Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey, United States
Brian merrill
CERTIFIED DOG TRAINER
CPR/First Aid for Dogs & Cats Certified
Body Language and Behavior Problems Certification
American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen
Master Program for Dog Training at CATCH
Fully Insured Dog Trainer
Fully Insured Dog Walker
Fully Insured Boarding
Fully Insured Yess Dog LLC
My Story
I fell into the industry by accident after being laid off in 2018 from my corporate position of 25 years in the Visual Merchandising field. I had a Great Dane at the time and being a rare and very large dog, Lilah attracted a lot of attention. The staff at Petco in Parsippany knew us well and as I got to chatting with the staff and told them I was recently laid off, I joking said maybe I’ll become a dog trainer. Hah Ha. Funny enough, they had a Dog Trainer position available. I interviewed and was hired.
After exceeding in Petco’s Certification and Training process I quickly made my way up through the chain of trainers and became the Senior Dog Trainer. On the side I started walking dogs which led to requests for private dog training. My business started to grow very quickly.
I was contacted by David Muriello, owner of Catch Canine Dog Training Academy, who put me through an extensive interview process and hired me to infuse his methods and cues for his 2 pet therapy dogs. I’m still contracted with Catch and work with his 2 dogs 7-hours a week. When the pandemic happened I left Petco and launched my own business, Yess Dog LLC, and was quickly inundated with calls for dog training and walking.
I have trained hundreds of dogs over the years and I've loved every minute of it! I've worked with puppies, young adult, seniors, purebred, rescues, and dogs that were challenged. Having exposure to a variety of dogs has given me a broader understanding of canine behavior making my contribution’s to training much more well informed.
I believe in continually educating myself, studying the latest information available through live courses, books, and online classes. I have successfully completed certification in First Aid/CPR for dogs and cats, 5 days of Problem Solving and Behavior Issues class at St Hubert's Animal Welfare Center. I’m also Certified with the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen program. I’m currently enrolled in a Master’s Dog Training Program at Catch Canine Training Academy.
Dogs are my passion and this is a job I love to wake up to every day! I’m grateful and blessed that clients are finding value in what I do and offering referrals, a happy client is my best advertisement!
No Boarding Available until August 25th
Thank you to our boarding families! We are fully booked this Summer until August 25th.
We have limited availability for August and September. August 25 to September 10 (including Labor Day weekend), and September 26 onward.
Book now before available dates are gone! Labor Day will fill up shortly.
We currently have available dates during Thanksgiving and Christmas. We anticipate dates to fill quickly.