A passion for helping dogs — and their humans — relax and enjoy.
By Sue Starrett | Photography by Robert Muller
Who: Chris Ramsay
Where: Onaway
Business: Shaker Hound Academy
Mission: Our mission is to help owners train their dogs to be their best, thereby improving quality of life in the home, neighborhood, public spaces, and at work.
What I Love About My Work: Helping a dog transform from a nervous, aggressive, insecure, overly stimulated animal into a happy, more relaxed one is borderline magical. I work with dogs that have a wide spectrum of problems. Slowly and methodically taking them and their owners through “grade school levels” is both rewarding and challenging.
I love training dogs one-on-one, but the real joy and satisfaction come through teaching owners to incorporate all the cues, methods, and procedures. When owners learn effective communication with their dogs, their confidence skyrockets, and confusion turns into clarity. Family members, neighbors, and coworkers reap the benefits of an emotionally flexible, well-behaved canine.
A favorite part of my week is the Shaker Heights Pack Walk, every Saturday morning at Horseshoe Lake. Initiated by Keith Vaquera-Little, a Shaker Heights resident and owner of Sirius Strides Dog Training, it began with two dogs and now attracts more than 50 with their owners. It’s free and non-contact, since the dogs are not allowed to meet. We paused during the pandemic; when we resumed, a record number of 128 dogs and their owners showed up. We’ve also helped trainers institute pack walks in other cities and states. I lead one at Pinecrest on Fridays. These walks are among the most gratifying public service events I have experienced.
Personal Background: I grew up in Cincinnati and graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in visual communication. A job interview brought me to Cleveland. I fell in love with the city, took the position, and got married.
While I was working in corporate design and teaching graphic design at Cleveland Institute of Art, we adopted a puppy. By then we had moved from Lakewood to Shaker Heights, and our three kids were at Onaway School. My goal was to have the best trained dog on the block. I bought books and DVDs and watched every TV episode of a well-known trainer. Within six months, friends were asking me for advice. In less than a year, friends of friends wanted to hire me.
Quickly, my hobby transitioned into a serious professional career choice. Because of my love for these special animals and of teaching, along with the healing nature dogs have on humans, I feel like I was meant to do this: make the world a better place through dogs. Now I average 15 private sessions a week, talk to kids about dog training for school projects, instruct other trainers in person and online, speak to media about how to use food for training, host small group classes, and help prepare dogs for therapy dog tests and agility competitions. Six years ago I transitioned from my original techniques to a more reward-based, emotionally centered system called Training Between the Ears. Turns out, you can also teach an old dog trainer new tricks.
On Working and Living in Shaker Heights: We love Shaker’s diversity, older houses, walkable streets, proximity to downtown, and great school system. In 2016 we did a major house renovation/addition to have more room for family and dog training activities. The dense neighborhoods make for a friendly, strong, tight-knit community, which is filled with dog lovers. The only downside is that when I’m working with dogs near my home, it can take longer, because I typically see people I know. So I walk a little, chat a little, walk a little, chat a little.
But that’s why we chose Shaker Heights. We didn’t want to be isolated from our people, like on an island. We moved because of the community. We couldn’t ask for better neighbors on our immediate block, our whole street, anywhere in the city.
