A Little About Maximum Potential

I’m Rob Cook and my love for dogs goes back as far as I can recall.  There has never been a time in my life where my world did not include dogs.  My first experiences with dogs were just family pets.  My curiosity for working with and training dogs began at around 11 or so years old when I began hunting with my father.  We’d get up early and head out to the fields in search of pheasants, and I’d see other hunters out there with their bird dogs.  I’d be amazed at the energy and capabilities of these dogs.  The hunting, pointing, flushing, and retrieving abilities I observed in these animals captivated me.  At that time in my life, we had a couple dogs as family pets, but not a hunting dog.  It took about 4 years of constant begging and pleading, but I finally talked my folks into letting me get my first bird dog when I was 16.  Bo was a two- year- old German Shorthaired Pointer my father found for sale in a local newspaper classified ad.  The owners decided they didn’t have time for him and needed to find him a new home.  I’ll never forget the day we went and picked up Bo.  I couldn’t have been more excited.  I thought I had just obtained the ticket to bagging endless daily limits of pheasant.  Looking back, I was lucky: Bo was blessed with a lot of natural hunting desire and ability because I had no idea of the process, time, effort, dedication, and patience involved in training dogs.  I was learning as I went along.  Bo ended up taking to my father much more so than he did me, which frustrated me.  But this ended up being a blessing in disguise, because it afforded me the opportunity to stand back and watch him work and interact with my father.  It was during those hunting trips watching Bo work that my interest in observing dogs, how they work, and especially how they communicate really began.  Bo is long gone now, lost to cancer while still in the prime of his hunting years, but I credit him for sparking my interest in the dog training world.
 
Fast forward several years and dogs later, and I became a police officer with a local police department in Ohio in 2006.  In 2014, the department decided to start a K-9 unit, posting a position for one K-9 handler.  I applied and was fortunate enough to be awarded the position.  Becoming a K-9 handler was the greatest thing I could have asked for, allowing me to blend my loves for law enforcement and dogs.  Being a K-9 handler has allowed me the opportunity to work with, observe, and learn from some of the most amazing trainers, dogs, and K-9 handlers that can be found anywhere.  This unique experience has helped me to further develop my ability and passion to read and communicate with dogs, as well as further enhanced my respect and appreciation for the loyalty and abilities of the canine species.
 
If you want to truly develop an appreciation for the canine species, have one save your life, or at the very least protect you during a serious physical confrontation with another human being intent on doing you harm. 
 
Everything I have described has brought me back full circle to where it all started for me as a young boy: FAMILY DOGS.   The field trials and competitions that are so popular with so many sporting dog lovers never interested me.  I have no problem with the competitions.  I think they’re great.  But all I’ve ever wanted to do was to enjoy the satisfaction of watching my dogs do the things I’ve trained them to do, or at the very least, helped shape them to do using their God- given abilities.  My desire is to help the relationship between dog and owner to reach its maximum potential, so both can enjoy the world together.  Real- world obedience, good manners, and calmness are the foundation of what I strive for between owner and dog.  My love for sporting and working dog breeds has given me the experience in handling and working through issues with high energy, difficult dogs.  Too often dogs end up at shelters or euthanized because owners do not know how to deal with issues.  If I can help keep dogs out of shelters and improve their quality of life, my mission is complete.  My greatest satisfaction would be to help improve relationships with owners and their.    
     
Dog training is never fully mastered and there is always room to learn, grow, and develop.  My desire to grow, develop, and blend what I have learned from various sources over the years is an asset I believe dog owners can benefit from.  Let me help your dog ownership experience reach its MAXIMUM POTENTIAL!