Dean miller
Dean began his journey of learning about dogs as he grew up around the family dog training business in the early 1980s. By the age of 10, he was learning and training with California-based International Master Trainer Bud Brownhill. Continuing his hobby of working and training dogs, Dean also began assisting in the teaching process of the family business.
Dean eventually became a graduate from Mr. Brownhill's Institute of K9 Behavior Therapy in the early 90s. After leaving a 10+year career as a criminal investigator in the private sector in which he developed a specialized canine unit, Dean started his own training business in the Los Angeles area then continued that business in New York.
Dogs California LLC opened in Houston, Texas in 2000. In 2001, Dogs California was operating out of its original location in Spring and also began to run a training and behavior program out of Urban Tails doggy daycare in Midtown Houston. Dean developed a unique program here for doggy day care incorrigibles and failures called Pack Socials. Recognizing the need for dogs to be socially interactive with one another, this program called for owners to enroll in a training system with their dogs in which the rules and structure were consistent in the Pack Social setting as well, allowing these once hard-to-handle and/or failed dogs to participate in social interaction successfully.
In 2004, Dean began to take the family’s training program and brand The Thinking Dog training system. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, this system was instrumental in Mr. Browhill’s success of saving hundreds of aggressive dogs from euthanasia and proving its reliability with all breeds with his and his students’ accomplishments in the obedience competition ring throughout North America.
Using his personal breed of dogs of 20 years, Dean jumped back into the obedience competition ring with his American Pit Bull Terrier to once again prove the value and success of The Thinking Dog System. His accomplishments found him with the highest ranking APBT (Krom) in obedience both in 2004 and 2005, including ranking top 25 all breed through out the nation in both years. Krom was also the only male APBT to score 199.5 out of 200 and they were ranked #6 in the nation against all breeds at their UKC Invitational All Star Obedience Competition in Kalamazoo, MI in 2005.
Dean and his students continued to prove the value of this system with multiple breeds at all levels of obedience competition in the years following, winning numerous AKC and UKC High in Trials and Front and Finish Platinum and Gold awards. In 2007, Krom was pulled out of retirement (due to orthopedic issues) to attend the American Pit Bull Terrier National show and compete in obedience. This competition was open to all breeds. With a partially torn ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) Krom took first place and HIT (Highest scoring dog in trial) on both days. Dean is currently the co-owner of Club Canine, a Houston-based training and learning day care facility and the director of behavior and obedience for Fido Fit. Dean’s extensive experience makes him the professional instructor for:
Private and classroom instruction on canine behavior and psychology
Obedience skills, from introduction to competition levels
Instruction to educators, law enforcement, medical/healthcare professionals
Service and therapy work
Scent discrimination, search and seizure, and protection applications
Specialist in behavioral rehabilitation of aggression
Legal consultant on dog bite and aggression prevention.
Having established himself as a provider of successful methods, Dean has worked with a number of local organizations, businesses and schools in the area of:
Behavior and training consultant. Evaluator, seminar speaker, program development and educator for professional corporations, elementary schools, South Western Univ. George Town and multiple rescue groups and shelters throughout the U.S.
Past director of Behavior and Obedience for Loving Spots Dalmatian Rescue.
Consultant and preferred trainer for Lone Star Boxer Rescue of Houston.
Consultant and recommended trainer for Sharpei Rescue of Houston, German Shep. Resc. Bull Terr. Resc. And many all breed rescue organizations in the Houston and Austin areas.
Former advisory board member for Element of Mercy Canine Education, Rescue and Placement, for Behavior and Special Ed. Programs.
Past South West Regional Director of Training for Heart Therapy Service Dogs International-2000.
Dallas Trull
Dallas Trull has over 10 years experience working with and handling dogs of all breeds and temperament in a kennel environment as lead tech and management. In addition, Dallas has also spent the last five years performing grooming duties, initially learning to groom by a top AKC conformation competitor who’s dogs have won at Madison Square Gardens.
Dallas Trull has been a student and an apprentice in the Thinking Dog Training System since 2011. His innate ability to understand the particular dogs training needs and apply it correctly makes him an invaluable asset to the team. Dallas has titled his own personal dogs in Beginner Novice Obedience with 3 consecutive 190+ scores and 3 podiums to earn his title, Rally Novice Obedience, with all first place place finishes as well and in the Novice A Obedience ring, earning 2 legs of his title back to back with a high score of 193.5. Dallas continues to work to earn his Companion Dog title as well as moving on to higher levels of obedience to continue being judged for his skills and abilities by top notch American Kennel Club Obedience Judges.
