From Dog Sports to Dog School: The Journey of Billings K9 Coaching

About 15 years ago, I got involved in Dog Agility with my Border Collie, Manda. What started as something fun to do with my dog quickly became a huge part of my life. Agility was just the start. Manda went on to excel in Frisbee sports (K9 Toss, Fetch, and UpDog Challenge) and Barn Hunt, an AKC-recognized sport, as well.

One of the most influential people in that journey was my Agility trainer, Lark Pollari. She was a major part of helping Agility grow in Montana, and she had a tremendous impact on so many of us here in the sport. When Lark passed away, I knew I wanted to do something to keep creating opportunities for people and their dogs in my hometown of Billings, Montana.

We are fortunate to have an amazing dog-sport venue about 50 minutes from Billings, but at the time there were very few opportunities to train and participate in dog sports within the city itself. In 2016, I started with an outdoor arena. One of Lark’s dogs, Niners (an All-American Border Collie mix) also came to live with me shortly after her passing. Niners dabbled in Agility, but eventually discovered a real love for Diving Dogs, and was a North American Diving Dogs National Champion.

Over the next few years, the little operation grew. I put up a small tension-fabric training building, built Montana’s first competition dock diving pool, and began running a dog-sport venue part time. Niners became a National Champion dock diver. Billings K9 Coaching started primarily as a place where people could learn and play different dog sports. We offered Frisbee sports, Barn Hunt, Diving Dogs, Agility, and even hosted Fast CAT one year.

At the same time, I still had a full-time career as a business development manager at a local RV dealership. Eventually, life changes, a downturn in the RV industry, and the encouragement of a new man in my life led me to make a big change. I decided to switch roles, working part time in business development while taking the leap into dog training full time.

I leased a commercial space and hired a mentor to help me navigate the business side of becoming a professional dog trainer. That mentor became incredibly important as I figured out how to turn something I loved into a sustainable business. My now-husband also became my business partner, helping wherever I needed him.

We quickly discovered that although I loved teaching Agility—and had gone on to win national championships and earn some pretty exciting podium finishes—it wasn't going to generate enough revenue to support a full-time dog trainer's salary. I needed another niche.

With the help of my mentor, I developed a school program where dogs could be dropped off for the day and train with me while their owners were at work. I began offering training days out of my home and discovered something unexpected: many dogs actually learned better in a home-like environment.

That realization changed the direction of Billings K9 Coaching and I went all in as my part-time position at the RV dealership was eventually eliminated.

Today, school has become the heart of my business. Dogs come to learn practical skills in a real-life environment while also developing the ability to work around other dogs and distractions. I even have an Agility School Program. My favorite part of the program is what happens after those dogs graduate.

Dogs that successfully complete my initial courses can become part of my Ambassador Program. These dogs return to school to help me train and socialize four-legged students. I now have nearly 20 ambassador dogs, and they have become an important part of what makes our school unique.

I still love Agility and will always be an Agility coach. Dog sports are what started this entire journey, and competing has taught me so much about teamwork, communication, and training dogs as individuals.

But somewhere along the way, Billings K9 Coaching became more than a place to teach dog sports. It became a school.

And I couldn't be happier with where that journey has taken me.