
"Stand for inspection" exercise.
Theresa Chaffin:
Marie poses here with one of her students. Marie Charpentier has been a
member of the Dog Services staff of trainers for about 15 years, and currently
teaches Puppy Kindergarten and Novice Dog Obedience in the cities of Lakewood and Los Alamitos.
Here is a comment from one of Marie's students!
Here is another!
Catherine Holshouser:
Catherine has been teaching obedience classes for Dog Services for
over 20 years, and has also worked with Canine Companions for Independence.
She is the author of an informative book on solving dog behavior problems
entitled "Who's Walking Who?", which is available to purchase from most of our
trainers at class for $10. Catherine currently conducts classes in
Placentia and Anaheim.
Jessica is one of our South Orange County trainers, who
does Private In-Home lessons as well as teaching Novice, Puppy, and the Crash
Course in Canine Manners. She currently teaches our
classes in San Clemente and Irvine.
Wendy is our Flyball instructor in Laguna Niguel and
Costa Mesa, and
also teaches Puppy Kindergarten and Novice obedience group classes, and Private
In-home lessons in cities throughout South Orange County. She recently discovered the fun of Dock-Dogs with her two
Labs at "Wags for Wishes", and will be back again next July. Wendy also
loves to go camping whenever she has a break from her classes.
Click here for a testimonial from one
of Wendy's students!
Here is another. And one more!
Debbie is originally from New England, and has a wealth of experience in
various fields of dog care! She earned her certification in Canine
Cosmetology from Pedigree School of Grooming in Massachusetts, and worked with
dogs for many years as a groomer. During this time, she also provided
foster care to wayward dogs during their transition period to a new
home. Continuing her love for working with dogs as she moved to the west coast,
Debbie broadened her scope of dog-related endeavors by studying various methods
of dog training and researching dog behaviors. As a member of the
International Association of Canine Professionals, and a trainer with Dog
Services Unlimited, she currently teaches Puppy Kindergarten and Flyball
classes. She also keeps very busy with In-Home training assignments. Debbie lives in Trabuco Canyon with her husband and pets. Debbie enjoys
running, and has competed in three marathons as well as shorter road
events. She enjoys her daily run in the canyons with her dogs, Sammi, a
Chihuahua, a Black Lab named Jack, and their newest family member, Chilli. Debbie Allen holds "Petie" as he
Kristi Thurner:
Click here for comments from one of Kristi's
students
We welcome Kristi as one of our more recent members of the Dog Services Unlimited team of
obedience trainers! Although new as a class instructor, she has many years
of hands-on experience working with dogs along side her parents Paul and Patty,
helping at classes as well as helping to care for the many dogs over the years
who have stayed in their home for board-training. Sharing your living
space for three weeks at a time with several different dogs each month, can give
you a real insight into a particular breed's temperament and traits. Of
all the various breeds she has spent time with... from Pugs to Portugese Water
Dogs, Jack Russell Terriers, Old English Sheepdogs, Beagles, Havanese,
Labradoodles, Siberian Huskies, and Dobermans, Kristi's personal favorites are
Golden Retrievers, Yellow Labs, and Boxers. However, recently, she and her
boyfriend fell in love with a wonderful mixed Shepherd/Pit Bull/Shar Pei?? at
the When she's not spending time with dogs, Kristi can usually be found studying
or working on her computer. She is a Grad-Student at Southern California
College of Optometry in Fullerton,
which keeps her pretty busy. Kristi enjoys
traveling whenever she can find the time to get away (New Zealand, and recently,
Thailand, have been her favorites). For the past seven years, she has had
the honor of performing as a veteran member of the Color Guard for Pacific
Crest Drum and Bugle Corps, whose competitions take them all over the U.S.
during the summer season.
Kristi currently teaches In-Home
lessons in many areas.
CONGRATULATIONS TO KRISTI! She recently graduated Magna Cum
Laude with a degree in Bio-Chemistry from C.S.U.F. and has just started graduate school to
become a Doctor of Optometry!!! Five tough years of college completed....
another four years to go... You can do it!! UPDATE-SUMMER '06: MORE CONTRATS TO KRISTI: She is ENGAGED to be
married in July '07!!! Meanwhile, she has completed her first tough year
of grad school, and has been sworn in as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and
as soon as she finishes up her three remaining years of Optometry School, will
start a three year term of service as a Captain in the U.S. Army.... Busy girl!
No wonder she is taking a hiatus from teaching classes, but she will still be
doing some In-home lessons and filling in as a substitute teacher for obedience
classes from time to time. UPDATE: JANUARY '08: Now married for six months, Mrs. Kristi Bartee
lives with her new husband and their wonderful adopted Pit Bull mix, Dusty, in
Huntington Beach. Half way through her third year of Optometry school, she
is eager to be doing her Internship in various hospitals next year. Pepe joined the Dog Services Unlimited team of trainers in 2004, and is
excited to be instructing in Hacienda Heights, Pico Rivera, and Diamond
Bar.
He really enjoys working with people and helping his students to achieve their
dog-training goals. Here
are some comments from one of Pepe's students. David is an avid Canine Frisbee competitor and dog lover. Most
weekends, you'll find him demonstrating with his talented dogs at various special
dog events, or teaching his popular Frisbee-Dog workshops. He conducts 6-week sessions of "Frisbee Fun for Fido" in Anaheim,
and one-day seminars on Saturdays or Sundays in many cities, including Laguna
Niguel, Fountain Valley, Anaheim, Corona, Long Beach, Garden Grove, Riverside,
Costa Mesa, and Huntington Beach.
He also conducts In-home private obedience and Frisbee training in the Riverside
and Corona areas. Dog Services is fortunate to have this very enthusiastic
trainer sharing his
talents in this popular activity for dogs and their
humans!. For more info on our Frisbee-Dog classes, please see our
Frisbee Page! For more photos and info on Disc-Dog competitions, history, and clubs, see
David's website: www.k9discthrills.com
David and "Maverick" compete at the Torrance
David & Maverick 2007 Demo at Riverside Humane Society
Disc Dog competition, August, 2006
Shelley Schmidt teaches the "Sit-Stay" at her Pearson Park in Anaheim on
Saturday morning Spring, '05 Novice Dog obedience class. 
April
Ortiz-Brittsan, who has taught Beginning through Advanced Agility classes with Dog
Services for the past nine years, goes over agility rules with students at
a graduation
Pat
has grown up with cocker spaniels since she was four years old, and continues to
love the breed. Presently, Pat’s “family” includes two cockers, Summer
and Tauri. Pat is
especially proud of Summer’s accomplishments.
Summer is a parti cocker nine and a half years old, who has earned her
Novice title, Open standard titles, Novice and Open Jumpers and Novice gamblers
titles in NADAC. In AKC she has earned her Novice, Open standard titles and
Novice, Open Jumpers titles. Because of the jump heights requirements for
USDAA, she has just started with USDAA last year as a veteran dog (over 7
years). She earned her Performance
1 title (which includes standard, jumpers, gamblers and snooker). Tauri,
the newest family addition, is a buff cocker puppy who is just getting started
on learning her agility skills.
Ginger inspects a student's dog during the
Catherine has her students practice a "Sit-Stay".
gets ready to start over the Flyball jumps... Petie is focused on his owner, who
is waiting by the flyball box, just past the fourth jump.
More Flyball photos
Kristi
and "Marcy", one of the Board-Training clients she helps to care for.
