WELCOME
Hi, I'm Michaela
To say that working with dogs is my passion would be an understatement! My life has quite literally been shaped by them. Growing up, my mom and I had a kennel of 30+ Alaskan Huskies in the Northwoods of Wisconsin -- where we called home. We spent our winters training and competing in dogsled races across the country. In the off season, we would ride horses and compete in dog shows with our various breeds of house dogs (Dobermans, Bullmastiffs, Giant Schnauzers, German Shepherds, Australian Shepherds, Beaucerons, Yorkies, Biewer Terriers, and more). There was never a dull moment with our unique lifestyle! My mom taught me everything she knew about dogs -- how to care for them, train them, and understand their behavior and read their body language. Understanding dog behavior and knowing how to communicate effectively to train them became second nature to me!
When I moved out after high school, I left that lifestyle behind me while I went to college with dreams about becoming a biologist. I graduated with a degree in Anthropology and pursued fieldwork jobs with Fish and Wildlife, guided horseback tours in Idaho, worked for an airline, learned winemaking at an Oregon winery, and dabbled with many other jobs with no lasting interest. While I soul-searched and moved around the nation for many years, the thing I always found myself coming back to was spending time with my personal dogs after work. I escaped to the wilderness with them any time I could. They went everywhere with me and my hobbies revolved around them; I trained them to go ski-joring, bike-joring, hiking, paddle boarding, and even the simple things like relaxing on a restaurant patio. This is always how I imagined life with a dog should be; mutually fulfilling and enjoyable, and it was our norm.
Fast forward some more, I started working as a vet technician at a clinic in Redmond. Every day I would see people struggling with their dog's behavior. Owners would come in with their dogs pulling like crazy, jumping, barking, whining, even some of the injuries that we would treat were related to the owner not having the tools or knowledge of how to keep their dog under control and safe. In the back of my mind, I knew that the majority of it could all be improved if the owners and the dogs had more education and training. That idea continued to grow.
In 2022, I left the vet clinic and started Summit Homestead. My Fiancé, Phil, and I bought a little home in Terrebonne, Oregon overlooking the Cascade summits and settled in with our four dogs, two horses and one cat. Our dogs get to go horseback riding, bike-joring, ski-joring, swimming, and so much more, all made possible by incorporating training as a lifestyle. It is my goal to educate and empower dog owners to live their best life with their dog, like we do with ours. Training is what makes it all possible!
My Philosophy
I look at your relationship with your dog as a whole. For any relationship to thrive, there needs to be balance. A healthy relationship with a dog needs equal parts of love, trust, boundaries, structure, and fulfillment. We can start to have a more clear conversation with our dogs if we first reflect on what might be out of balance in our relationship. Identifying the why behind your dog's behavior will help us understand how we can change it. My training techniques are always adapting to the dog and owner I am working with. I will work with you to find the most suitable and realistic training approach for what you and your dog need to help you reach your goals.