Practical Obedience in Ashwaubenon offers custom dog training, solving practical problems

A constant theme running through most business startups is that the owner always dreamed of having a business. Maggie Keippel, owner of Practical Obedience Custom Dog Training in Ashwaubenon, does not fit into that mold.

“When I started a business, I didn’t have a plan or thought that I would own a business,” she said. “I just saw an opportunity to start dog training part time while I worked at another job. I wanted to do in-home training so I could get my feet wet, and it grew into a full-time gig.”

Keippel still operates without a business plan, but her natural instinct for business has her at the head of a business that employs three other trainers and part-time administrative staff. Every change made has been a good one.

When she graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2007 with an equine degree, she planned to parlay her love for horses into a career.

“I was thinking I would be running a barn, but after college, those jobs were hard to find. I was working in customer service when I got Wally, a German shepherd-collie mix in 2009, and that dog led to a change in direction,” Keippel said.

As her love for dogs grew, she did volunteer work with rescues and says she got “the training bug.” In 2012, online coursework began and she found she had a knack for understanding and training dogs. Practical Obedience Custom Dog Training started the following year. Her niche was, that unlike most other trainers, Keippel went to the dog owners’ homes.

“I saw that my business was unique – I was one of the first in-home trainers in the Green Bay area,” she said.

At that early stage, she hadn’t planned to hire and did not anticipate the growth that would occur. Early on, she met with a Green Bay SCORE mentor, but most of what she learned was by spending hours doing online research and study. Since she hadn’t taken business classes, time was spent learning tasks such as bookkeeping, payroll, human resources, and marketing.

It didn’t take long for Keippel to grasp the basics, and even without a written marketing plan, she developed plans that turned out to be very effective. With her target market being dog owners, she decided to focus on networking with veterinary clinics. That meant cold calls to the clinics to provide information about the services she offered. That led to referrals

“There was a lot of back and forth,” she stated. “I would help a dog and the owner would go to the vet and tell them what I did. The vet then knew about me and would tell others owners who needed help with their dogs.”

The connection between veterinary care and pet training is well-established. Behavioral problems could result from unknown physical issues; the solution often involves a veterinarian and a trainer. Keippel maintains a rapport with vets as they work together to determine how to interpret the issue and find a solution. There may also be emotional factors — dogs, just like humans, can be diagnosed with depression.

For that reason, much of Keippel’s training focuses on happiness.

As she works with dogs, especially at the puppy stage, her goal is to provide happy experiences. The puppy program works to socialize puppies by allowing them to experience play with up to six other puppies at a time. There is also a puppy day school for half a day, twice a week.

“I like to do puppy work during their critical learning period,” she said. “During the first three to four months, their brains are developing at an incredible rate, and the happier experiences they have, the better result in having a happy dog.”

She would like to expand her building to do more of this type of training. The need for space is evidence of how the business has evolved from an in-home business to an on-site training facility. Change has been the one constant since beginning.

After starting, it took just over a year before she was able to drop her other job and operate the business full time. In 2017, two trainers were added to meet the demand for in-home training. That business continued to thrive until the onset of the pandemic in 2020.

With people and trainers being cautious about visiting in close spaces, Keippel acted quickly to provide an option to keep the business going strong. She found a space, 901 Parkview Road, Ashwaubenon, to lease that had separate training areas and an outdoor area for dogs. The larger space meant that business flourished with people being able to distance from each other.

“I have a creative way of looking at things, and when the pandemic hit, I looked at what was possible instead of what had been done before," she said. "It was a leap of faith and a risk. We had an established business and a good reputation and it was our way of saying we could at least see clients in person. It was stressful and a big risk to take this off the road.”

It was a risk that paid off. The change has provided the ability to work with more dogs, and the reputation of Practical Obedience Custom Dog Training has remained strong. Keippel has added another trainer, and boasts that the skill level of her trainers is top-notch.

“With dog training, people might have the idea that we’re playing, but it is a skill. We have to be very careful and teach the dog and the human, and have staff that is well-suited for that,” she said. “We look at each situation objectively and provide a unique, customized service. We ask the owner what they need, and we base it on learning theory and what dogs know and don’t know.”

To that end, staff education is a priority. They take advanced training, earn certifications, and network with other top trainers in the industry. It was an initial observation of training that led her to select the name.

“There often seems to be a disconnect between taking your dog to a training class and actually solving the problem of having a dog that jumps on guests or runs out the door," she said. "I wanted to bring the practical aspect to solve those problems.”

The business growth and success rate with dogs proves the philosophy is working.

“I am somewhere I never, ever expected to be,” Keippel said. “Owning a business is a blend between ‘don’t be afraid’ and ‘go for it.’ But it isn’t for the faint of heart.”

Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Practical Obedience offers dog owners in-home dog training