About Us

Great Dogs are created.

They are not born knowing what you want them to know. We must teach them. That's where I come in.

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Most dogs try and please you, however, often times your dog does not understand what you want them to do. Let us teach them. We provide a base of communication in training that speaks to each particular dog.  Just like people, each dog learns in their own specific way. Obedience is a game to the dog, which they loves to play!

It is not about being the Alpha or fear or even respect.  What it is, is a true and clear understanding between you and your dog.

 My goal is to teach you the attitude and take the moment to look in your dogs eyes and let them know that, "I lead and you follow and we will make your life easy" 

Communication makes not jumping on the house guests or pulling you around the block on the leash possible in a very short amount of time. 

We teach communication which is the foundation of all tasks that we ask for out of our dogs. Let us help you build a rock solid form of communication between you and your dog that will last a lifetime.

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Let us help you today!

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Dogs are marvelous and brilliant creatures capable of learning far more than the average person teaches them.

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I am passionate about teaching you how to communicate with your dog.

I grew up watching my mom work in tandem with her GSDs preparing for obedience trials. Having a well behaved dog was as important as having well mannered kids. Even thou I was raised with GSDS , the Doberman stole my heart.  Owning these rascals came at a price, I needed to step up my training game. While earning a BS in Computer Science from NIU, I started in dog sports.  Apprenticing with Rik Woterbeek really opened the door to what I could do.   I have worked dogs in nose work, dock diving, agility, barn hunt, obedience, tracking, and protection. Years of education and experience lead me to helping Dobermans and other shelter dogs in need. Being a trainer, I can help prepare these dogs for an amazing life.  A trained dog has so many freedoms because you can trust them. They are defiantly worth it!

 I help out with the administration side of things. Our trainers are often busy and I can respond back to your inquires quickly. I can have your questions answered and your pup on the schedule in no time.

I'm a nutritionist in addition to a trainer and foster mom.  If you have any questions about what to feed your dog, please let me know. Raw, kibble, home made... I can help!  

  I have been passionate about and lived with dogs my entire life. I trained my first dog, Zinny, a German Shepard, while in high school.  Working with Zinny sparked a keen interest in dog behavior and ignited a dream of training dogs and their people as a career.  With this in mind, I attended Purdue University and received my Bachelor of Science in Animal Sciences with a concentration on animal behavior and well-being.  While at Purdue, I worked at Almost Home Humane Society where I was involved in temperament testing all dogs prior to adoption, evaluating dogs for play groups, and working with adopters to help resolve canine behavior issues.  Dog behavior and training has been a lifelong interest and I am always striving to use that knowledge to make dogs’ and their owners’ lives more enjoyable. Understanding your dog's language is key to having the ultimate companion. I’m a lifelong dog owner. With a well-behaved dog, you can truly enjoy their company. You learn to appreciate their friendship more than humans. Training is about the communication. Corrections are timed correctly and are consistent, all while having fun. 

Raised in Maryland’s farm country with a police K9 supervisor as a cousin and another as my childhood mentor was a real blessing. For years I thought I’d earned it all as a wee-lad and wow was I wrong. Years later after serving in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets), I enrolled in the 6-month Master Trainer Course at Highland Canine in North Carolina.  Here we focused on a broad spectrum of canine focuses such as service-dog training, single and dual-purpose police canines, search and rescue and advanced obedience. For the second time in my life, I again thought I had arrived and learned it all.

In-order to satisfy my curiosity and validate my assumptions that I was now a real trainer, I decided to enroll in a trainer course at a kennel with conflicting methodologies from where I had just come. This led me to Vohne-Liche kennels in Denver, Indiana, where I graduated and went-on to lead the police canine handler/trainer’s course and assist with training dogs for the Department of State. Though I enjoyed my time in Indiana, I accepted an offer as Senior Program Manager and Lead Trainer for a Maine based canine company. Here I was able to oversee all operations for West Point Military Academy, Miami Heat Arena and Dolphins Stadium, bed-bug detection jobs throughout all of New England with clients like Boston University and major medical centers. My mind drifted back to Indiana and a simpler time, with dreams of going overseas on government jobs.

Upon learning more about government and private contract dogs during my time in Indiana, I knew I had found my next goal. This led me to the position of K9 team-leader for Taylor Swift’s 2018 Worldwide Reputation Tour. At the completion of the tour my inner nomad grew louder, and I accepted the role of Kennel Master in Erbil, Iraq, working for the Department of State. After a year in Erbil, I decided to return to the U.S., where I assumed the Director of Operations role for a large canine company in Las Vegas. My time there afforded me the opportunity to create the Caesar’s properties canine program, direct all operations for multiple stadiums, casinos and other public and private venues throughout the city. Eventually, the business and the stress began fishing out long forgotten memories of the simple joys of just working a dog and having that communication with them each day.

At that time, I decided to put down the laptop and pick up the leash again. Through a very random series of events, I found myself leaving Las Vegas and headed to Illinois, where I called an old friend and colleague Andy Shickle, of Shickle K9. Happily, I am back to doing what I love, with a group of people who make me better at it every day!

Jessica is the newest member here at Shickle K9, but her life and career with dogs began as just a teenager. Uninterested in following a more conventional career path, upon graduating from college Jessica had an altogether more exciting plan for herself. Not being one to take her time to test the waters, Jessica dove into her K9 education at Vohne Liche Kennels (VLK) in Denver, Indiana, the largest working dog kennel in the world at the time.

It was here that Jessica found herself to be one of the few civilians, teenagers and women to attend the daunting training. Upon graduating from this intensive course, focusing on explosives detection, bite-work and the tracking of humans, she accepted a position with Allied Universal. Here Jessica was exposed to a broad spectrum of working dog operations. Her duties led her to a host of states, working as a supervisor and senior member of the Allied Universal K9’s travelling team. This team specialized in the handling of “dual-purpose” (Bite/detection trained K9’s) working dogs at major malls across America. During the 6-years Jessica worked with Allied Universal, she also became a 3-time winner of the U.S. K9 Olympics at VLK for detection and bite-work championships. This title was not easily obtained, as many police, U.S. Special Forces and other agencies were competing at the time. Excitement and a craving for more, awoken a longing to travel yet again.

In 2020, Jessica branched off to work her champion dog Boss, for Americas first

civilian K9 cargo screening alliance, bolstering the safety of several facilities

across the country. Now growing in her proficiency, as well as her curiosity,

Jessica began to foster a passion for how these dogs are trained. The pursuit of a career in training was now on the horizon. With so many options here in the U.S., Jessica settled into the idea of training police and privately owned working dogs at a notable K9 facility in Wisconsin. Jessica fell in-love with training but longed for the days of working operationally again.

With tough decisions now made, she boarded another plane with her dog and was off to Las Vegas. It was here that Jessica assumed the role of handler/trainer for the largest K9 company in Las Vegas. Jessica found herself running major events such as the Grammy’s, American Country Music Awards, NFL draft and multiple stadium, casino and other music and sporting events. Marriage and the desire to pass-on her knowledge has led her here, a welcomed member of the Shickle Team!