How a small Peoria dog trainer has grown to serve pet owners across Illinois

When Patrick Sisco and Anna Sauder decided last April to open a dog training business out of their Peoria home, they expected to get off to a slow start. That has not been the case.

“There are quite a few people in the Peoria area who need a lot of dog training,” Sisco said. “There are quite a few crazy issues with dogs in the area that we’ve been able to help people through.”

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The Distracted Dog has attracted clients from the greater Peoria area, but also from across Illinois including the Quad Cities, Bloomington and Springfield. Sauder attributed The Distracted Dog’s surprising success to a willingness to adapt to each client’s needs.

"With our board and train program, we do video updates of the dogs during the process,” she said. "Clients can see it and be part of the process of their dogs going through the learning curves.

"We don’t let owners directly interact with their pups until the end of their board and train because it would set them back in their training. We have a really strict schedule.”

The Distracted Dog also offers private lessons, group training, and a new raise-and-train program for puppies.

“A client selects a puppy, and the dog will come home with us," Sauder said. "We’ll do all the training right out of the gate for whatever goals the client has, and then we send the dog home once the training’s completed.”

The Distracted Dog’s client base grew so much toward the end of 2023 that Sisco and Sauder now need to hire additional staff. Sisco said they are looking for a dog trainer and a kennel technician.

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“At this point, we’re getting so flooded with work that we can’t maintain it all ourselves, honestly," Sisco said." We’re having to turn away certain clients and potential leads because we don’t have the time available.”

The Distracted Dog

• Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. throughout the week.
• Call: (309) 251-6587
• Web: thedistracteddogtraining.com

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: How a small Peoria dog trainer has grown to serve pet owners across Illinois