What Makes Us Dependable

Hi, my name is Rob Gunsel. I’ve been training service dogs for the last 10 years, professionally starting all the way back in 2015, with some volunteering with dogs before that as well. I found my passion for training dogs in college as I pursued my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina – Wilmington, and it’s all thanks to a dog named Clementine. We were a classic “foster failure” and over the years she showed me what dogs are capable of and I’ve been trying to repay her ever since. All thanks to that one dog, I’ve now had the privilege of working with hundreds of Service Dog Teams in my career thus far. I’ve also been lucky enough to be involved in a lot of large scale Service Dog related projects across the country, ranging from Florida to Texas. Feel free to look at my LinkedIn for my professional experience. Additionally, I also hold the Family Dog Mediator (FDM) Certification with more planned on the way. After much convincing from family and many of my Teams, I am glad to start The Dependable Canine and offer my experience to the central North Carolina area and beyond.

Professional Highlights:

• Graduate of UNCW/paws4people Service Dog Training Program in Wilmington, North Carolina.
• Began Professionally Training Service Dogs Prior to Graduating College with a Bachelor’s in Psychology with PAWS Training Center/Compass Key.
• Multiple Years and Promotions at K9s For Warriors, one of the largest nonprofit service dog organizations in the US.
• At K9s For Warriors, created the inaugural Mentorship Program from scratch, which detailed a 3-month guided on boarding for new trainers. Due to high success, I was promoted to Apprentice Instructor as the program then transformed into a 6 Month Apprenticeship Program.
• Was chosen to become Manager of Training for K9s For Warriors brand new campus in San Antonio Texas, where I stayed for a year before moving back to North Carolina.
• Service Dog Trainer at Love In The Lead, and was in charge of their Service Dog Program & volunteer Puppy Raising Club. Traveled across the United States placing Service Dogs with their Owners.

The word “Teams” is important to note. To me, the relationship between you and your dog should be looked at as a partnership. You both need each to work with each other, and understand each other’s boundaries by using efficient communication. Using this ideology is the foundation of our training process. It is also what I hope our relationship will become once we start working together; you’re more than just a “customer” or “client” – together we all make a great Team.

My goal is to bring my vast experiences working with multitudes of dogs and training experiences at high levels of Service Dog Training expectations (which are very high) and bring that to your home and empower you with that same knowledge. There’s no behavior too small to tackle, if it’s something you want improved, The Dependable Canine is there to help. I’m confident you’ll be satisfied with the results we can achieve together.

Thank you for even visiting the page, let alone should we become a Team together. Your support means the world to this small business, and I hope to speak with you soon.

Best,
Rob

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Questions?
You can reach us anytime at:
The Dependable Canine
thedependablecanine@gmail.com