I am Jorie Stephens, owner / R+ trainer at SouthPaws Sports Scenter, which is named because I am a lefty and I train Agility and Scent Work/Nose Work as well as other dog sports in Northeast Georgia.  

I wanted to train dolphins!  I typed a letter to Seaworld (this was prior to computers and the internet).  I did not get a response.  So, Life happened and took me on a different path.  It wasn’t until many years later, when my husband and I brought home an English Springer Spaniel puppy that I got into dog training.  

We were in a pet retail chain and saw an obstacle course with jumps and tunnels.  It was love at first sight!  Unfortunately, the store said they were no longer able to offer training for liability reasons, so I had to seek out an Agility training facility.  I did and while on a waiting list for a spot, we needed to take basic Obedience training through a local kennel club.

At that time, positive reinforcement was not quite on the radar yet.  Obedience training did not involve shock collars and it did offer food rewards, but it was still all about issuing corrections.  That was the training available, so I went with it.  It wasn’t long after we started competing in Agility that I began having reactivity issues with my dog. 

Again, I implemented the training advice I was given to handle or correct his reactivity.  It did not work well.  We were managing his reactivity to some extent by keeping him crated in the car and away from highly chaotic areas (pretty much everything at an Agility trial).  If we had no incidents prior to running, he could run clean, and we would Q.  But during the run, while on top of the A-frame, he would look for the car and immediately after the run, leave the ring and me and go to the car.  Sometimes he left during the run!  I began to realize that my dog did not seem to be having FUN! 

Then I saw an episode of It’s Me or the Dog and I saw a trainer that really seemed to “get” dogs and had training methods that seemed to make sense and work...but I believed it to just be the magic of TV.  Being overwhelmed with a reactive dog, I took a “Reactivity” class with a “positive reinforcement trainer”.  I paid this person $100 and on the first day of class, when I told her about how I did not think my dog liked doing Agility, she just looked at me and said, “then why are you doing it?”.   I wish I had a picture of the look on my face!   

That was when I learned about the positive philosophy and giving dog’s choices and I haven’t looked back since!  My Springer and I left behind Agility and moved on to Scent Work / Nose Work where he was a rock star!  I loved watching this once seemingly unhappy dog finally excel and enjoy searching!  I went on to train and compete with my other two dogs in Agility, Rally and Nose Work all using only Positive rewards-based methods.  

I got the opportunity to work with the same trainer that set me on this positive path in a program at a local shelter in Canine Life and Social Skills (C.L.A.S.S.) and achieved the first C.L.A.S.S. certified shelter dog in the state of Georgia.  

Again, Life happened and changed our path resulting in me relocating to a rural town with no dog sports training d and no positive trainers.  So here I am!  I set out to educate and demonstrate the benefits of positive training as well as introduce dog sports into the area.  I took my VSA on-line course, got my CDT, rented a small facility, and put out my agility equipment and scent work boxes.  

SouthPaws Sports Center was open!  I quickly discovered the issue wasn’t enough positive trainers, people just simply weren’t training their puppies.  So, they had adolescent or adult dogs who in their minds were unruly, mis-behaved and completely unsocialized.  It didn’t help matters that the vets in the area only had trainers to recommend that used aversive means.  I began to focus on a Puppy Pawgram to include Puppy Intro, Basic Behavior, Impulse Control and Socialization, following up with enriching sports activities!  I enjoy helping owners learn to read their dog’s body language, communicate effectively, and build a better bond with their dogs.    

I have three new dogs now as part of the SouthPaws Crew and all are unique and motivated differently.  Each gets to decide which sport they want to do!  I am just along for the ride and to give rewards!  

Our sports line up has expanded to include Barn Hunt, NASDA, Musical Freestyle, and Frisbee. 

SouthPaws Sports Scenter currently offers group classes and private instruction in Novice and Intro Agility, Experienced and Intro Nose Work, Intro Puppy, Impulse Control, Basic Behaviors, Socialization, NASDA Lost Item and Shed Search, Rally and Musical Freestyle. We are hoping to add Rat events to our program in the future! 

So many dog sports, so little time!