Who Are You? Junior Trainer, Nicole Forto

Who Are You, Anyway? Junior Trainer, Nicole Forto
By Robert Forto, PhD


We are members of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, and they have one of the best dog training journals around, especially for us in the canine training industry, The APDT Chronicle of the Dog. Each month in their highly acclaimed magazine, they have a member profile edited by Nicole Wilde. While we haven't been privy to be showcased in this column yet, I thought it would be appropriate to showcase each one of our trainers over the next few weeks so that you can get to know us and what we are about.

This week I will be interviewing junior trainer, my daughter and the Dog Doctor Junior, Nicole Forto.

Lets get to know junior trainer, Nicole Forto,

Business Name: Denver Dog Works
Location: Denver, Colorado
Phone: 303-578-9881
Email: nicole@denverdogworks.com
Website: www.denverdogworks.com
Years working with dogs: I’ve worked with dogs since I was two years old. When I was two we had 36 Siberian Huskies.

Personal Training Philosophy: My training philosophy is positive but not treats there are negative parts but I think when a dog isn’t doing one thing change to something you know they can do and go back to that command later.

Nicole, how did you become interested in working with dogs?


I became interested in dogs from my parents I’ve always wanted to help dogs thats why I want to go to CSU and get a degree in Animal Science and then to Vet school.


Have you received any training as a dog trainer?

Yes, my parents have always helped me with my dog Qyain, Qyain is 2 years old and I’ve completed him in basic obedience, Canine Good Citizen, also Level 1 in protection and that is all thanks to my parents they’ve giving me advice on all of these things and how to improve my techniques.

Would you explain what it is like as a day in the life as a junior dog trainer at Denver Dog Works?

A typical day for me at Denver Dog Works starts by me and my mom feeding and pottying all the dogs then we take them on a fifteen minute walk then to groups of two training then we do socialization after this which takes just about an hour we begin our classes for the day.

What breeds have you worked with so far?

I’ve worked with all sorts of breeds from Akbash to Klee Kai’s. The difference you may not be able to understand by the name but an Akbash is pretty much a dog near the size of a horse very much like a great dane just bigger and furrier. Now a Klee Kai is pretty much a Siberian Husky decreased in size by a lot. Now I’ve worked with Labs, Labradoodles, Rottweiler, German Shepherds, Yorkshire Terriers. But, the main breed I’ve always worked with is Siberian Huskies and don’t get me wrong I love siberian huskies but my favorite breed is a Rottweiler.

How has your involvement with dogs changed your life?

The involvement has changed my life because by the time I get to CSU I will have a greater knowledge then most people in how to work with dogs because I’ve already completed dog CPR twice now so its giving me an advantage for my future.

So what’s next on your agenda?

Next on my agenda for my life is I’m going to be starting lacrosse and hopefully this summer I will be able to go and see CSU and for my birthday I’ll hopefully be going to the Mayhem festival and seeing two of my favorite artists Korn and Rob Zombie. In the dog world I will be helping my dad prepare his team for the Iditarod in 2013.


Do you have any advice for other young men and women who might be interested in learning more about training dogs?

Yes, say you should really get into it but I would say what you do isn’t worth doing unless you enjoy what your doing.

What would you say are the top three things you have learned with working around dogs?

The top three things I’ve learned is one always be cautious. I mean the sweetest dog can actually be the dangerous; two as long as your mood is calm and your collected most often the dog will read off of your energy and he or she will be calm and not anxious; three always have fun!!!!

What was your scariest moment with a dog?

When my moms dog Gina who is aggressive tried to attack another dog and I pulled her off and I was scraped pretty badly by her canine tooth. It definitely made me think a lot differently about aggressive dogs.

Are you involved in any dog sports or activities?

At the moment no but soon I will be helping my dad with getting his dog team together for the Iditarod in 2013.

What do you do when you are not training dogs or working at Denver Dog Works?

I do school or sports right now I’m getting ready to start lacrosse and in August I’ll be doing my 6th year of softball.

I hear you are a frequent guest on The Dog Doctor Radio Show, tell us what that is like?

The Dog Doctor Radio show is actually not what you would think of you would think. Its scary being on the radio with hundreds of people listing it really isn’t that bad.

Nicole, thanks so much for taking the time to visit with us, We are sure you will have a long career in anything you choose to accomplish.

Thank you so much for having me.

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Dr. Robert Forto is the training Director for Dog Works Training Centers and the host of a weekly radio program, The Dog Doctor Radio Show that can be heard every Saturday at 9:30 am in the Rocky Mountain West and downloaded anytime. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com