Mahogany Ridge Dog Training and Daycare: Meet Theresa Richmond

Jennifer Weis

Meet Jennifer Weis. As of September 2009, she will be taking over the role of director and owner of Mahogany Ridge. She presently shares her life with four dogs: two Belgian Malinois, a Labrador retriever and a shepherd mix.

Jennifer has had a wide variety of work experiences to this point. She has been in charge of several different day care centers and walking services for dogs in both San Francisco, California and Buffalo, New York. While working in Buffalo, Jennifer developed a keen interest in dog training. She began obedience training several dogs in earnest, and was also introduced to the concept of remote training. At Mahogany Ridge, Jennifer started to truly thrive and come into her own under the caring leadership of Theresa Richmond. For nearly ten years, Theresa has mentored, coached and inspired Jennifer to become a dedicated and committed educator, trainer and business woman. Over the years, Theresa has supported and encouraged Jennifer to listen to her highly intuitive voice and to act on it. More than anything else, Theresa has given Jennifer the “gift of dogs”.

To broaden her experiences and to keep up to date on the latest information regarding dogs, Jennifer has attended the Volhard training camp for three years running, and the annual Volhard holistic conference. In addition, she has participated in numerous seminars on dog nutrition and the ever evolving research on vaccinations. Jennifer has become passionate about providing the public with the most current information regarding high quality, organic nutrition for dogs. Reading extensively is yet another way that Jennifer gathers information about what to do and what not to do with dogs.

For the past several years at Mahogany Ridge, Theresa Richmond has offered an adult camp, focusing on both rally and obedience. Handlers from all over the northeast have gathered for this unique experience. This summer, Theresa added adult agility camp to the regular summer offerings. Jennifer has been an active participant in all of these adult camps.

Pursuing excellence with one’s own canine companions can become a job in itself. Currently, Jennifer is competing in agility and has gained an Open title on Firefly (one of her Malinois). Firefly and Lucy (the lab), have passed the temperament test (TT) and Lucy has her Canine Good Citizen title. Taking part in matches in both obedience and rally, end up rounding out Jen’s busy schedule. All this being said, Jen’s favorite thing to do is to just spend quality time with all of her dogs.

Presently, Jennifer provides the following educational and training offerings at Mahogany Ridge: agility, flyball and obedience classes as well as a variety of workshops regarding dog behavior and socialization. Jen’s enthusiasm for teaching is infectious and her classes come alive with spirited demonstrations. She also provides private lessons designed to address specific behavioral problems and will provide one-on-one progressive training (board and train option), to owners who prefer to leave the training to someone else.

If you haven’t yet met Jennifer, please carve out some time to do so. You will find a genuinely empathic, funny and joyful person waiting to discuss your love of dogs with you. She’ll make you feel welcome, answer questions and help you to recognize amazing and astonishing things about your dogs.