Dallas’ commitment to learning his craft has also earned him the lead position at Club Canine as our learning dog day care(Pack Socials, Pack Behavior Therapy and Puppy Partners) manager. In This setting, Dallas continuously cares for and works with the dogs in their needed disciplines and social interactions as well as helping teach the ones with not so good social skills and the puppies who require clarity in healthy and proper play, manners and puppy skill building. This responsibility has lead Dallas to also assisting in the teaching of students and their dogs in a group setting. His learned abilities in teaching his own dogs in proper basics to a level of excellence and working with client dogs, allows him to communicate and help transfer his skills and knowledge to our beginner students so they too become capable in proper handling skills and clear communication for their own dogs. In addition, Dallas is an intricate part of helping students meet their goals with the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy curriculum and testing along with assisting in AKC Canine Good Citizen testing.
don miller
Don Miller has trained dogs with the family dating back to the mid 1980′s in Southern Calif. As an initial student needing to rehabilitate his 100+ Doberman, Ted, who had severe dog aggression, and his Chow Chow, Dutches, who also had dog aggression. Don initially learned directly under Bud Brownhill in what was then referred to as the Brownhill Basics of dog training. As time went on, the program evolved and Bud started the K9 Institute of Behavior Therapy and Obedience, a school for the training of trainers and creator of The Thinking Dog.
As the owner of a successful construction business, Dons interest in training dogs grew. He spent a couple years working and training his own dogs to competition level and nights and week ends assisting Bud in the instruction of students in classes and private lessons. He was one of the first to successfully attend and graduate from the K9 Institute as a Certified Trainer in the fundamentals and philosophy of a proven dog training system for helping owners save the lives of and train their dogs and puppies to a reliable standard. This tutelage and apprenticing took place over about 4 years to learn the art and science to the craft.
Over a span of about 15 years, Don continued honing his skills with all breeds of dogs as he worked with Bud, running classes, conducting private lessons, behavioral aggression rehabilitation and many behavioral evaluations of dogs involved in legal court cases. Don also assisted a couple other established trainers in the Southern Calif. area who had adopted the Brownhill Basics of Obedience as their curriculum, who required qualified assistance for instructing their students as well.
Over those 15+ years, Don fostered and rehabilitated severe behavior and aggression disorders in many dogs that crossed his path long before “rescuing”dogs was popular. After the process of making them whole again, he either re-homed them or kept them as one more of his personal pack. Among these were breeds such as Akitas, Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, Chow Chows, Dobermans, Spitz and small Terriers of varying varieties.
After a 10 year hiatus from training dogs regularly so he could maintain in home care for both his elderly parents who suffered from Alzheimers, Don is now here in Houston to add even more training and handling depth to our staff. We are so lucky to have a member of our team who brings so much experience to the table for both our clients and our younger staff and trainers who are learning their craft with excellence.
caroline boatman
Caroline Boatman is our all around gate keeper here at CC. She wears all hats from public relations and front office organization to Pack Socials floor manager and dog handler extraordinaire. She has played an intricate role in helping Club Canine from its inception.
Caroline has owned dogs since childhood. Growing up in a rural area of South Texas, training was not really something that was done formerly. As long as the dog was good with the kids and didn’t run away, it was a relationship that was acceptable.
Through early adulthood, Caroline also owned a Schnauzer who had severe aggression disorders and could never find the right help to successfully solve these issues. Her dog eventually passed of old age at which time she soon adopted Lily. Lily is a miniature Yorkshire Terrier with a BIG personality. After about two years of maturity with Lily, Caroline began to see signs of unstable behavior. Soon after, she began to work with Lily through the Thinking Dog System and solved these issues successfully.
It wasn’t long before Caroline rescued an infant pup from a trash dumpster. The little dog was being thrown away by an individual who claimed the dog belonged to his brother who was no longer available to take care of the pup and he didn’t want it at his house anymore. This little dog who had a very demanding personality, grew into a 60lbs. Pit Bull X named Lucy. Lucy has had a considerable amount of training put into her up to competition level and is constantly used as a Club Canine ambassador and a testament to the training program at public relation events and demonstrations.
Caroline and Lucy most recently competed at the Reliant World Series of Dogs show in July of 2013. They earned their first two legs of their title with scores of 198 and 198.5 out of 200. Both judges were thoroughly impressed with their performance, making statements to the other competitors and audience that they will be a force to be reckoned with in their competitive career. Not a bad way to start. They completed their Companion Dog title in the Fall of 2013 with two more excellent scores of 198.5 and 197.5. Great consistency team!