Exploring Life & Business with Cindy Skocik of Dog Training Elite

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Skocik.

Hi Cindy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a hardworking blue-collar family. My parents were first-generation Americans with no college education but believed in working hard and treating people right.

Both my parents also believed in being of service to others and instilled that in me from a very early age. My dad started a small business before I was born and I watched him come home dirty and tired and satisfied every day after helping his customers and supporting his employees.

I graduated college with a degree in accounting, became a CPA working at Price Waterhouse, then moved into leadership roles (VP Finance, CFO, COO) at various companies. I was always happiest when both my head and heart could be engaged in the business.

My favorite company/role was being part of the leadership team at Veritas Collaborative, a Durham-based company that treats persons with eating disorders. That role tapped into my devotion to children and young people, my passion for behavioral health, my love of creating and growing businesses, my drive to be of service, and my desire to make an impact.

During more than eight years at Veritas, we experienced lots of growth for the company and a merger with another company. I found myself an empty-nester with no more college tuition bills and a desire to do something less complicated than 24/7, highly regulated, high stakes eating disorder care. I still wanted meaningful work being of service, but frankly, I wanted something simpler and easier.

I have always wanted my own business and realized the time was right to explore that, so I began exploring franchise businesses. Franchising seemed a good fit for me because of the ‘tried and true nature of successful franchises’ coupled with the support and collaboration available while you are running your own business.

Finding the Dog Training Elite franchise was a godsend for me. It has a quick start-up, and a relatively low cost to get started. Most importantly to me, it offers a great service to dogs and owners. I’ve loved dogs my entire life (I often remember the dog’s name before I remember their human’s name!) and really appreciate it when a dog is well-mannered and easy to live with.

All dogs are lovable, but the well-behaved ones are just easier to love and live with. Helping dogs and owners improve their relationships and improve the dogs’ manners can have a major positive impact on the lives of the dogs and the humans.

Plus we can train therapy dogs and service dogs for people with PTSD, which really moves me. Seeing and hearing about the profound impact a service dog can have on someone with PTSD will get me popping out of bed every day to get to work!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been a smooth-ish road but there are definitely challenges.

We had to drive to Utah in very early March to get trained on the Dog Training Elite training method. Driving over 2,000 miles each way with trainers and dogs in cars is a challenge – before you throw in a major snowstorm that closed roads in Wyoming – but perseverance and a sense of humor made it possible. The dogs were troopers about it!

There were also some of the inevitable challenges of starting a business – financing, getting all the right systems in place, hiring good people (which I was fortunate to do!), and learning all the new systems. Again, normal stuff but challenging.

Finally, now that we’re up and running, it can be challenging to walk an owner or family through the process of rehabilitating a dog with serious behavior challenges. People love their pups, even despite issues like aggression, and it can be hard to change that behavior in dogs.

Watching the dogs and owners navigate the stress of change is challenging for them and can feel challenging for me, an empathetic, big-hearted person.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Dog Training Elite?
We launched the local Dog Training Elite in March, after extensive training in Utah from the corporate team who’s been doing this work for 40+ years. I have two trainers who work with me, and we’ve started to make a positive impact on the lives of dogs and owners here in the Triangle. Most meaningful for me is that we are already working with three people to train their PTSD service dogs.

Our training modality is to go into people’s homes for one on one sessions with a trainer and the dog – or one trainer on 2 or 3 or more owners, since we like the entire family to be involved in the training. The trainer works with the dog initially to get it to understand what is expected of it, then coaches the family members to work with the dog to cement the skill or command.

After the dog has a solid foundation in obedience, we move to group classes that occur outdoors in parks.

The outdoor group classes really help the owner and dog solidify their skills in a high distraction environment. If your pup can sit (and stay) while he or she is outdoors with 5 or 20 other dogs and owners, and a baseball game happening across the way, and squirrels running around, you know he or she understands what’s expected of them.

We try to make the group classes fun, and sometimes after class, a “dog party” will break out with the dogs playing with their new friends.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I feel very blessed to be doing what I’m doing now.

I get to be part of making a difference in people’s and dogs’ lives. I get to hang out with my own dog every day – Roxie is my canine co-owner of Dog Training Elite. I get to enable my trainers to do what they are so passionate about and capable of doing with great support from people with over a century of combined experience in the field.

I get to build my own business doing something that matters to me and other dog lovers. I’m a lucky human!

Contact Info:

• Email: NCTriangle@DogTrainingElite.com
• Website: https://dogtrainingelite.com/durham
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dogtrainingelitedurham/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dogtrainingelitedurham

Image Credits
BurtonCreative.co