Meet the Team
CASSIE-LEIGH STOCK
ABCDT, CTDI, AKC-CGC 2008, CDT, HEX-BDT
OWNER & FOUNDEr
My name is Cassie-Leigh Stock, and I am the owner, founder & head dog trainer/instructor at Higher Expectations Dog Training & Behavior Modification.
I love what I do. I am grateful every day to wake up experience this field. My passion, my calling in life was to train people & their dogs.
Dog training in & of itself is completely fascinating, and after years in this occupation, dogs, their brains, their behavior, their dynamics, their history are still fascinating. I love the science of canine behavior as much as I love the field of dog training. That is part of the reason I use so many different tools in my trade. I am forever a student as well as an instructor. I love that about this field.
I love what I do. I am grateful every day to wake up experience this field. My passion, my calling in life was to train people & their dogs.
Dog training in & of itself is completely fascinating, and after years in this occupation, dogs, their brains, their behavior, their dynamics, their history are still fascinating. I love the science of canine behavior as much as I love the field of dog training. That is part of the reason I use so many different tools in my trade. I am forever a student as well as an instructor. I love that about this field.
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As a trainer, I am not stuck on one tool or technique or one training philosophy. I am open-minded and communicative, and I use all the tools at my disposal in order to achieve the best possible result with any given dog & handler team. Sometimes that goal is to have a more mannerly house pet... and sometimes that goal is to curb aggression issues.
Every dog and every handler is different. I use training collars as frequently as I use clickers. [For more on that specific subject and aversives in training in general, read my blog, The Prevalence of Prong Collars in the Training of Bully Breed Dogs... in Some Circles.] |
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I am proud to work closely with several shelters & rescue organizations in Massachusetts and nationally, assisting with their difficult and hard-to-place dogs. [See our Affiliations page for details on some of the organizations HEX is involved with.] I trained for a large corporate chain for six years, and I spent two of those years as an Area Pet Training Instructor, teaching dog training classes as well as training trainers. It was a complete pleasure, and I loved my time there, although I began to resent "being put into a box" as far as limiting my techniques to one-size-fits-all. As I become more immersed in the craft and continued to further my education, eventually it was time to part ways to pursue what had become my dream and start my own dog training company. That is where HEX was born.
My inspiration for my entire career, and in one form or another, my life, is my American pit bull terrier, Spark Plug. He was my first pit bull, and he came to me from the Lincoln Animal Shelter in Rhode Island when he was about five weeks old. More about him under Meet the HEX Dogs. I was hooked on bully breeds after that, and that reflects in my multi-dog home.
My inspiration for my entire career, and in one form or another, my life, is my American pit bull terrier, Spark Plug. He was my first pit bull, and he came to me from the Lincoln Animal Shelter in Rhode Island when he was about five weeks old. More about him under Meet the HEX Dogs. I was hooked on bully breeds after that, and that reflects in my multi-dog home.
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I do not limit myself to any one tool or training technique, as I think many different approaches and pieces of training equipment have value, from clickers to whistles to prong collars. The truth is, it's the person behind any given tool that makes it positive or negative, not the tool itself. The tool is an inanimate object; it has no power on its own. The human using the tool is the one with the power; the power to make it a gentle effective training aid or an abusive torture devise, regardless of what that tool is, including the regular ol' flat buckle collar. I do not feel that there is any magic behind any given piece of equipment... It's just equipment. It's the owner and the trainer, who are sometimes one in the same! I do not use a "one-size-fits-all" approach.
I truly feel that this day in age, too much emphasis has been placed on what particular tools trainers are using. People seem to have forgotten about substance & effectiveness in training, and the natural and human/canine part of it has been largely lost in translation.
I would truly like to bring happiness and peace and balance and freedom to the dogs that I work with... as well as their people. Those are definitely the gifts my dogs have given me. Great behavior is a by-product of that relationship. Training cues (sit/down/stay/come/heel, etc.) are just conditioned responses you work on after (or as) you are addressing your relationship with your dog. |
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As for credentials: I have been accredited through PETsMART back in the "day" (being 2007), certified through Animal Behavior College (2010), a graduate and recipient of Penn Foster Career School's Dog Obedience Instructor certificate, an approved Canine Good Citizen Evaluator through the American Kennel Club (since 2008), a Certified Trick Dog Instructor through the Do More With Your Dog enterprise as well as an All Star Team Captain, a former contributing writer to Stubbydog.org, president & founder of the New England Bully Breed Club (est. 2008, now merged with Full Bulls New England), a Team Captain for All-Star Performance Dogs through Do More With Your Dog, a training advisor to a handful of New England rescues, a dockdogs competitor, and an extremely grateful human being who is totally in love with her job.
Get to know me better: Blog: Dog This
For scheduling & general questions, as well as to speak to me directly, email hexdogs@gmail.com.
Get to know me better: Blog: Dog This
For scheduling & general questions, as well as to speak to me directly, email hexdogs@gmail.com.
