In this episode, Chris is a fan of the FAUCI Act, though still not a fan of Chris Stewart. The Gates Thanksgiving dinner was very prayerful if a little less than tasty. However, they made the most of the long weekend by doing a little rock hounding. They discovered Wonder Stone Quarry and found rocks that are only in Utah and Nevada. Chris and Bre spent a quiet, low-stress weekend eating Turkey and decorating for Christmas.

We were so excited to finally sit down with Robyn Carlson from Kudos 2 Canines. You’ve heard us talk about Robyn and Kudos on many earlier episodes. Robyn was born in Salt Lake City but had a restless, single mom who moved them around a lot. First doe the Fairview area, onto Corpus Christi, Texas, back to Utah, then to Montana and back to Utah.

Robyn has always been drawn to and had dogs. In high school she started volunteering with Furburbia and No More Homeless Pets. After high school, she moved to North Carolina to nanny. While in NC she also worked at the SPCA. Robyn’s boyfriend (now husband) was here in Utah so when she came back to him, she started back at Furburbia and worked as a liaison with the Humane Society. She found a love for the rescue side of pets but also found it can be exhausting. Robyn then moved into the vet world and all the way up to head surg tech with the Humane Society.

While pregnant with her first child and she ran into a trainer friend at PetSmart. They were hiring and Robyn found her love in pet education. She had never been a trainer before but worked her way up to Area Trainer for Utah PetSmart’s and did that for about seven years. Robyn loved what she did but not where she was doing it.

In 2012 she made new year’s resolution to start her own business and she opened the early version of Kudos 2 Canines in February of 2013. Her inspiration for the change, her now 14-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog, Tucker. Robyn often refers to Tucker as her partner and he is the logo and the official mascot for K2C. Tucker gave her the confidence to dot the job. He has worked as a therapy and service dog and have won many awards together.

Robyn’s business started as a travelling group training. She rented rooms in rec centers, a CrossFit gym and even held classes in driveways. She was then able to open her first training center in South Salt Lake. A location they outgrew almost before they moved in. The were there for two years before moving to their current location, which they have now outgrown. Robyn and K2C just closed on a new place, near to the first location, and they will own this building.

Compared to other doggie day camps, K2C is not a free for all. Robyn and her staff of trainers lead a structured day where dogs get to play but also get to learn. In addition, K2C takes breeds that other training facilities may not. They also take puppies after their second round of shots and pups don’t need to be spayed or neutered to attend. During COVID, folks decided to get dogs and those dogs needed training. K2C started to get away from their core values: education. So about six months ago, she and her staff decided to limit their class sizes to 20-30 dogs a day, to require education in order to attend day camps and pups can get more one-on-one training. K2C also does ‘out and about’ classes where the dogs go on field trips and group classes go out into the real world to help dogs get along in public.

You are your pets best advocate and K2C can help you both learn how to work best together. Also, if you are fostering dogs, Kudos offers discounts on classes and day camp. Robyn built her business on word of mouth and recognition because she truly believes in the work she and her staff do. They have won awards and are growing by leaps and bounds. Starting in January their new location is 55 E Miller Avenue in South Salt Lake. The new facility will enable Robyn to continue expanding on her dream. They will have space for a pool and plan to be a one stop shop for training, grooming and specialties, along.

Please listen to the episode to learn more about Robyn’s favorite dogs, her plans for Kudos 2 Canines future and how to take care of your doggo. Visit them at www.kudos2canines.com for more information about training and classes. They also have a massive Facebook presence with many groups set up for special projects they do. We love this organization, and they give back to the community so go and support them.

Chris forgot to ask Robyn our signature question but at the beginning of the interview she talks about Utah’s landscape. She mentions mountains to the north and red rocks to the south. This is a tried-and-true answer that never gets old because it’s true, Utah landscape is AMAZING!

Unfortunately, this episode ends on a sad note. Many of you may already know this if you follow Jessica on social media (yes, former host, Jessica), but her father passed away Thanksgiving weekend. Jessica’s father spent the last week of his life in the hospital, so she has organized a GoFundMe for her stepmother in order to help with expenses. If you can, please go donate to the fund.  You can follow the link or find it by searching for Dan Richardson End of Life ICU Expenses.

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