...a bit More About Us... our backgrounds & values & experience

We are Cynthia Neet & Sarah Hughes. We are the main trainers at Fallbrook Dog Training
We own and exhibit top quality show dogs. We also volunteer for all-breed rescue. We believe that well-mannered dogs are welcome in most places and make life easier for their owners. Many owners do not know what they are missing until their dogs are properly trained. They cannot believe they waited so long!
We work with owners to understand their dogs
Insights as to Why we are Committed to Dog Training, while using positive methods

Cynthia Neet

Dog Trainer, AKC Evaluator, APDT Member (Association of Professional Dog Trainers)
I have trained dogs and horses since I was a young teenager and have learned so much along the way. I have always rescued animals of all kinds and feel that animals are at our mercy. They do not have choices about existing or how they exist and it is our duty to provide proper homes and lives for them when they are ours and rely on us. Lack of proper training is one reason why so many dogs are dumped at shelters, daily. It is my personal and professional goal to educate owners and train dogs so that owners can keep their dogs and live happily together. My own personal dogs go everywhere with me and are welcome everywhere. I train some of my dogs to be therapy dogs and we service a variety of facilities and schools as a therapy dog team to provide stress relief to students, children and adults. I stay up on the latest research so I am able to provide the best training & services. My undergraduate degrees included psychology/neurophysiology focus and also business (dual degree). My graduate education was in social welfare. I worked in group homes with children and adolescents with behavior problems, drug treatment, and psychiatric hospitals with children, adolescents and adults. I became a children's social worker at a large county and carried a caseload. My promotions included emergency response and the command post as well as triage. I became the critical incident/child fatality analyst for the county and was successful in reducing child deaths as a result of being a critical member of the child death review team. I also was a member of the drug exposed infant team and other teams. My last promotion at the county was leaving operations and becoming an administrator, implementing new initiatives, county-wide. Then, I got married. I ended up moving, so, I retired from my career. After I retired from my career, I joined my husband's long-time business as the owner of a commercial real estate appraisal company. I am fortunate to be able to work outside the office and my schedule is flexible. Therefore, I still have time to train dogs and help families.
Experience - 30 years as a Dog Trainer, including: Therapy dogs and ADA service dogs Leading reading programs for children, utilizing dogs Visiting facilities & schools as a therapy dog team Owning, training & handling multiple show dogs Rehabilitating, training and rehoming shelter/rescue dogs Successful with changing unwanted behaviors
I love... Leading puppy culture parties, puppy socialization, obedience & performance activities, including those that result in certificates and official titles. Saving dogs from being turned into shelters by training them for families on the edge of saying goodbye... Helping as many families as possible by starting puppies out right with training, is another professional goal that will result in long-term, positive consequences. *The reason that I included a portion of my resume that seems to have nothing to do with dog training is this: during my career, I learned that child abuse and animal abuse go hand in hand. There are red flags and parents make many of the same mistakes that owners do with their dogs. Like with children, the more energy you put into your dog, the more you will get. Positive, reward-based guidance, yields better outcomes. Negative methods can work on the short-term, but, that is not the way to build confidence and trust. I often utilized my dogs back then as therapy dogs with children in the system, at schools and during therapy sessions and forensic evaluations. Teaching a child or adolescent to properly care for a living creature, does as much for the individual as it does for the dog. It is always best to start with providing a plant first... just in case... :O I have always maintained my part-time work as a dog trainer and continue to because I believe it saves dogs' lives and can save the lives of people as well. Plus, it's FUN! :)
Client Story of How Her Dog Saved Her life
Experience - 12 years as a Dog Trainer, including: Owning, handling and training show dogs. Visiting facilities & schools as a therapy dog team Rehabilitating, training and rehoming shelter/rescue dogsSuccessful with changing unwanted behaviors Therapy Dogs and Service Dogs
I love... Teaching dogs to swim & dock dive Teaching agility and other performance sports Volunteering with training shelter dogs Volunteering as a therapy dog team Leading AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy and puppy social hour. Evaluating VHMA, VHMP and Trick Dog.

Sarah Hughes

Dog Trainer, AKC Evaluator, APDT Member (Association of Professional Dog Trainers)
I first started getting interested in dogs when I was a child. My relatives had show dogs and when I was older, I became a dog sitter. After graduating from college with a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology, I moved to Fallbrook. I started working with Cynthia and her husband to take care of their Great Danes when they were out of town on business. This eventually led to my becoming an owner and exhibitor of Great Danes and a couple of other breeds. I studied dog training, with Cynthia as my mentor, and became a member of the APDT. My personal dogs have been awarded championships and titles in conformation, obedience, rally obedience, agility, dock diving, lure coursing, fast cat, farm dog, trick dog and more. I have trained all of these skills to clients' dogs in addition to my own, led training courses and provided evaluations for official certificates and titles.