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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Woman’s dog training ability a ‘gift’


Kat Peterson gives a command to two of her prized German shepherds, Electra and Isidora, at her home
 (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
Marian Wilson Correspondent

It’s impossible to sneak into Kat Peterson’s Spirit Lake home unnoticed. While security systems may fail, the natural instincts of her seven German shepherds never falter.

“Their job is to alert that someone’s here,” she said. “My job is to protect them.”

Peterson believes that asserting herself as the alpha dog of her pack is the only way to safely control strong, intelligent animals that are bred to protect. German shepherds are known for their work ethic and Peterson’s pups are no exception. Her most recent success story is Gordo, a 2 1/2-year-old who landed a job as the first drug-sniffing K-9 working for the Idaho County Sheriff’s Office in Grangeville. He completed training and became certified through the Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training Academy in Nampa, Idaho, in November.

When Peterson sold Gordo, she had a silent wish: Please let it work out, she thought. She hadn’t focused on raising working dogs. Her goal was to breed “pet quality” shepherds that would make good family members. Yet several of her “offspring” have gone on to do good works. One comforts hospice patients and another works with search and rescue. One is training as a service dog for a woman with multiple sclerosis and will be assisting Iraq war veterans with post traumatic stress disorder.

Peterson runs Excalibur German Shepherds and Kat’s Dog Training from her home, where her walls are filled with awards her dogs have earned for obedience and showmanship. She can now add photos of Gordo with his sheriff’s badge to the mix. He’s received rave reviews in his new career, where he detects drug scents for probable cause searches. He makes Peterson wonder if she’s been selling her dogs short for the past 12 years.

She limits her litters to one per year and no dog has more than three litters in a lifetime. It’s too hard on them, Peterson said. Her chief assistant is her one nonshepherd, Einstein, an 11-year-old border collie mix. He rounds up the pack, scares off coyotes, and keeps the dogs from chasing cats and lawn sprinklers.

As a dog trainer and breeder Peterson feels responsible for the dogs she brings into the world, so she sends her pups away with a guarantee. If things don’t work out, she will always take them back. That rarely happens because her screening process is stringent. Owners must be familiar with German shepherds and understand their power. Their drive to protect is instinctive and proper training is essential.

“They are a loaded gun waiting to go off,” she said.

Prospective owners who pass her phone interview must pass the dog interview as well. Peterson relies on the packs’ instincts to weed out undesirables. She requires spaying and neutering and a contract is signed. If she finds a dog is mistreated or not living inside a home, she reserves the right to take them back.

Finding the right home for each dog is gratifying for Peterson, who said that her business is more for love than for profit. Her earnings pay for vet bills, obedience classes, dog show fees and siring, and a vacuum cleaner tough enough for abundant dog hair.

She is passionate about increasing the public’s knowledge about dog ownership and volunteers her services in advanced obedience instruction for 4-H groups. She is a member of the Coeur d’Alene Dog Fanciers and hopes the group succeeds in securing a building where lessons and agility runs will be available for the community’s dogs.

She has fostered about a dozen unwanted shepherds to keep them out of shelters. Some just needed an owner who could understand their needs, Peterson said.

“I’ve been given the gift to listen to what’s going on and see why the dog is acting this way,” she said. “I’ve just had a thing for working with dogs for as long as I can remember.”

Her first dog was a shepherd-Doberman mix and Peterson taught him a full repertoire of tricks before his first birthday. In return, he protected one of her children from a rattlesnake, she said.

Another of her dogs saved her child from drowning, Peterson believes. Her daughter was swimming across Spirit Lake for the first time when a fish touched her leg and she panicked. Before anyone could react, the dog quit his game of retrieving sticks and swam to her side. He offered his collar, dragged the youngster back, and casually deposited her on the shore.

“He was immediately ready for me to throw the stick again,” Peterson said.

Peterson has studied training techniques with highly skilled trainers, but gives more credit to her pack for teaching her how dogs communicate and think.

“The more you stop to listen, the more you’ll understand your dog,” she said.