About Vice and Virtue Dog Training

What they do

Vice and Virtue Dog Training LLC is a one-trainer operation in Lewisburg, Kentucky, working out of a 26-acre property the owner bought in November 2019. The site's offer is customization rather than a fixed class list: "Regardless of your dog's breed, age, or mannerisms each of my services can be customized specifically for them." The stated mission is "TO PROVIDE YOU AND YOUR DOG WITH A PERSONALIZED TRAINING EXPERIENCE, TAILORED TO YOUR UNIQUE NEEDS AND GOALS."

The trainer's specialism is published plainly: she "specializes in working with German Shepherds" and is described as "An expert on managing and maintaining a multi-dog household."

Method

The site's tagline is "A balanced dog is a better dog", and the About page spends considerable space explaining what that means rather than leaving it as a slogan. The position is that positive training comes first and corrections have a defined, limited place:

> "I believe that positive training, such as classical or operant conditioning, should be used whenever possible. However, I also believe that corrections do have a place in dog training, where there is disobedience there are also consequences."

She is equally direct about the risk in that approach: "Use corrections all the time, too harshly, or inappropriately and this could turn into abuse instead of training, additionally, the dog could lose respect for you, fear you, and not enjoy working anymore." The foundation she names is the relationship itself – "if you do not have a strong relationship with, compassion & respect for, and understanding of your dog then attempting to train them is pointless" – and the stated end goal is "to increase the owner's understanding of their dog."

Who runs it

**Joelie Gengler** graduated from Bergin University of Canine Studies in May 2018 with an Associate's degree in Business and Companion Dog Studies. The site says that after Bergin "she quickly gained training experience from dogs and their owners all over the United States," then moved between states before settling in Lewisburg and working for several local trainers before starting her own business.

The business name is a memorial. Her first Panda German Shepherd, Viserys – "Vice" – died of bloat at eighteen months old; she writes, "I decided to honor his memory by naming my kennel after him." That dog's temperament, fearful and anxious despite socialization, and an earlier purchase from what she later realized was a backyard breeder, are the experiences she credits with shaping "how I wanted to conduct my own business in the future."

She is candid about where her thinking stands: "any good dog trainer would tell you that their dog training philosophy is still in the process of being worked out."