.png){kind=small}
About Me.
Hi! My name is Cait Adams and I am the owner, Dog Trainer, and Pet Care provider for Cait's Canines and Company.
I started this company with one very important thing in mind, how can I improve the lives of people and their pets? After all, every person and their pet(s) are individuals and all have different needs and to me, that is exactly what should be focused on when providing any type of service.
Now. I'm sure your wondering how I got into the pet world. It all started when my husband (bless his heart, he had no idea the can of worms he was about to open) brought home a tiny 12 week old rescue puppy that we named Aurora. It did not take long for us to realize that we were in way over our heads with this one, she was a tiny terror! It turned out this little puppy was an Australian Cattle Dog and Jack Russell Terrier
mix and had more energy than the energizer bunny that just had 4 espresso shots and was ready to run the Boston Marathon... twice. She certainly gave us a run for our money! At the time we had a 12 year old dachshund whose favorite activities were sleeping and eating so this was a whole new ballgame. It didn't take long to realize that this puppy needed more than just a daily walk to thrive and since we brought her home, it was my duty to make sure she had that fulfillment in her life so that she could be a happy and balanced pup. I dove in head first with this and did all sorts of research and learned all different ways that I could truly fulfill her every need. We started doing daily training and I incorporated as much enrichment that I possibly could (because not only did she have energy for days, she was as smart as a whip, to boot), and in time, she became a more balanced, happy dog. During this time, we also formed a strong bond and a mutual trust in each other and that we were both in this for the long haul and since those crazy, puppy days, I could not have asked for a better dog by my side. She has exceeded all of my expectations and has really proven herself to be better than I could have ever dreamed of. So much so, that I was ready to bring home another puppy.
​
Of course, I contemplated for a long time, if I was really ready to unleash this crazy all over again, because at this point, I was hooked on these herding breeds. After a bunch of going back and forth for months, we hopped in the car for a three hour drive to Ohio to pick up an 8 week old Australian Cattle Dog and English Shepherd mix that we named Atticus. And boy was I wrong, this little guy must have came out of the womb an 85 year old man. He was literally the chillest puppy that I have ever met in my life! I was almost in disbelief at how well behaved this boy was and at one point, I was convinced he was broken or was severely sick. Even though he was an angel baby, it didn't take long to realize that he did have a quirk, he was absolutely terrified of people. While I did my best to work him through this and desensitize him to people and make sure to socialize him as often as I could, I realized that around 6 months of age, he was never going to change and I was okay with that. Instead of continuing with the desensitization and socializing freely, I started to teach him coping mechanisms and how to make better choices when it came to strangers, while he was never a bite risk, it was still important to me that he can at least be out in the real world without being absolutely terrified of every little thing. Most importantly, I taught him that I will always have his back and will advocate for him whenever I notice that he is uncomfortable in a situation. I learned that saying "no" when people asked if they could pet him was probably one of the important pieces to form a great relationship and for him to trust me wholeheartedly. Just like with Aurora, I brought this dog home and it was my duty to make sure he always felt safe and protected.
​
Between forming these really great bonds with these two, I realized that this is what I wanted to do forever. I wanted people to have that same bond with their dogs that I have with mine. However, you can't just wake up one day and decide "I'm going to become a dog trainer" without much experience. So I needed a stepping stone. Our local Petsmart was hiring in their hotel and I jumped at the chance to work there. I worked there for a couple of years where I took care of the boarding pets, worked the doggy daycare, gave dogs baths and nail trims, and did some front end work, checking pets in and out of the hotel. However, my dream of becoming a dog trainer never really left my mind.
​
Fast forward to 2017, I was casually scrolling through Indeed when I saw that K9 Connection was hiring and I felt like this was it, this was my chance to really head towards my goal of becoming a dog trainer. Even though it wasn't for a dog training position at the time, I am so glad I took the position when they offered it to me. Working at K9 Connection, I really learned the ins and outs of enrichment and how to apply it to any dog making sure to focus on activities that were beneficial to that specific dog based on their age, breed, and energy level. By incorporating enrichment into these dogs lives, there was a noticeable difference in them. So much so that my manager and I revamped our entire daycare program and changed it to an enrichment program completely. When it came to the enrichment program, we built it from the ground up and we were the first company in the WNY area to offer an enrichment program. The customers raved about how much of a difference we made in these dogs lives just by making this switch. It certainly was not an easy program to plan, I am so happy we did it. I was so proud of this program that we created! While I mostly did enrichment, I did also help with the board and train dogs. This was perfect since I was one step closer to fulfilling my dreams of being a trainer.
​
​
Even though it was hard, because I loved the enrichment program so much, I eventually moved into the role of a full time trainer. I loved the enrichment program but I REALLY loved training. Plus, I had an advantage, incorporating enrichment into my training process. I would focus on activities that would be beneficial to them behavior wise whether it was reactivity or nervousness, there was always an enrichment activity for something.
​
I worked a lot with the dogs that had major behavioral issues, some of which I was their last hope in life. There was nothing I loved more than transforming these dogs (and their owners!) lives. I actually preferred training the difficult dogs to the easy ones, that is where my true passion was. It certainly wasn't a walk in the park, but I'd rather walk up the giant hills anyways. From resource guarding to human aggression, I worked with a variety of behavioral issues. Training dogs was truly humbling and I felt so grateful for being able to do what I loved every day.
