About Kendall & Chan | Custom K-9 Carson City

Your dog called…

We answered.

Kendall and Chan of Custom K-9 with their dogs

👋 NICE TO MEET YOU

Hi, we're Kendall & Chandler.

A husband-and-wife team of professional dog trainers in Carson City, Nevada, built on one belief: the best trainer your dog will ever have is you.

No guilt. No judgment. No “what took you so long.” Just clear communication, customized plans, and a community cheering for your ten-minutes-a-day wins.

🏕️ WHERE OUR TRAIL BEGAN

We know this trail from the inside.

Thirteen years ago, in college, Kendall was diagnosed with epilepsy and hemiplegic migraines, a condition that presents with stroke-like symptoms. Instead of waiting for help, she trained her first medical response and medical alert service dog herself.

That dog changed her life. Helping others do the same became the mission.

We built Custom K-9 around it: service dogs, family pets, and real partnerships between people and the dogs who share their lives.

🥾 TWO GUIDES, ONE TRAIL

The people beside you.

Kendall

Dog trainer, author of the award-winning books 10 Secrets of a Lazy Dog Trainer and Let's Get a Dog, and founder of Custom K-9 Service Dogs. Kendall writes a regular dog training column for the Nevada Appeal and leads our free library seminars.

She doesn't just train service dogs, she lives with one: Boomer, her medical response service dog, is by her side every day. She is the creative force behind the online program Club Doghouse, and when she's not running webinars, writing books or creating courses, she can be found reading by the fire.

Her superpower: explaining complex training in a way that makes you say “oh, that's it?”

Chandler

Co-trainer, Marine Corps Major (Semper fi), and the calm at the center of every session.

Chan brings steady structure, real-world discipline, and a knack for helping nervous handlers, and nervous dogs, finally exhale.

He is the face of Custom K-9 in-person sessions and if he is not teaching one-on-one classes or leading hiking seminars in the mountains, he can be found by a river fly fishing.

His superpower: making “consistency” feel doable instead of daunting.

13 years of professional training, plus one very good dog named Boomer, a shared love of all things dog and a passion for teaching humans...and an appreciation of fine rye whisky... 🥃

Kendall and Chan sitting on a fallen log in the Sierra with their two dogs

🧭 WHY WE DO IT DIFFERENTLY

Traditional dog training was failing our clients.

For years, we watched the same story play out. A trainer works with the dog, the dog does beautifully, and then the dog goes home to a family who was never really part of the process. Within weeks, the old habits creep back.

The dog wasn't the problem. The training was happening without the person who matters most: you.

So, we flipped it. We stopped just training dogs and started teaching humans how to train.

🚫 The old way

→ The trainer trains the dog

→ You watch from the sidelines

→ One session a week, then nothing until the next

→ Your dog listens to the trainer

→ Progress fades when the sessions stop

✅ Our way

→ We teach you to train your dog

→ You learn the why, and as many techniques as possible

→ Ten guided minutes a day, online, between sessions

→ Your dog listens to you, everywhere

→ The skills are yours to keep, for this dog and every dog after

🧠 OUR WHOLE METHOD

Coaching. Community. Consistency.

We coach you using LIMA (least invasive, minimally aversive) and teach you as many techniques as possible. We surround you with a community of dog parents and handlers on the same journey. And we help you stay consistent with ten guided minutes a day in Club Doghouse and in-person sessions.

🏡 GOOD TRAINING SHOULDN'T BE A SECRET

Rooted in our community.

You'll find us hosting free educational seminars at the Carson City library, writing for the Nevada Appeal and Nevada Magazine, and working hand in hand with causes we believe in.