I have always been an animal lover. I grew up with cats, dogs, horses, and had guinea pigs, birds, snakes, and even a chameleon. I trained the family dogs to do a couple of tricks, but my main love was horses.
It wasn’t until I moved away from home and got married that I became interested in training dogs. Our first dog used to drag me down the street and lunge at other dogs whenever I tried to take her for a walk. I didn’t know how to deal with that and I decided that I wanted to take classes with any dog we had after that. So when the time came to get a new puppy, I enrolled him in classes.
That opened up an entirely new world for me.
Thanks to my first basic obedience instructor, Julie Hogan, I became interested in competition obedience. I had a very sweet, wonderful golden named Molly, who forgave me for being such a novice handler.
After that, it was Agility, Therapy dog work, and Canine Musical Freestyle, which became my main focus for quite a few years. I began teaching freestyle classes for 4H and adults in the Northern Virginia area and became a Freestyle competition judge for WCFO (World Canine Freestyle Organization)
Over the years I have trained and/or competed with my dogs in various additional dog sports, including Rally Obedience, Flyball, Disc Dog, Stunt Dog, and tricks.
In 2020 I earned my KPA-CTP (Karen Pryor Academy – Certified Training Partner). I am continuing my training education through additional courses, seminars, and training conferences, and I am currently working on additional certifications.
I currently teach group Puppy Kindergarten and specialty classes at Head Of The Class Dog Training in Winchester, VA. and hope to start teaching group classes in Front Royal in the future.
Susan Brogan
Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP-34451)
AKC CGC Evaluator , American Kennel Club
Certified Trick Dog Instructor/Evaluator
Certified Stunt Dog Judge/Instructor
Competition Judge, WCFO Canine Musical Freestyle
Treibball Judge / NATE National Association of Treibball Enthusiasts
Therapy Dog Team, Summit Therapy Animal Services