Lennox grew up in Northfield, Illinois. Born into a family of dogs, cats, and eventually horses, sheep, chicken, and various other animals. One of his joys in life was found early: observing dogs and how they relate. With everything. After graduating from the University of Oregon with a degree in English (good for training – communicating with people), he moved to Chicago and went to school for acting (good for training dogs and people – observing actions and reactions to actions). In October of 1992, he started Canine Care. He has been professionally caring for dogs ever since.

Training people how to take care of dogs (which includes how to train dogs) since 1995, he puts scientific findings in easy to understand practice. It’s not magic. It’s about relationship building. Pure and simple. The training is for you, the pet parent, to learn and apply. It takes time, commitment, and practice. And is oh so worth it. You and your dog will be happier for it. He continuously pursues an education in the nature and nurturing of dogs, and how to deliver you the best practices for taking care of you and yours. He is a dog nerd so you don’t have to be. When something is beyond his scope of expertise (because no one knows everything), he will let you know (and will help you find the best resource).

In 1998, Lennox read Turid Rugaas’ book “Calming Signals: On Talking Terms with Dogs.” This led to his attending one of her seminars (in Michigan), and conference (in Norway). While Lennox has learned from many other trainers, hers is the training he subscribes to most. Avoiding and relieving pain and discomfort is the path to better behaviors and well being for everyone. Freedom of movement (with some exceptions) and freedom of choice (with some exceptions) are a few of the many things which help relieve dogs from the pressures of life. Understanding how a dog feels, and how to help when one feels unsure, puts everyone in a better place for learning. And for getting along better with things like dogs, people, and the vacuum cleaner.

Humans share much in common with canines. One of which is the joy of being clearly understood and well taken care of. Dogs also share the frustration of being misunderstood or unheard. The sad reality is that we often miss what our dog is trying to tell us. Many people think they are fluent in dog language. Most aren’t. And dogs sometimes need our help. Wherever you are in understanding the language of dogs, Lennox will help you become more fluent. It’s a second language, and one which needs to be kept up with. It’s mostly a silent sign language, and then sometimes not so silent. No matter how much you know, there is always more you can learn.

This program is about training you how to train dogs. Step by step. We will use things like: distance, buffers, parallel walking, and an enriched environment (for examples) to help dogs and everyone feel better about things. Once they are in the right environment for learning, then we train. And sometimes we use training to get them into the right environment (for maybe more training).

It’s not quite as simple as all that. There’s more to it. It’s something learned kinesthetically. You won’t get there by only reading books. This is about changing your actions in order to change a dog’s reactions. You need to physically do it to make it habitual. Lennox is happy to help.