Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Schulz
Claire, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I became more severely disabled as a teenager in high school, mainly because of my mental health struggles. Due to this, I began searching for more treatment options that would be accessible for me. My therapist at the time suggested a psychiatric service dog, and as I researched options, the ability to get a fully trained dog from a program was time consuming, expensive, and did not often serve civilians with psychiatric disabilities. Fast forward a few years, I began apprenticing under a local trainer for an Assistance Dogs International accredited organization. Once completing that apprenticeship, I eventually acquired my first service dog in training. He unfortunately washed from service work due to behavioral issues stemming from a trainer we worked with that employed the use of heavy handed, abusive methods. After him, I got my current dog, Pluto, who is working as my full time service dog. When Pluto was around a year and a half old, I began another mentorship with a trainer in Chicago who taught me the bulk of what I know about dogs and training. Under her guidance, I opened my business, Cosmic Service Dogs, and began serving the local community of what we call “owner-trained” service dogs. Since then, I completed my mentorship with that trainer and began interning under a service dog trainer in Virginia who specializes in force-free dog training methods within their program. Under her guidance, I have earned my L.E.G.S. Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediator certification and am pursuing my Accredited Dog Trainer certification with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants as well as taking a course run by Atlas Assistance Dogs which focuses on medical disability service dogs. I wouldn’t be where I am in the dog training world if I did not have people who believed in me, every step of the way, guiding me into the trainer I am today!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not at all been smooth. While I recognize I am a skilled dog trainer, I am not the best with dealing with the public. I have made mistakes with communicating to clients, but all I have to do is accept that it happened and take it as a learning experience. The struggles I’ve faced have just made me strong both as a professional dog trainer, but also a business owner and marketer!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The goal of Cosmic Service Dogs is to provide more accessible resources to disabled handlers training their own service dogs. My speciality is using fear free, relationship & reinforcement based methods within my program. I am set apart from others because my goal is to strengthen the handler’s skills in training their dog, ultimately giving them the tools they need to succeed. I do not regularly offer board and train programs (where the dog comes to stay with me & I train them for a set amount of time), instead I personalize training plans to help the handlers feel confident in their training abilities to train their own dogs.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Every dog is a science experiment. Every single dog has a different set of things they need to learn, grow, and thrive – no two dogs will ever be the exact same and use the same methods to achieve the status of being “fully trained.”
Pricing:
- Virtual Sessions – $60
- Temperament Evaluation – $125
- In-Person Lessons – $75
- Litter Temperament Testing – $250 + travel expenses
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cosmicservicedogs.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmicservicedogs
