Julie Symons, Faculty (Foundations, Nosework, Obedience)
Main info
Julie Symons (she/her) has been involved in dog sports for over 30 years. Starting with her mix, Dreyfus, in flyball, she went on to train and compete in conformation, agility, obedience, herding and tracking with her first Belgian tervuren, Rival. Rival was the first CH OTCH MACH Belgian Tervuren and they competed and placed in many regional and national events, winning Ultimate Dog (High Combined in Utility and Agility) and repeat 60 weave pole champs at the All Star tournament in 2002.
One of Julie’s favorite things is a versatile team! She truly believes that participating in multiple sports is enriching to both person and dog and builds on that mutual partnership and trust. Nosework is an ideal sport to compliment your other activities. It’s intrinsically motivating for the dog and it’s also pretty cool to have a pet detection dog! Julie has also gone HIT in 4 different sports with 3 dogs (Obedience, Agility, Nosework and Herding).
Julie currently shares her life with 4 dogs.
Savvy, Belgian Tervuren, who is now retired at 16.5, earned a CH, MACH2, UD, TDX, VCD3 and the following nose/scent work titles: ELT-CH, SWN, SIM, SCE, SEE, L2C, L1V, L2I. Earning their TDX and competing in nosework intensified Julie's love for scent sports! Savvy is my 3rd dog living to 16 years old!
Drac, an 8 yeard old Belgian Malinois, continues the versatility work having earned his TDX, HSAd, MX, MXJ, and his ELT-CH nosework title. He’s my loving boy with his favorite thing being with me!
Moxie, a 5 year old active little Belgian Tervuren! She is all that I wanted! Beautiful movement and a natural at Nosework and Agility. She finished in breed CH by 1 years old with two 5 point majors, earned her HSAsd herding titles with multiple HIT and reserve HITs. She recently earned her NW ELT-CH, Tracking Dog (TD) and Excellent Agility titles.
And the newest member Harper, an 8 week old Belgian Tervuren. All of Julie's dogs keep her very busy!
Julie is a consummate learner and energetic instructor, immersing herself in everything dog training! While teaching agility in the early 2000s, she found how rewarding it was to teach and help others. The simple truth? People just really love their dogs and enjoy doing activities with them. Knowing this helps set the tone for how she runs her classes: giving students ample working time, staying positive when things get challenging, and giving more than 100 percent of her efforts toward their development.
She is also a co-creator and judge for the FDSA virtual TEAM NW program and is a retired AKC licensed Scent Work judge
In her other life, she is married and raising a teenage son. It goes to show that you can “do it all” with just a little bit of planning and smart training. Julie is also owner of Savvy Dog Sports, a local dog school that focuses on sports foundation skills and competition nosework, rally and agility training! More information can be found at: www.SavvyDogSports.com
Pronouns: Julie goes by she/her.
Julie Symons's current and upcoming classes
Ambitious Drills for Analyzing Skills
This is the third class in my popular Drills and Skills series. With all training we need to maintain skills, progress skills, and then be a little more ambitious to try something more difficult! Our dogs are amazing and are usually up for the challenge! They are capable of more than we think! This class will push you more out of your comfort level so make sure your dog will be up for it too!
Motivating Drills for Maintaining Skills
Like with many sports, it's nice to have some drills to set up and run! Drills can help us maintain skills. They can also surface gaps! We may also find we aren't pushing ourselves for more challenges when the dog is ready!
Intro to NW Search Elements
You’ve put in the time to build your foundation - now don’t let that momentum fade! This next step will take you from solid basics to confident, competition-ready searching. And the best part? We'll meet you and your dog right where you are!
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