Training, Boarding & Daycare
We Are
MOVERS & SHAKERS
WHO We Are
We are a family-run dog training business located in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge who utilize motivational dog training techniques and science-based learning theories to help our clients achieve the ultimate family and outdoor adventure companion.
Matt Luchsinger
OWNER & HEAD TRAINER
Matt grew up on a farm in New York State, south of Syracuse. He moved West at the age of 18 to live the adventure lifestyle in the Pacific Northwest. He has been successful in his endeavors, first in the outdoor industry and then in pursuit of his passion; dog training. Matt has taken his knowledge from life on the farm, the outdoor industry and years of experience in dog training and combined it into a training system for the everyday family and their dog. Primarily based out of Hood River, Oregon and Bingen, Washington Matt's company North West Balanced Dog Training, LLC (NWB Dogs) has been serving the Columbia River Gorge since 2012
NWB Dogs' story starts after Matt failed at his attempts to get help from trainers with his aggressive pitbull, Buck. After going through multiple trainers, he decided the best way to help Buck would be for him to become a dog trainer himself. After completion of multiple programs and a lot of hard work, Matt found drastic improvement and real results in Buck's behavior.This motivated him to begin working with others, sharing the knowledge he gained to bring hope to owners that they can make a real difference with correct training methods and a little dedication.
Matt's own training style developed over time and news of his successful results with some "hopeless" dogs spread by word-of-mouth. He has been regarded for his ability to not only train dogs but to communicate, educate, coach and empower owners in their pursuit to communicate effectively with their dogs.
Matt continues to search for new training techniques and knowledge. His most recent study being with Bart Bellon and Michael Bellon who created the trademarked NePoPo system of training. He is a recent graduate of their Silver and Gold schools, making him one of the only E-Collar Certified trainers in the Northwest.
Jackie Parker
General Manager
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Jackie grew up all over the country and was actually born in Germany! She has lived in Alaska, Florida, Texas and Montana to just name a few! She has settled in the PNW after being away for many years on adventures and gaining all the experience in the training world that she can. She comes to us with 15 years of experience in veterinary medicine, with an emphasis on emergency and critical care, as well as management. She even worked at one of the major veterinary universities.
Plus!, she has nearly just as many years of experience with operant conditioning training. She even had her own training and boarding business in Montana.
Her training experience began years ago when she had the opportunity to work on a farm with Irish Setter hunting dogs and horses. The farm on which she worked competed in field trials as well as hunted on horseback. Many years have passed and now the array of animals has grown from just dogs to animals as unique as primates! Jackie completed an internship with the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans and was able to experience and be a part of many training sessions with several different species.
Jackie has a strong passion for working and sport dogs and several years of experience handling them. She has also been involved in Search and Rescue. Jackie avidly pursues professional development with seminars and other opportunities to further her knowledge. When not helping clients to enjoy easier lives with their canine companions, you can usually find her spending time outdoors with her two dogs: Eli, a Dutch Shepherd and Sarin, a Belgian Malinois.
WHAT WE Believe In
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Showing dogs the consequences for doing and not doing to create ignition, not suppression.
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Training a dog who wants to be with you despite distraction. If you teach your dog to follow, you will never have to teach them to "come."
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Giving our dogs the gift of controlled freedom using E-Collars; remote collar dogs are happy dogs!
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Your dog can love you and not respect you, but if your dog respects you they will most certainly love you.
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Fostering an attitude of engagement and a positive mental state before teaching obedience.
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Eliminating the use of force and bribery by allowing them to find their advantage in the training system on their own.
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Not using fear as a training tool. Instead we create a dog who desires to work for you with heart and soul, not against you.
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Like teaching youth to work for a paycheck; it is a necessary to teach your dog to work for their food.
Team NWB Staff
Emma is our assistant trainer, she grew up here in the gorge and has experience with a variety of livestock, pets, poultry, and exotics.
Emma's first word was "Woof" and the rest is history! If it didn't have to do with dogs or livestock, it wasn't worth doing. Luckily growing up on a small farm in Trout Lake gave her endless opportunities to experience every kind of animal she could get her hands on.
After high school she attended Western Washington University pursuing a pre-veterinary program. Her dog training journey really began in the dorms, when she decided to bring her unruly 3-year-old farm dog Brooklyn along as an ESA. She was an unsocialized trainwreck who couldn't walk on a leash. Soon enough though, Brooklyn was heeling off leash through crowds on campus and trained to alert to anxiety attacks
When she decided Veterinary Medicine wasn't the path for her, Emma found Tails-a-Wagging, a structured training based Doggy Daycare where she worked with groups of 15-30 dogs at a time. Here she got to practice Positive Reinforcement training and became fluent in canine body language. At the same time, she found herself involved in the local falconry community and learned to train, live, and hunt with a variety of raptors.
After coming home to the Gorge in 2021 Emma started at NWB as a Kennel Tech and has since moved into the position of Assistant Trainer. Outside of work you can find her tending to her herd of rabbits and working with her two dogs: Brooklyn the mutt, and Rubix the Catahoula Leopard Dog.
Skyler Munce
Kennel Technician
If We Can't Coach The Owners, We Fail The Dog
We've had great success with our clients throughout the years The growing NWB Staff pride themselves in excellent customer service and client-centered education. We strive to have positive results, but we understand that we aren't perfect. Please share your experience below, whether you loved it or were left wanting more. Your input helps us continually improve our services.