After school she trained dogs for basic manners and competed in obedience trials, first with Wirehaired Fox Terriers and then later with Golden Retrievers. Later, both she and her husband, Colonel Major Godsol, judged and trained throughout the world.Įdi Munneke worked as a school teacher for more than 30 years. She was one of the early women pioneers in dog training, conducting training clinics and classes at her ranch in California. The sharing of one’s life with a dog, along with the education efforts of Blanche Saunders and Helene Whitehouse Walker, created a need for dog-training professionals.ĭuring the 1940s through the 1970s the late Bea Godsol was known as a great mentor and judge. The purebred dog became the latest status symbol. With the affluence the United States experienced after World War II, the number of families with dogs as pets grew. Many families donated their dogs to the war effort. It is undeniable that they are the first ladies of obedience.īetween 19 dogs received large amounts of publicity. Saunders, owners today know they can train their dogs. Dog owners hadn’t realized they could train their own dogs. They educated people about training and competition. By the time the United States began its involvement in World War II, Saunders and Walker had covered the entire country. They packed up a motor home and traveled to all the big cities throughout the country. Saunders had worked for her, caring, handling, conditioning, and showing her Poodles.

Whitehouse Walker enlisted Blanche Saunders for help. The American Kennel Club, both thrilled and intrigued by what she was sharing, asked her to educate people in obedience. She approached the American Kennel Club with competition information. Held in Mount Kisco, New York, on her father’s estate, the obedience test began public interest in obedience training. She inspired the first competitive obedience test in the United States in 1933.

She learned about obedience firsthand on a trip to England. She decided to prove the naysayers wrong-her dogs were like all women-beautiful and brainy. Whitehouse Walker grew tired of everyone believing that her Standard Poodles were only balls of beautiful fluff. Helene Whitehouse Walker was a socialite and dog lover. Originally founded in Nashville, Tennessee, the school moved to Morristown, New Jersey, where it still provides the training of guide dogs. Once she realized that there was such a need in the States, she began the Seeing Eye in 1929. Many people wrote her asking for help in finding a guide dog in the United States. In 1927 she wrote an article for the Saturday Evening Post about the Blind Institute in Potsdam, Germany, which trained dogs for guide dog work for World War I veterans. However, it was women who actually started dog training, as we know it today.Ī native of Philadelphia, Dorothy Eustis lived in Switzerland for eight years training German Shepherd Dogs for the Red Cross, as well as for the Swiss army and police.

Hey, we know the truth, so what difference does it make? Many men have trained and worked their dogs in the field for hunting and herding from the beginning of their partnership with woman’s best friend. Men always take the credit for the work we women achieve. The History of Women in Dog Training By Babette Haggerty And to our readers who are men, we think you’re going to enjoy it as well. We’ve excerpted the Introduction to her book which has some fascinating and probably not very well-known information about women pioneers in dog training (the book has great pictures too). She says that the dogs in her classes are calmer, the owners have fun and the dropout rate has drastically diminished since she started teaching the katas to her students. There are also pictures and descriptions of “Katas,” where she teaches the reader the footwork, hand signals and body movements of various commands before she describes how to teach the commands. She teaches breathing exercises, positive visualizations and affirmations to help with the training process. With humor, soul and a deep knowledge of dog training – Babette penned her book which is geared to teaching women how to successfully own and train dogs. Women understand that we first need to give our dogs a foundation of obedience skills and basic manners before we would teach her that.” Men often just want the dog to get a beer out of the refrigerator. We understand that before you run, you need to walk. We are patient, nurturing, and more generous with praise. Training dogs is different for women than it is for men. In the Preface of dog trainer Babette Haggerty’s book “Woman’s Best Friend, Choosing and Training the Dog That’s Right for You,” published by McGraw-Hill, she writes:

Famous female dog trainer