Kimberly Chatha
CDT, AKC-CGC, Animal Psych & Behavior Grad, HEX-BDT
Co-Owner & Head in-home trainer
Hi there! My name is Kim and I am beyond excited to introduce myself and write up my HEX bio!
My love for animals began at a very early age. My older sisters owned a horse and I spent my days beginning at 3 yrs old at the barn every day after school and my weekends... mucking stalls, feeding & watering the horses, brushing, riding, caring for…and most importantly LOVING each and every animal on the farm whether a chicken, bunny, dog, cat or an enormous horse. There was never a care in my mind as I lead our Thoroughbred mare “Bold Kin” to her paddock, or rode a horse much too big for my young self. I just felt at ease around any animal. My mom would always tell people that animals “spoke” to me and I could “speak” to them. Now that I am older and wiser, I have realized it is indeed a communication, an unspoken language, between human and animal. Feeling the energy in the room, reading body language, subtle cues all around us.
After high school I went on to college and my dream job was to either be a professional horse trainer and/or a K9 police officer, so I got my degree in Sociology/Criminology at Framingham State College. During that time, I took the MA State EMT test and worked part time as an EMT. I really enjoyed working with people and the whole medical thing really clicked with me. In 2000, I decided to go onto Paramedic school at Northeastern University. In 2001, I graduated and have worked as a Paramedic since then at various jobs, got married and then had my beautiful daughters in 2004 and 2006. Kylie and Lacey became my #1’s. To slow down my work hours and not be gone so much from them, I began working for my dad’s company as an Events/Marketing Director and have been doing that full-time since becoming a mom. That has allowed me to raise my daughters and now be here for them every day when they get home from school. This has been very important to me personally and Kylie is also on the autism spectrum, so it has been valuable to be here for her.
My love for animals began at a very early age. My older sisters owned a horse and I spent my days beginning at 3 yrs old at the barn every day after school and my weekends... mucking stalls, feeding & watering the horses, brushing, riding, caring for…and most importantly LOVING each and every animal on the farm whether a chicken, bunny, dog, cat or an enormous horse. There was never a care in my mind as I lead our Thoroughbred mare “Bold Kin” to her paddock, or rode a horse much too big for my young self. I just felt at ease around any animal. My mom would always tell people that animals “spoke” to me and I could “speak” to them. Now that I am older and wiser, I have realized it is indeed a communication, an unspoken language, between human and animal. Feeling the energy in the room, reading body language, subtle cues all around us.
After high school I went on to college and my dream job was to either be a professional horse trainer and/or a K9 police officer, so I got my degree in Sociology/Criminology at Framingham State College. During that time, I took the MA State EMT test and worked part time as an EMT. I really enjoyed working with people and the whole medical thing really clicked with me. In 2000, I decided to go onto Paramedic school at Northeastern University. In 2001, I graduated and have worked as a Paramedic since then at various jobs, got married and then had my beautiful daughters in 2004 and 2006. Kylie and Lacey became my #1’s. To slow down my work hours and not be gone so much from them, I began working for my dad’s company as an Events/Marketing Director and have been doing that full-time since becoming a mom. That has allowed me to raise my daughters and now be here for them every day when they get home from school. This has been very important to me personally and Kylie is also on the autism spectrum, so it has been valuable to be here for her.
Obviously with any mom, life gets complicated and paths change when you have kids. I still had the yearning for animals and we always had dogs. Brutus and Penny are my late dogs who I had for 14 years each. Bosco is my amazing 3 year old male boxer and he is my 3rd child, for sure. He is more human than any dog I have encountered. Emotional, caring, compassionate and has really been a great guy to my daughters. In 2013, I started fostering dogs. We “foster failed” with my 2nd dog Haylee who is a 1 year old pit/shepherd Mix. Her and Bosco immediately fell in love and became the best of friends within hours of meeting and I knew I could never separate the two. Haylee is like an old soul. She acts way beyond her years and just has that amazing motherly instinct about her. She is smart as a whip and the shepherd side of her shines through when dealing with our foster dogs since adopting her. She is the instructor, the firm hand, the one who will not take an ounce of anything.
In 2013, I also took on a very hard foster case. Mr. Hercules. He was 130lbs of muscle and stubbornness - but also love. I found HEX because of references and Cassie's kind heart of offering free/discounted training to foster dogs and rescues. I worked Hercules at HEX and he became such a rock solid dog. I knew her methods WERE THE WAY to a balanced dog. I am so very fortunate to have found Cassie and HEX...and I am so thankful I reached out to her personally when she posted she was looking for a new apprentice!!!!! And that's how the story rolled....and the rest is history in the making!!!!!
