Meet Margery Latchaw
From my earliest memory I've loved animals, especially dogs. Growing up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, I spent many hours with our Miniature Poodle, Pierre, and our big gray cat, Hubie, hanging out with them and teaching them all sorts of tricks.
I come from a musical family, so music was also a big part of my life from childhood on. I spent the first part of my adult life as a professional cellist, playing full time in the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, freelancing with small ensembles, and teaching private cello lessons. Around 2000, I developed problems with my left hand which left me unable to play cello full time any longer. Looking for a career change, I decided to pursue my lifelong love of dogs and began to learn more about dog training and behavior.
Shortly after, I met Judy Archer-Dick at a dog training seminar (Turid Rugaas “Calming Signals”) in Ohio. We hit it off and both continued our dog training and behavior studies together while gradually beginning to teach group classes and private training sessions. We created My Best Friend Dog Training together in 2001.
In 2004 I graduated from Purdue University's DOGS! Course: Principles and Techniques of Behavior Modification. I am also proud to be a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers (ccpdt.org), and a Professional Member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers. I share my life with my husband of 28 years, Dave, and together we have lived with and loved several amazing dogs, and one awesome cat. Our current “pack” consists of two dogs, Jack and Frankie.
Jack is 10 years old and is a beautiful mixed breed. We speculate he is something like Border Collie and Blue Heeler mix. We may test him for his DNA some time but for now we have not. Jack came to us permanently in 2014 at age 3. Friends of ours found him while on a bike ride outside of Fort Wayne when Jack was probably 10-12 weeks old. No one in the area had any information except that this was a typical drop-off spot for unwanted puppies, so our friends took Jack home with them. Although both are animal lovers, they really had no intention of getting a dog at the time. To their credit, they tried valiantly with him, but although Jack is a very sweet and loving dog, he is also a very intense dog and developed behavioral issues that were more than our friends could handle.
When our friends’ life situation changed, Dave and I felt compelled to adopt Jack. We had lived for 16+ years with a Border Collie/Sheltie mix called Fergus, who was very similar to Jack in many ways. But whatever Fergus was, Jack was more of that! We knew he would not be successful in very many homes, and we already were quite fond of him, and a bit attached.
Jack is “high” everything…he is very athletic, has a high prey drive, has been quite reactive to other dogs, and does not share toys and bones well with other dogs. As 1 of 4 dogs when he first arrived, this presented many challenges! With much management and training I am happy to say that although none of his canine housemates over the years have loved him, Jack has managed to live (mostly) peaceably with his other dog housemates for the last 7 years. He enjoys Nose Work and long walks, and fetch of any kind is heaven for him. He is now very well-behaved in public, has learned great coping skills for his “triggers”, and seldom shows his reactive side. Jack has taught me a lot, and we love him dearly.
Good news arrived for our Jack in September 2018 when we adopted 3-month-old Frankie. Frankie is a Pitbull Terrier and came to us through the Fort Wayne Pitbull Coalition. What a gem! Frankie is high spirited and fun, loves everyone he meets, and is SO smart. Frankie had an intuitive way of “reading” Jack and loved him right from the start. Frankie always knows when to engage Jack and when to slow things down. They have been, and remain, good pals.
Frankie was picked up as a stray at about 6-8 weeks of age by FW Animal Care & Control, and after being checked out and treated, he fortunately went immediately to the FWPBC to be fostered until adopted. From the beginning I worked consistently with Frankie to overcome some initial fear reactions, especially to unfamiliar objects and sounds, and have kept him in group classes (he is often the “class clown”) and regularly out in public in various situations so he can live up to his full potential. Frankie has become my wonderful training partner, and I can hardly believe how much he has learned and can do already as we continue this journey.
Life is just so exciting for Frankie! It takes a lot of ongoing experience and regular impulse control practice to for him to not get over-stimulated, and to stay interested in, but cool about, the world around him. Besides training and play with me and regular long walks with Dave, Frankie is turning out to be very accomplished at Nose Work too.
I enjoy working with a huge variety of clients and their dogs. Every person and every dog is an individual, and my mission is to figure out how to make their lives together go smoothly. A great relationship with one’s dog companion is an awesome and beautiful thing to experience. Sometimes this just means some basic training for manners, and a few other behaviors that go along with a puppy or adult dog living successfully in our human world. Other times it is more complicated, either from issues that have developed over time needing to be sorted out, or helping a newly adopted adult dog overcome their past – whether because of neglect, lack of prior training, or something more negative the dog has experienced. Helping my clients and their dogs is endlessly fascinating and rewarding for me, and I hope to keep doing it as long as I can!
