My name is Sarah Gill, and I am a professional service dog trainer and handler. I entered the world of professional service dog training after a car accident. As a result, I had to use a wheelchair for almost two years, trying to maneuver in a house not designed for it. No one expected I would walk again. This opened my eyes and became a driving force behind pushing myself to defy the odds. When I regained some stability, I attended a dog training school and learned how to train service dogs. I completed my Master Trainer Certification and gained further experience by training new trainers. However, the school wasn’t accommodating to those with physical difficulties and PTSD. Hence, I moved home to Dallas.
I started this journey because I had a trained dog to mitigate my disabilities. But I needed additional tasking for a new diagnosis. The only option I could find was getting a second dog for the new diagnosis. I knew there had to be a different way to address this. I wanted to change the ways of service dog training.
These are a few of my personal diagnoses:
- In 2009 I was diagnosed with PTSD, TBI (right frontal lobe), and agoraphobia.
- Five years later, I was in a car wreck that put me in a wheelchair, and the doctors told me I would never walk again. I was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome and neuropathy. To date, I had ten surgeries to get me to where I am now.
- In 2017, I had surgery #7, came home for a few days before starting to decline, and I was rushed to the hospital and immediately placed into a medically induced coma due to an organ shutdown.
- Also, in 2017 I started having heart issues.
- In 2018 I had a heart attack.
I wanted to gain as much experience training service dogs as I could. So I started working with pet and working dogs to address their behavioral issues. After several years of training hundreds of pet dogs and 34 service dogs, I started bringing my vision to fruition.
The Service Dog Industry
Throughout my time as a professional dog trainer, I listened to many service dog handler stories and noticed a growing trend of ‘service dogs’ with incomplete or poorly trained tasking. For example, one company supposedly trained a dog to do seizure work, but when the dog came home, it only performed a couple of other non-core tasks and was unable to serve its primary purpose of giving the person more independence. That is hardly acceptable after spending tens of thousands of dollars. One of my services includes retraining the main task(s) and adding additional tasks to make the dog work more effectively. Many diagnoses and disabilities worsen over time, and there is no reason a dog can’t be taught additional tasks.
The service dog industry has a lot of potential for improvement. Review my services page. If you don’t see the specific type of service dog you are looking for, please contact me and ask. I currently train dogs in over 140 general and service tasks. They are listed on our Giant List of Service Dog Tasks.
I currently have three personal service dogs. All my dogs have always been all black and pulled from shelters, rehabbed, and given jobs. My shepherd is in training still, and I’m always experimenting with new tasks and tricks with my guys.
Sarah’s work was also featured in Voyage Dallas, where she worked for many years.
If you are interested in getting your own service dog, please read how to get started here: Service Dog Consultation.
Sarah’s Dog Training Background
Sarah is now primarily focused on service dog training. However, she has worked with hundreds of pet dogs during her career. Sarah loves to teach and educate. Hence, she regularly writes articles on dog training. Her most popular pet articles are Dog Decompression, Puppy Training, and The Importance of Training Your Foster Dog. But also, Bringing a New Dog Home, Multiple Dogs Rule, Mixed Messages, and Survivor Dogs.
Sarah’s Dog Training Certifications
Certified Master Dog Trainer
(Highland Canine)
International Association of
Canine Professionals (IACP)
Back to Team Overview.
Services and Area
We are located in Southern California and train dogs nationwide. Happy Dog Training currently offers local dog training services in the following counties. Riverside County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Los Angeles County, and San Diego County. In addition, we offer our board-and-train program nationwide and all virtual training services worldwide.
Do you want your new puppy trained right from the start? Are you looking for help for your fearful dog? Do you need to resolve a severe aggression problem? You came to the right place! We are experienced, professional dog trainers. Ralf has trained over 1500 dogs in over 18 years, and Sarah has trained over 1200 dogs in over 11 years. Consequently, we can help you with any dog training goal.