In March of 2016, my beloved Bosco was diagnosed with non-curable Lymphoma. We did chemo to keep him around for another 8 months, until he succumbed to the cancer on December 9th, 2016. Absolutely devastation is the only way that rocked my world. In January, 2017, we adopted little Miss Roxy from DARL Rescue. She came from Georgia - and she is an absolute love and completely belongs with us. Haylee is really enjoying her new baby sister. We are so lucky to have found her in our time of grief and need to try and fill the HUGE void Bosco left in our world. Bosco was more than a dog - he was our family member - a HUGE asset to HEX - and helped rehab numerous dogs that have come through our home. He was a dog full of dignity, grace, love and passion. His memory will always lived on.
My amazing daughters, Bosco, Haylee & Roxy are all the reasons I can foster dogs. I love to take in the tougher cases. It challenges me, my dogs and my kids. We learn from each foster and we grow as a family unit. Most of my 40 fosters have been pits or pit mixes. As a family unit, we build up the confidence of each pup that comes in and love them unconditionally. We respect boundaries, allow quiet time, treat them as a member of the “pack” (human and canines alike) and reward them for positive behavior. The reward of rehabilitation through love and training and seeing these pups go on to happy, successful lives has been huge. I still talk and email with each and every family on a regular basis. I am here for them till the end and commit to each family that we will be a resource and someone they can count on. We have never said “good-bye” to any foster, we say “see you soon” & “can’t wait for updates!” (The tears still flow for hours… haha.)
In 2013, I also took on a very hard foster case. Mr. Hercules. He was 130lbs of muscle and stubbornness - but also love. I found HEX because of references and Cassie's kind heart of offering free/discounted training to foster dogs and rescues. I worked Hercules at HEX and he became such a rock solid dog. I knew her methods WERE THE WAY to a balanced dog. I am so very fortunate to have found Cassie and HEX...and I am so thankful I reached out to her personally when she posted she was looking for a new apprentice!!!!! And that's how the story rolled....and the rest is history in the making!!!!!
In March of 2016, my beloved Bosco was diagnosed with non-curable Lymphoma. We did chemo to keep him around for another 8 months, until he succumbed to the cancer on December 9th, 2016. Absolutely devastation is the only way that rocked my world. In January, 2017, we adopted little Miss Roxy from DARL Rescue. She came from Georgia - and she is an absolute love and completely belongs with us. Haylee is really enjoying her new baby sister. We are so lucky to have found her in our time of grief and need to try and fill the HUGE void Bosco left in our world. Bosco was more than a dog - he was our family member - a HUGE asset to HEX - and helped rehab numerous dogs that have come through our home. He was a dog full of dignity, grace, love and passion. His memory will always lived on.
My amazing daughters, Bosco, Haylee & Roxy are all the reasons I can foster dogs. I love to take in the tougher cases. It challenges me, my dogs and my kids. We learn from each foster and we grow as a family unit. Most of my 40 fosters have been pits or pit mixes. As a family unit, we build up the confidence of each pup that comes in and love them unconditionally. We respect boundaries, allow quiet time, treat them as a member of the “pack” (human and canines alike) and reward them for positive behavior. The reward of rehabilitation through love and training and seeing these pups go on to happy, successful lives has been huge. I still talk and email with each and every family on a regular basis. I am here for them till the end and commit to each family that we will be a resource and someone they can count on. We have never said “good-bye” to any foster, we say “see you soon” & “can’t wait for updates!” (The tears still flow for hours… haha.)
Each foster that has come through my home has been unique, just like a child – nothing “cookie cutter.” Adjusting to the unique dog and providing what that unique dog needs have been our keys to success. I feel the same way about training. What drives your dog? What is your dog searching for? What makes your dog feel comfortable? What makes your dog fearful or nervous? Each dog is different – and there are so many great methods to help you and your dog through anything. This is my main reason for loving “The HEX Way” of training. It works for my personal dogs, it’s been incredible for all of my foster dogs, and it’s flexible to meet the needs of any dog.
REMEMBER – Responsible dog owners know that love & kindness must be balanced with training, supervision & proper attention to any behavioral problems. Early intervention is best. The responsibility of raining, socialization & mental stimulation doesn’t stop after a basic obedience class… it is forever. Dogs that are left to navigate through this crazy world on their own are not happy dogs. They need that constant, that security, that guidance to allow them to relax and enjoy life. Find out what makes your dog HAPPY and use that with training. Remember that rewards are not always a food treat. A reward can be your undivided attention and making memories together. I am so excited to meet each & every one of you & your pups! Let’s reach your goals together.
REMEMBER – Responsible dog owners know that love & kindness must be balanced with training, supervision & proper attention to any behavioral problems. Early intervention is best. The responsibility of raining, socialization & mental stimulation doesn’t stop after a basic obedience class… it is forever. Dogs that are left to navigate through this crazy world on their own are not happy dogs. They need that constant, that security, that guidance to allow them to relax and enjoy life. Find out what makes your dog HAPPY and use that with training. Remember that rewards are not always a food treat. A reward can be your undivided attention and making memories together. I am so excited to meet each & every one of you & your pups! Let’s reach your goals together.
