By Erin Wheeler
Bob “Mutt Master” Warren said a custom design approach for an individual dog and the dog’s family is his approach to successfully training dogs for the 50 years he has been in the business.
The individualized training concept is the foundation for Warren’s dog training and boarding business, Mutt Masters K9 Academy.
In 1974, Warren stumbled toward his life-long career path when he adopted a trained dog he couldn’t afford from a training facility in Stratford, Connecticut; he worked there for free to pay for his new furry friend. “I got into the business pretty much by accident,” he said.
After running his own training businesses on the East Coast, Warren relocated his career to southern Colorado in 1998; eventually, he established roots in Black Forest in 2013, where he lives and operates his dog training business.
The Mutt Master brand is most well-known for its always-open boarding facility and various training offerings, ranging from basic obedience to more advanced lessons like those used to train therapy and service dogs and personal protection dogs. As a whole, Warren said, “We are concentrating on training family dogs to be pets that love and protect.” He also specializes in training and selling PTSD service dogs.
“Our boarding facility can expand to accommodate more, so we always have vacancies, 365 days a year by appointment,” Warren said.
When it comes to training, Warren was careful not to give away his secrets as an instructor. While he was not transparent about his strategies, methods and tools used, he self-proclaimed them as “excellent.” He also said, “When you ask me about equipment and I refuse to give you an answer, as you noticed, that is because we totally believe that there is no tool that is good or bad across the board.”
When explaining the Mutt Masters training style, the facility manager, Francesca Auza, said, “It’s all based on positive reinforcement, but then if there is any force that is necessary, it’s based upon the specific dog. It’s not a one-size-fits-all training. It’s not that we don’t use force, but we use force appropriately when needed.”
All training starts with a $100 private session, but this year the session is discounted to $55 in celebration of Warren’s 50th year as a trainer.
In addition to half a century in the business, Warren said he is also proud to have recently reached another milestone — expanding outside of the greater Colorado Springs demographic. Since last year, owners and their four-legged companions have traveled all the way from Fort Collins, Greeley, Trinidad and Westcliffe to work specifically with him.
Warren attributes his success to his extensive experience in the industry. “I find almost everyone lacking in education; and, when it gets right down to it, they don’t have all that much experience,” he said. “What makes us different is we can fix the really bad dogs that other trainers fail at.”
This fall, Mutt Masters will offer canine fitness classes on the agility course currently being built at his facility in Black Forest. There is also talk of a “kids and canines” class that might be offered through the Monument Kiwanis to teach children how to properly interact with dogs and have fun in a safe way for both.
Long term, changes are in the works for the business with the hiring of Francesca Auza as the facility manager. Auza came to Mutt Masters from Petco 10 months ago and started out as Warren’s training assistant. Because of her skills in positive motivational training and enrichment games to allow animals to use their natural instincts, Warren promoted Auza.
Warren said, “How do you make the best dog school even better? Put a woman in charge.”