What We Offer
For many of our clients, we train their dogs from puppyhood, getting them off to a great start. However, we also have extensive experience training rescue dogs from all imaginable backgrounds and circumstances. Our Board-and-Train program is our most popular.
We can help you, regardless of your dog's challenges or training goals. Being a professional dog trainer means having experience, knowledge, and skill. Further, we developed a highly effective training program to specifically help fearful dogs gain more confidence and become the best possible version of themselves. Building Confidence is our second most popular training program.
Last but not least, we are experts in dealing with all types of aggression in dogs and are often the trainers of last resort after many other programs have failed. Most of our aggressive dog clients previously spent significant money on half-baked solutions without much improvement. This is different from us. We will give you an honest assessment of what goals are realistic for your dog. We will tell you what can be resolved reliably and what likely needs to be managed before we start.
Our flagship product is our board and train program. But our virtual dog training and coaching services have become quite popular over the last couple of years. Our setup enables us to deliver online dog training services from our indoor and outdoor training areas. This allows us to help clients worldwide.
Other Resources
Also, check out our Free Dog Training tips on Separation Anxiety in Dogs, Potty Training aka Housebreaking, and Leash Handling for expert solutions to common challenges.
Additional Services: Presentations and Q&As on Dogs | Professional Service Dog Training
Contact Us and Start Training
Finally, once you're ready to move forward, please use our dog training contact form to schedule a free phone consultation or book a paid, in-person consultation.
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About Ralf and Sarah
Happy Dog Training is the pet dog training business of Ralf Weber and Sarah Gill. We are certified professional dog trainers in Southern California. We are specialized in advanced obedience training, all forms or behavioral challenges and service dog training. For behavioral training, we are known for our work with aggressive and fearful dogs. Our service dogs, through Total K9 Focus, have a nationwide reputation for their reliability, longevity and performance.
Ralf Weber, MS, TWC CPDT, IACP CDT, CDTA
Certified Professional Dog Trainer Ralf Weber is lead pet dog trainer of Happy Dog Training. Ralf is a long-time dog owner of German Shepherds. During his career, Ralf has worked with over a 1500 dogs of many different breeds. Moreover, Ralf has a thorough understanding of all aspects of canine training. This includes evolutionary psychology, ethology, and, most importantly, learning science. Ralf is specialized in resolving dog behavior challenges—especially fear and aggression. Apart from this, Ralf trains dogs in basic and advanced obedience, service dog tasks, and GRC Dog Sports. Ralf is further certified in a broad range of other canine training areas. Last but not least, Ralf is the author of the behavioral book If Your Dog Could Talk: Understand Your Dog Like Never Before.
Ralf loves helping people have a better relationship with their dogs. He is a certified professional dog trainer in the Training without Conflict™ methodology by Ivan Balabanov (TWC CPDT). Ralf is also a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals and also holds their basic and advanced dog trainer certifications (IACP CDT, CDTA). In addition, Ralf is an AKC-approved evaluator for the AKC Puppy Star, CGC, and Advanced CGC programs and is also certified in canine first aid by the Red Cross.
Sarah Gill, Certified Professional Master Trainer
Sarah Gill, is a professional service dog trainer and handler. Sarah entered the world of professional service dog training after a car accident. As a result, she had to use a wheelchair for almost two years, trying to maneuver in a house not designed for it. No one expected Sarah would walk again. This opened her eyes and became a driving force behind pushing herself to defy the odds. When she regained some stability, Sarah attended a dog training school and learned how to train service dogs. Sarah completed her Master Trainer Certification and gained further experience by training new trainers. However, the school wasn’t accommodating to those with physical difficulties and PTSD. Hence, Sarah moved home to Dallas. In 2019, Sarah teamed up with Ralf and moved to California.
Sarah started this journey because she had a trained dog to mitigate her disabilities. But Sarah needed additional tasking for a new diagnosis. The only option she could find was getting a second dog for the new diagnosis. She knew there had to be a different way to address this. Sarah's passion is changing the ways of the service dog training industry.