We introduce these Equiosity podcasts by saying that they are about all things equine with a special emphasis on the horse human bond. So why this week are we talking to a dog trainer? It’s not just that many horse people have dogs which makes these crossover conversations of interest to many listeners. More than that, with Suzanne Kernek we’re going to be revisiting the rope handling that I teach, but we’re going to be looking at it from a different perspective.

Suzanne is a horse owner and a professional dog trainer. She’s a regular participant at my Half Moon Bay CA clinics. I always enjoy our evening conversations where we talk the connections that Suzanne has found between the work that I teach and the dog training that is her everyday life. I have wanted to have her on the podcast for a very long time to talk about how she has translated the rope handling that was developed for horses to the dogs she works with. This shift in perspective I think helps us to be better teachers no matter the species or the size of the animals we work with.

Suzanne runs a puppy day care and training program. We started this conversation just as Suzanne had settled ten puppies down for their nap. It speaks well of her management techniques that we were able to talk for over an hour and a half without interruption. We covered many topics beginning with the new Stay at Home clinics, and then we shifted to the topic of rope handling.