Medford grad’s business is all about the dogs

Karlee Batchelder of Elite K9 offers in-home dog training services throughout northcentral Wisconsin

Medford native Karlee Batchelder is putting her passion and knowledge to work as the owner and founder of Elite K9 LLC.

Since opening her business in July 2022, Batchelder has traveled to clients’ homes throughout the region to provide obedience training from puppies to older dogs.

Batchelder offers a variety of options for clients customized to their needs and what they are looking for. She said it can be working with dog owners to pick certain commands for their dogs to use, others may need to work on aggression issues or a dog’s fear of strangers. She said the length of each program varies on what the particular needs are for the client and the dog.

Working with clients at their homes provides Batchelder the ability to work with the dogs where they are familiar with their surrounds and are at ease. She said the classes may or may not include participation of the dog’s owner depending on what the client wants to do.

Batchelder sees clients in an area from Wausau to Eau Claire and from Marshfield to Phillips. Her pricing includes the travel from her home in Medford as well as the training tools and treats. She explained that leashes, toys and treats can be different motivators for the animal.

In addition to traveling to people’s homes for individual lessons, Batchelder offers group classes at the Seidl Center at the Taylor County Humane Society. These classes focus on basic obedience, potty and crate training for puppy owners as well as people who have gotten rescue dogs from shelters.

Typically, Batchelder said she will ask that a puppy be at least four months old to begin training. She also said that she has worked with older dogs, noting that it is possible to teach them new things.

She said for older dogs it is a matter of rewriting everything and bringing them a little more structure to gain obedience.

She said that a major part of what she does is work with the owners to have them keep up with the obedience training going forward. She said dogs will know who they can get away with not obeying and who they can’t. She encourages people to continue making reinforcing the training a part of their daily habits such as having the dog sit and wait before going outside or eating their dinner.

She also said it helps to make training time a fun and playful time for the dogs so that it is a positive experience for both the pet and the owners.

“The biggest thing is to get the dog to know what you are expecting of them,” she explained.

The length of time for lessons varies from six weeks with one lesson a week for the most common course, to complete 10-week programs. She said the way she has it set up, owners can spread out sections to do the full program over a period of time.

She noted that for some trainings, such as dealing with aggression issues, it may require more frequent sessions in addition to sessions both at the client’s home and at other locations to address socialization issues. “Sometimes there is a benefit to taking them out of their comfort zones,” she said.

Since opening Elite K9 last summer, Batchelder said she has seen steady business with clients recommending her to others.

Batchelder said she got into the dog training business due in part to her passion for working with animals.

“My passion to work with dogs and become a dog trainer started when I was very young. During my childhood, we always had a dog present in our family. I have always loved all animals, but my love for dogs grew stronger each year,” she said.

She is a 2018 graduate of Medford Area Senior High School. She knew that she wanted to work with animals but wasn’t interested in becoming a veterinary technician.

She also had interest in eventually having her own business so took business classes at Northcentral Technical College graduating in fall 2021 with an Associates Degree in Small Business Entrepreneurship.

In January 2022, she traveled to Hanceville, Alabama where she completed a 12 week Obedience and Behavior Modification Program at Highland Canine School for Dog Trainers.

“As I was deciding what to do after High School, I found Highland Canine School for Dog Trainers and practically made my mind up in that moment. I decided it was important to complete my Associates Degree in Business first and then continue to dog training school after,” she said.

She graduated from the program at the end of March 2022 as a Certified Professional Pet Dog Trainer. She went back to Hanceville in May 2022 to gain more experience and completed a two-month internship at Highland Canine School for Dog Trainers in Obedience and Behavior Modification. During May and June 2022, she also completed Search and Rescue training and is certified with her dog Karma in Scent Discriminate Trailing and Wilderness Search and Rescue.

Getting started in her business, Batchelder said it has worked well to go to clients’ homes rather than have the overhead costs of her own facility. However, she said a goal is to have her own location some day to make it easier to see more clients. For now she said she enjoys doing what she is doing and helping dogs and their owners lead happier lives.

People may learn more about the services offered by Batchelder and Elite K9 online at her company website dogtrainingcentralwi.com.