Today we’d like to introduce you to Shaina Zimmerman
Hi Shaina, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I entered the dog industry in 2009, starting out my career in various dog daycares across the Denver metro area. As a teenager, I managed a high-volume dog boarding facility in Parker, Colorado before moving to Mesa, Arizona, where I began working in veterinary medicine. When I moved back to Colorado, I continued in the vet-med field for a few years before finally following my true passion—dog training—full-time.
For a few years, I worked as an in-home dog trainer, traveling throughout the metro area to provide private lessons in clients’ homes. In 2016, I met renowned dog trainer Lisa Lucero at Denver Dog Dynamix, and I immediately knew I had found my “home.” I mentored under Lisa for eight years, managing the Dog Dynamix branch for much of that time before moving to Ohio in 2022. For two years, I operated Dog Dynamix Ohio as a satellite operation. Now fully settled in Ohio, I bring Up N Atom to the Cleveland metro area, backed by years of industry experience and a deep passion for helping dogs and their owners thrive.
Outside of training dogs as my career, I am passionate about competing in dog sports with my own dogs. I have primarily competed in Protection Sports, namely Mondioring (but also IGP and French Ring) with my Belgian Malinois. I have also dabbled in AKC Obedience, Rally Obedience, and Dock Diving. This year I had the opportunity to take one of my dogs to Italy to compete in our first Mondioring World Championship, but I have also competed at many National Championships here in the USA.
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?
I think there are two common struggles in dog training; one, getting your foot in the door with experienced mentors to guide you. I feel incredibly fortunate that I found my mentor early on in my career, and she was able to introduce me to some remarkable trainers from all over the world to help guide me. The other, unfortunately, is burn out. Especially when dog training is both your profession AND your hobby that you are passionate about, it can take its toll on you. Dog training, and especially board and train, is a highly demanding career that requires plenty of sacrifice and finding a mental balance to properly coach dog owners, but it also means my own dogs often have to share their time and space with other dogs. Making sure we are all living a high quality of life so we are at our best both professionally and recreationally has taken many years to master, but we’re in a really amazing spot right now and I am so grateful for the journey.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Up N Atom Dog Training?
At Up N Atom Dog Training, we specialize in board and train programs, daycare training, group classes (including dog sports!) and private lessons. We are a full service dog training company, passionate about bringing clients the best training information possible. Our dog trainers aren’t just dog trainers… they’re industry nerds, excited about learning new information and applying it into our programs. All of our trainers compete in dog sports, putting them in front of non-biased third parties — aka judges — and putting our training skills to the test. We want dog owners to trust us, and know we are giving them the information to help them live the best lives possible with their dogs. If dog owners are looking for trainers who are talented, caring, compassionate, and who genuinely love dogs AND their owners, they’ll find that with us.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Finding a dog sport and getting involved is my #1 suggestion to anyone who wants to be a dog trainer. This may mean taking classes at different facilities and feeling some people out, and proving yourself as a valuable asset they want to be around. I took classes from my mentor for six months before she finally gave me a chance at training for her company, and it genuinely changed my life. Seeing a dog trainer in action is the best way to figure out if they’re someone you want to learn from, but there are only so many hours in a day and many trainers are too busy to take on everyone who wants to learn… but most will cave, if they see the drive in you and you keep proving you want it.
Pricing:
- 4 Week Board and Train $4400
- 12 pack of Day Training $1305
- 6 pack of Private Lessons $1000
- Enrichment Day Camp $65
- Puppy Day Camp $75
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.unadogs.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upnatomdogtraining/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unadogtraining
