Ben Madilynn
Make no mistake: Mahtomedi-based dog trainer Anne Hendrickson loves training her clients’ four-legged friends and helping them love the pups for who they are.
“What I love about training dogs is helping families understand them better,” said Hendrickson. “It strengthens their bonds so they get the most joy from their relationship. Dogs are also poorly understood, and training helps when they have no one to speak for them.”
Throughout her career, Hendrickson has devoted her canine love to many jobs, from day care owner to personal trainer. Nowadays, Hendrickson runs Call of the K9, where she helps teach proper training techniques to dog day care staff.
Hendrickson’s journey began just after she and her then-boyfriend moved to Northeast Minneapolis in the early 2000s. “We wanted to get a dog,” said Hendrickson, “even though we knew nothing about them other than we loved them.”
The two adopted a German wirehaired pointer/Lab mix, Riley, who was prone to fear aggression. Through training with renowned animal behaviorist Patricia McConnell, Hendrickson considered opening a dog-specific day care center. “I worked full-time and wished I had day care for Riley, but there wasn’t anything like that in our area,” she said. “Thankfully, one of my friends’ roommates in commercial real estate was able to find a space I could use.”
In 2004, Hendrickson officially opened Downtown Dogs Daycare in Minneapolis’ North Loop. “Some people called it a mosh pit for dogs,” Hendrickson joked about the center. “We had three different rooms for different dogs to play in based on their energy levels. We accepted every breed and let them run and play throughout the day.” Hendrickson moved to Mahtomedi in 2011 and in 2014 sold the business to new owner Ralph Bernstein so she could concentrate on raising her kids, Gabe and Jonah.
After selling, Hendrickson started a co-working space called Work-it out of an office building on Fairview Avenue. Due to a noncompete agreement she had signed with Bernstein, Hendrickson was not allowed to reenter the dog care industry for five years. However, the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the closure of the office space, allowed Hendrickson to reenter the dog world with a new idea.
“I noticed that at the start of the pandemic, there was a huge dog boom,” said Hendrickson. “I saw a need for them and already had many connections and experience. I decided to go into training dogs, as it’s a lot lower pressure than doing day care and boarding.”
During the pandemic, Hendrickson started Call of the K9, where she led in-home training at others’ houses. White Bear Lake and Mahtomedi residents could also sign up to take training classes through both districts’ community ed programs, which Hendrickson held outdoors while maintaining social distancing protocols.
While Hendrickson still runs Call of the K9 to this day, she no longer teaches group classes. Instead, she pivots her work toward consulting with dog day cares on dog social behavior. “Right now, the demand is much higher for consulting than individual training,” said Hendrickson. “It’s also hard for people to find the time.”
Hendrickson also owns a male toy poodle named Neville and a female Shih Tzu named Zaley, through whom she is starting a new breeding program. Hendrickson said she is taking Neville and Zaley’s new litter to various dog parks and local events to socialize them more for adoption.
“Neville and Zaley are nice dogs, and friendly dogs tend to produce equally friendly dogs,” explained Hendrickson. “You must be careful with a litter because they’re very fragile. However, you still need to expose them in their first six months to our world, as opposed to a farm dog, where all they’re ever going to be exposed to is the farm.”
After the whole litter has been adopted, Hendrickson said she will wait another year before breeding again. “I love seeing dogs and families living their best life together,” she said. “I am so driven to help that happen.” Hendrickson said that she is also in the early stages of writing a book dealing with training and toy breeds’ behavior.
Erik Suchy is a staff writer at Press Publications. To reach him, please contact him at 651-407-1229 or email at whitebearnews@presspubs.com.
