Today we’d like to introduce you to Desiree Engel.
Hi Desiree, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My journey to becoming a dog trainer actually started with a Golden Retriever puppy, young kids, and an in-home childcare business.
At the time, I had young children and was providing childcare out of my home, so having a well-behaved dog wasn’t just something I wanted—it was something I needed. I enrolled my Golden Retriever puppy in a training class, and that was it. I was hooked! I knew then that I wanted to become a dog trainer.
I enrolled in an online dog training school and began working toward that goal. Between working full-time and raising a family, it took me a little over a year to complete the program, but I knew this was something I wanted to pursue.
For the next few years, I didn’t do a lot of dog training professionally, but the desire to work with dogs and their owners never went away. Then a friend told me that Pup-A-Razzi was hiring. The opening was actually for a front desk/administrative position—not a dog trainer—but I wanted the opportunity to get my foot in the door, so I took it.
After about a year, I took over Pup-A-Razzi’s Day Training program and began teaching training classes. I finally had the opportunity to do what I had wanted to do since taking that very first class with my Golden Retriever.
Over the next six or seven years, my role at Pup-A-Razzi continued to grow. Eventually, the owner decided she was ready to sell the business, and I was given the opportunity to buy it. I took the leap and became the owner of Pup-A-Razzi.
Now, almost seven years later, I’m still doing what I love. I continue to teach group classes, work with clients through private lessons, help with our Day Training program, and, of course, handle all of the many other things that come along with owning a business.
It’s funny to think that this entire journey started because I simply needed my Golden Retriever puppy to behave around a house full of kids. One training class changed the direction of my life and eventually led me to a career—and a business—that allows me to help other people build better relationships with their dogs.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Of course, the road to where I am today has not always been a smooth one.
I took over ownership of Pup-A-Razzi in October 2019, and just a few months later, in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. Like so many other small business owners, I suddenly found myself wondering whether we would be forced to close our doors—and I knew that if we had to completely shut down for an extended period of time, the business might not survive.
I don’t own the building we’re in, which meant the lease, utilities, and other expenses weren’t going to disappear just because our customers couldn’t come through the doors. It was an incredibly uncertain and stressful time, especially as a brand-new business owner.
Thankfully, we were able to remain open, although we had to make quite a few changes to how we operated. We tried offering our training classes online, but quickly discovered that virtual classes just weren’t the right fit for us or the type of training experience we wanted to provide. We made the difficult decision to temporarily stop offering classes while continuing the services we were able to provide, including Grooming and Day Training.
Eventually, we were able to bring our training classes back, but with fewer students in each class so that everyone could maintain appropriate social distancing.
One of the things I’m most proud of from that time is that we were able to keep nearly our entire team employed. A couple of our class instructors temporarily weren’t able to work and were able to supplement their income with unemployment benefits, but once restrictions were lifted, our employees were able to return to their jobs. I was incredibly grateful that I didn’t have to lay off a large portion of our team during such an uncertain time.
The challenges of owning a small business certainly didn’t end with the pandemic. Today, the rising cost of nearly everything continues to create new challenges. Wages, rent, utilities, supplies, insurance, products, and the everyday expenses of running a business have all increased.
One of the hardest parts is trying to balance keeping our services affordable for our clients while also paying our employees what they deserve. Our employees work incredibly hard. They care for people’s dogs, keep them safe, help train them, groom them, clean up after them, support our clients, and do countless things behind the scenes that most people never see. They absolutely deserve to be paid well—and, quite frankly, they deserve even more than I am sometimes able to provide.
That balance can be a struggle, but it’s one I continue to work at every day. I want Pup-A-Razzi to remain a place where people can access quality services for their dogs, while also being a workplace where our employees feel appreciated and valued.
Owning a business has taught me that success isn’t necessarily about having an easy road. Sometimes it’s simply about finding a way to keep moving forward, adapting when things don’t go according to plan, taking care of the people who helped you get there, and remembering why you started in the first place.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Pup-A-Razzi provides a wide variety of services for dogs and their owners. We offer full-service dog grooming, a self-service dog wash, group training classes—including Tricks and Therapy Dog classes—private training lessons, and a small retail area. But of all the services we provide, the one I am most proud of is our Day Training program.
Our Day Training program originally started out much like a traditional dog daycare, with one important difference: the people running the program were dog trainers. Because of our training backgrounds, we understood dog behavior and communication at a level that went beyond simply supervising dogs while they played.
Over the years, the program has evolved into something much more than daycare.
Today, the dogs in our Day Training program spend approximately half of their time participating in training activities and the other half enjoying supervised play, socialization, rest, and enrichment. This gives us the opportunity to work on useful skills throughout the day while still allowing the dogs to enjoy the social aspects people typically associate with daycare.
Because most of the people working in our program are dog trainers, we’re also able to work with many dogs who may not be successful in a traditional daycare environment. Not every dog enjoys—or can safely handle—being placed in a large group of dogs. Some need smaller groups, more structure, additional guidance, or simply people who understand what their behavior is communicating.
Another thing that makes our program different is that we intentionally keep our numbers low. You won’t find one employee trying to supervise 30 or more dogs at a time. We maintain a ratio of approximately 10 dogs to one staff member, with two staff members working in each room.
Keeping our groups smaller allows us to actually get to know the dogs as individuals. We learn their personalities, their play styles, what makes them comfortable, what challenges them, and where they may need a little extra help. Most importantly, it gives us the time and ability to work with each dog and help set them up to be successful.
For me, that’s what Day Training should be about. It isn’t simply giving dogs somewhere to spend the day. It’s providing them with a safe, structured environment where they can play, learn, build confidence, practice good behaviors, and receive individualized attention from people who understand dogs.
Watching this program grow from a traditional daycare concept into the training-focused program it is today is one of the things I am most proud of at Pup-A-Razzi.
How do you think about happiness?
The thing that makes me happiest is seeing people build a relationship with their dog that they didn’t even know was possible.
Training isn’t just about teaching a dog to sit, stay, or walk nicely on a leash. It’s about helping people understand their dogs and helping dogs understand what we’re asking of them. When I see that moment when things finally click—when an owner realizes that they can communicate with their dog and truly enjoy working together—that is incredibly rewarding.
A very close second is watching my staff grow.
I love seeing employees gain confidence in themselves, continue their education, develop their skills, and discover just how much they are capable of. Sometimes they don’t see their own potential right away, and getting to watch them become better trainers, handlers, and professionals is something I’m incredibly proud of.
At the end of the day, whether I’m helping strengthen the relationship between a person and their dog or encouraging one of my employees to believe in themselves and keep learning, I think the most rewarding part of what I do is simply helping others realize what is possible.
Pricing:
- 285.00 for 7 Week class
- 55.00 for a full day of Day Training, we do offer packages as well that bring the price down a bit.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pup-a-razzi.com
- Instagram: @pupbeaverton
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PupARazziDogTraining
- Other: puparazzidogs TikTok
