Our Trainer: About Me
College
I went to Tiffin University where I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice with a major in homeland security and Counterterrorism. I also received a minor in law enforcement. During this time I studied how dogs are used in homeland security.
In the future, I would like to add services to my business such as training bomb detection dogs and narcotic detection dogs.
My Diagnosis
My name is Kalyn and I own and operate GBCA. Growing up I struggled with chronic illness which my doctors had difficulty diagnosing. It was difficult going to high school and just trying to lead a normal teenager life. I couldn’t participate in many of the activities that I loved. Finally, after 4 years of looking for answers, I was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome also know as POTS. POTS is a form of dysautonomia, or a failure in the autonomic nervous system. This system is responsible for your body’s processes that run on auto-pilot, the things you don’t think about, such as pulse regulation, blood pressure, digestion, temperature regulation, etc. Meaning that people that have a form of dysautonomia have issues with these processes in a variety of ways. A few years later I was also diagnosed with a common comorbidity of POTS, called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome or EDS. This syndrome includes a group of hereditary connective tissue disorders with symptoms consisting of skin hyperelasticity, hypermobility of joints, atrophic scarring, and fragility of blood vessels. Receiving these diagnoses was the first step to proper healthcare and future management of my life.
Kenai
Kenai entered the picture in January of 2023, Kenai came all the way from Oregon. He is in training as a service dog with the intent of taking over for Watson when he retires. Kenai is also an extremely active dog and already participates in dock diving too. He holds his Dock Novice title. Kenai does Fast cat fun runs but he is not allowed to compete until he is a bit older. I plan to have Kenai participating in scent work training and hopefully some other sports as time goes on. He is still quite young but has been a remarkable addition to the family so far.
My Love of Training
With all the work and education I put into training Watson further, I fell in love with dog training and dog cognition. I love watching dogs actively learn new things. It takes a whole lot of patience, but when you can see in a dog’s eyes that they know what you have taught them, the reward is huge.
This started me down the patch of becoming a dog trainer for not just my own dogs, but for other people’s dogs. I saw an opportunity to use my new skills to work for myself and be able to impact the lives of dogs and people alike. The addition of Watson to my life has shown me what a difference a SD can make and I am now able to help make this difference for others.
Watson, my SD
While I was in college, I struggled with everyday tasks. I had a hard time going up and down stairs without taking breaks. Going to class was difficult on a daily basis. Something needed to change.
This is when I started looking for a service dog. THEN I found Watson! He was purchased from a private trainer who trained his public access and retrievals. I took on the challenge of further training and I have trained everything else that he knows. Watson can pick up dropped items, pick up items that a laser pointer shines on, help with laundry, perform counterbalance, perform forward pulling momentum, provide deep pressure therapy, carry groceries in to the house, and even help make the bed.
Shortly after I got Watson my health took a turn for the worst and I ended up being transported an hour away from college by ambulance to have a pacemaker placed for a new heart condition that I had developed called Tachy- Brady Syndrome. While this new medical condition was a lot to handle, I couldn’t have been more grateful to have had Watson by my side!
Koda
We had a big scare with Watson in 2020. He had an injury that left him off work for a few weeks. With some time and healing the vet cleared him to go back to work after imaging showed he was capable of it. I decided I needed a back up SD and future replacement for Watson when the day comes that he would inevitably retire from actively working. This is when Koda Keokuk came into the picture.
Koda was supposed to be a service dog as well, however he didn’t have the qualities that I was looking for as he grew up. Koda loved to counter surf and get into things. Even though he wouldn’t work out as a SD there was still an opportunity to pursue.
I decided to use his natural strengths, his nose, and start training AKC scent work. Koda now holds many titles in scent work and he continued to progress further in this training. I later started trialing him in AKC Fast cat and he has achieved his DCAT title in Fast Cat. On top of both of these sports, Koda also participates in North American Dock Dogs (NADD) and he holds titles in Dock diving for not only NADD but also in International Dock Dogs. He was even invited to attend the 2023 North Central Regionals. As if that isn’t enough, Koda also likes to bikejore when the weather permits.
Although he didn’t work out as a SD I have learned so much more skills as a trainer and I could not be more proud of this boy!
