Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Okal.
Hi Natalie, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I fell in love with dogs when I was a young child. My first friend, when I was 2 years old was a dog. Her name was Millie. She was my best friend. She gave me every amount of comfort I ever needed. So much so, that when I was three, I had my uncle’s 8-year-old black lab attack my face, and when I woke up from surgery at rainbow babies, the first thing I asked was, “Where’s Millie?” my best friend, who was a dog.
Since then, I’ve had five reconstructive surgeries on my face throughout my childhood. After that, I was never allowed to have my own dog. My parents were too freaked out. But my obsession stayed the same, and the only thing I thought about was dogs. The only thing I wanted to be around was dogs.
I was sent to a private school my whole life because I needed that structure to be able to learn. And that school did everything right for me, but nothing they could have done was going to steer me away from these dogs.
After struggling with college, and trying to figure out what I wanted to “do with my life”, I dove into the restaurant industry, which then flowed me into the entertainment industry, where I worked at the Beach land ballroom, as 1 of the 3 general/ event managers, for five years up until pandemic. Losing my job there, forced me to put my eggs in my own basket. Finally, dive into the dog training business that I had been working on since 2014. Which is when I went to dog training school. At National k9 University, in Columbus Ohio. Bob Jarvis and Chris Altier were my instructors.
Diving into my craft was the only thing that was on my mind since graduating from dog training school. In school, you only train one dog, so when you graduate, it’s really hard to have any confidence knowing what you’re doing. These are animals. And the experience that you have with the dogs is what trains you. I knew that in my heart. And I knew that I needed to work on my craft, and that was the only thing that was going to make me succeed in this market. I learn something new with every dog I train. I have been training now for the past 8 years, with my own business, Axel’s K9 Training.
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?
Since I have focused on myself, the only struggles I am facing, are the natural ones that come with owning a business. Figuring out how to grow a business, raise a business, and make it sustainable not only for me but for itself and for the purpose that it stands for.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We do one-on-one balanced scale dog training with our clients and their dogs. We are using an equal amount of praise, encouragement, and correction, all based on the behaviors and personality of your dog. Essentially teaching the owner how to properly bond with their dog is the purpose of Axel’s K9. We believe in a genuine relationship between canine and human, that is built on an equal amount of understanding, trust, communication, and love. At the end of the day, the goal is to be able to talk to your dog, without any training tools. The most perfectly beautiful canine-human relationship. We provide one-on-one training, Board, and train packages. Behavior modification training packages. General boarding, (available only to training clients.)
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Every day you’re going to learn something new. It’s important to have an open mind, an ability to feel your emotions take them in, and let them go. Because nothing in this life is for certain nor concrete. So, I guess the lesson I have learned, from doing this is to always live in the moment, and love deeply That is the beauty of canines. They don’t know how to do anything else.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.axelsk9.com
- Instagram: @axelsk9training
- Facebook: @axelsk9t
Image Credits
Greg Murray
