Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesus G. San Miguel.
Jesus, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up with dogs and have always been loved them. Between working and going to school in my early twenties I didn’t have the time to commit to caring for one. So I walked dogs occasionally, and treated them as if they were my own, during my college days at Harold Washington College. After I received my Associates Degree I moved down to Harlingen, TX back in late 2010 or early 2011 and finally had time free to dedicate to caring for I dog. So I went out and adopted my Chow mix, Xena, from the Harlingen Humane Society.
Xena had fear issues that weren’t apparent when I adopted her. She came right up to me sweet as can be and warmed right up to my family, but I started to notice when I would take her out she was insecure and fearful of people and environmental things so I began searching for answers to help her overcome those issues. When I adopted her the shelter had given me a voucher for a free Cesar Milan Pack Leadership video. I sent the voucher in, and once I received it, there was no looking back. His principles and ideas immediately resonated with me and I began studying his techniques and implementing them with great success. Watching and rewatching all of the Dog Whisperer seasons that were available at the time and countless volunteer hours at the animal shelter working with the dogs they had there sped up my learning curve exponentially.
During this time I became a Dog Trainer for a local pet super store. I was so excited about the position because I thought it was going to turn me into a “Professional” Dog Trainer, but the training was minimal and very little hands on and the literature they had me read had nothing to do with dog training. I realized the limitations of their methods very quickly and ended up teaching myself better methods that were more effective and reliable. My clients would always comment on how natural I was and that it was apparent that I had a talent so I eventually decided I could make more money if I just did it on my own. So I did.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There were plenty of struggles along the way. Mainly financial as I come from a low income family. I worked a few odd jobs as I was trying to grow my business and develop a reputation. I started out with a cheap vista print website, a stack of business cards, and recorded videos on my Samsung Galaxy phone to put online to display my work.
Slowly, but surely, I started to become recognized and I was traveling to neighboring cities like Brownsville, McAllen, and South Padre Island. Next thing you know, I’m getting more and more difficult cases and the problem then became that I didn’t have the knowledge to take those dogs as far as I wanted to as I was completely self taught. I was limited in my experience and the next logical step for me was to study with someone who could take my skills to the next level.
That’s when I reached out to Richard Heinz, “The Miami Dog Whisperer,” who was a trainer that I stumbled across on YouTube who worked with cases that were far beyond the spectrum of Cesar Millan. I inquired about doing an internship with him and they came back to me with a price. At that point, I spent the next year to two years working and saving up to pursue that internship. Fast-forward to February/May of 2013 and I was on my way to Miami, FL for a 3 month internship with Richard!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Canine Perspective – what should we know?
I own and am the sole operator of Canine Perspective, a dog training outfit in Chicago, which I began back when I returned from my internship with Richard Heinz. I do not operate out of a facility, but instead, offer private in-home dog training all over the Chicagoland area. most of my clients are in the city, but I have and do travel out to Skokie, Winnetka, Wilmette, Gurnee, Lombard, Park Ridge, Tinley Park, Country Side, and Manteno, IL. I’ve even travelled to Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota to work with families and their dogs.
I do everything from simple crate/potty training for puppies to high level off-leash obedience. However, I am known for and specialize in behavior modification. Specifically, aggression. Of all types. Whether it’s dog to dog aggression or dog to human aggression stemming from a number of issues. No matter the type, no matter the dog, and no matter the intensity, I work with all scales of aggression.
As a company, I’m still growing, but I am proud to have committed myself to this profession despite all the obstacles that came up and to have built a solid and positive name for myself and my company in the Chicagoland area. To have come from a simple logo and rinky-dink VistaPrint website to a completely personalized and branded logo that represents me and professionally customized designed website.
As for what sets me apart from others, I’d say it’s my complete transparency and commitment to my clients and their dogs. I don’t sell false hope and am upfront about my approach, the reasoning behind my methods, and how far each method can take them realistically. I don’t try to paint a picture of rainbows and fairies about behavioral work because it is far from it. It is stressful, emotionally difficult, hard work, and takes an open mind to follow through with the homework despite the difficulties that come with it in order to rehabilitate some of these cases I work with.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
There’s a very small circle of people, close to me, who I credit with my success. First, and foremost, would be my mother. When I decided to pursue this career and needed money to go on the internship with Richard, much of my family said it was a dumb idea and wouldn’t work. It was a lot of struggling in the beginning and through out the process. It’s hard when all your family laughs at your idea and your friends don’t think it’s a viable career, but she never said anything other than how she wished she could help back me financially and that I could do anything I set my mind to.
Next would be a mentor of mine whom I’ve known for going on 11 years now, I believe. I got in touch with him when I began to branch out and do my own thing. He provided me with ideas and insights on how to go about growing my business and ultimately, he helped fund my trip down to Miami, FL after I had worked and saved enough to show that I was serious about my commitment to the business.
Richard Heinz would be the next person I would credit with my success, as without his knowledge, I don’t believe I would have ever figured out how to get that level of performance from dogs nor be able to rehabilitate the cases that I do now. During those 3 months I learned what he’s learned over 20 years, bypassed a lot of roadblocks, and developed the insight and confidence to work with any dog.
Lastly, would be my current girlfriend. I had hit a plateau and stopped pushing myself as hard as I did when I was trying to get off the ground with my business during the early years. I got comfortable and wasn’t really motivated anymore. She saw that I was capable of so much more and gave me wake up call that propels me today to take my business to the next level and move beyond small-scale home to home training.
Pricing:
- Beginning Puppy Training, Under 6 Months: $350 – 6 Classes
- Intermediate Puppy Training, 6 Months to a Year: $550 – 6 Classes
- Basic On-Leash Obedience, Adult Dogs: $750 – Classes
- Intermediate Off-Leash Obedience, Adult Dogs: $1050 – 9 Classes
- Advanced Off-Leash Obedience, Adult Dogs: $1,350 – 12 Classes
- Behavior/Aggression Modification: $2,250 and up
Contact Info:
- Website: https://canineperspectivechicago.com
- Phone: 773.983.8840
- Email: CaninePerspectiveInc@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Mr. Kunkel and Cara
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