Michael began training his own dogs in the 1980’s; he entered his first (of only two) obedience trial in 1984. Since then, Michael has enjoyed training his dogs for fun in agility, skills, packing, tricks, and therapy dog work.
Michael graduated from WWU’s Fairhaven College in 1998, with an interdisciplinary BA focusing on education, communication, and writing. Michael was very proud to be awarded the Whatcom Humane Society’s Woof & Whiskers Award in 2010, for his work transporting animals between shelters and rescues in Western Washington. In 2013, Iggy was awarded a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award from the Whatcom Humane Society, for his work in local schools, hospitals, and the WHS Library Reading Program.
Michael opened his dog-training business in 2011, and became a contractor for Tails-A-Wagging that same year. Later, Michael was hired as an employee, and he worked for Tails, and independently, until April 2016. Since April 2016, he has focused on The Dog Guy business full time.
Michael lives in Bellingham with his wife and three dogs: Buster, Ira, and, Rudy, and two cats, Larry and Simon. They teach him more than he teaches them.
The Dog Guy 