Robin Carlstrom

Robin grew up with dogs, and as a young adult became very involved with the Evergreen State Pekingese Club. She worked on the "back-end" of dog showing for many years with the club, putting on regional specialty shows and hosting the National Specialty twice during her 8 years as Treasurer.

Growing up with Pekingese didn't quite prepare her for the breed she feel in love with in early 2000. Alaskan Klee Kai are bred to look like miniature huskies, and have all the prey drive and pull instinct that is non-existent in Pekingese! Very quickly after adding a Klee Kai to the family, she realized more was necessary.

Agility had always fascinated Robin, and she began taking lessons from a wonderful, positive trainer. The concept of positive training was new to her, and intrigued her. She began to see the direct connection between positive training methods and the success her dog was achieving. Her dog Tuvok was the first Alaskan Klee Kai to obtain a Championship in any agility venue when he earned his Teacup Dogs Agility Association TACh (Teacup Agility Champion) in December of 2011. He's gone on to be the first Alaskan Klee Kai to earn an Agility Championship in the United Kennel Club (the registry that recognized the Alaskan Klee Kai) in December of 2012. Then in 2016 he was the first to achieve the Agility Champion Excellent as well.

Once introduced to the Klee Kai, Robin began showing her dogs (and any one else's who needed a hand!) in UKC shows. Taking the positive training philosophy into the conformation ring has been a great experience. You can see the pride in her face when a pup of her breeding took Reserve Best in Multi-Breed Show in July 2013 at a Klee Kai specialty show in Southern California!

In 2009, Robin began to realize a need for a space closer in where people could be introduced to various dog sports, and learn the benefits of positive training methods. That's when Four Paw was born, and opened in 2010.

Robin graduated in 2016 with distinction from the distinguished Karen Pryor Academy Dog Training Professional program, and is now a Certified Training Partner. In 2018, she earned the Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) certification. While never setting out to be a dog trainer, the joy she feels at helping people improve their relationship with their dog is very rewarding. She also is a Certified Trick Dogs Instructor through Do More With Your Dog (www.domorewithyourdog.com) and is looking forward to sharing with others how to have more fun with their dogs!