COMING SOON!
MY STORY
Long before there was On Point Development, there was a little girl who loved dogs. Not just liked dogs. Loved them. The kind of love that made her believe every dog had something to say if you were willing to slow down enough to listen.
That little girl eventually grew into the woman behind OPD- a self-taught dog trainer whose approach has been shaped not by a single program or certification, but by a lifetime of living, working, hunting, learning, and building relationships with dogs.
IT STARTED WITH A DOBERMAN NAMED PRINCESS.
One of Casey's earliest memories is of a neighbor's Doberman Pinscher named Princess. Princess wasn't exactly known as the neighborhood welcoming committee. She was protective, independent, and very much the stereotypical guardian Doberman. Three-year-old Casey didn't seem particularly concerned. She decided Princess was her dog. She climbed the neighbor's fence to visit her, despite repeated warnings from her parents and the neighbors about "intruding on Princess' domain." Eventually, that relationship became so unusual that Casey was discovered one day sleeping in Princess' doghouse beside her new litter of puppies.
Somewhere between the fence climbing, a doghouse slumber party with puppies, and complete disregard for everyone's warnings, a little girl's family began to recognize something that would follow her for the rest of her life: She just had a way with animals…and she still does.
A LIFETIME OF LEARNING FROM DOGS
Casey has never known life without a dog. Growing up in the "come home when the streetlights came on" era, her dogs were companions, teachers, and a constant part of life outside. She became the self-appointed dog trainer of the family long before she ever called herself a professional trainer.
Her love of training grew alongside her love of hunting. Casey grew up hunting with her dad and grandfather, who always had bird dogs and rabbit dogs. Those early experiences taught her something that remains at the heart of her philosophy today: A dog doesn't become reliable because you give more commands. They become reliable because they understand and trust you.
Long before e-collars, GPS collars, and modern tools, communication meant a whistle, a voice, body language, timing, and a dog that knew what those things meant. Those lessons stayed with her.
FROM EXPERIENCE TO EXPERTISE
Casey's path to becoming a professional dog trainer wasn't a straight line. It was built through years of experiences in very different worlds. Her career has taken her through the U.S. Army Reserves, veterinary technology and natural medicine, Agricultural Education, and General Management. Each chapter taught her something that eventually found its way into the way she trains dogs.
The Army taught her routine, structure, and discipline.
Veterinary medicine taught her to look at the whole animal.
Teaching taught her how to communicate, instruct, and meet learners where they are.
Management taught her consistency, leadership, accountability, and the importance of systems.
And a lifetime spent around dogs taught her something no textbook could: You have to know the dog in front of you.
Over the last 20 years, Casey has continually studied, experimented, refined, and developed her own approach to training. Her methods have been influenced by respected trainers and educators including Ben Randall, Lez Graham, Maurice "Mo" Lindley, Robert Milner, and Karen Pryor, while remaining firmly rooted in her own hands-on experience with dogs and their handlers.
OPD is the result of that journey.
On Point Development isn't the story of someone who decided one day to become a dog trainer.
It's the story of a little girl who loved dogs enough to climb a fence for one.
A lifelong relationship with dogs.
A childhood spent alongside bird dogs.
A career built through teaching, medicine, leadership, and management.
Twenty years of studying and developing a training philosophy.
And a belief that the most meaningful thing you can build with a dog isn't a perfect set of commands.
It's trust.
WHAT IS OPD?
