Dogs' best friend

Five years ago, Jason Nelsen was contemplating a career change.

“If money didn’t matter, what would you do tomorrow?” he asked himself. The Grafton resident found the answer to his future from his past. As a child, he spent summers visiting family members in Oregon where his cousin is a veterinarian.

“I was always good with animals. I was the one who connected more with animals wherever we went,” Nelsen said.

He wanted a career “where I could be around them at all times.”

Nelsen’s wife Alyssa told him to go for it.

He found his calling in walking dogs. Nelsen left his job after working for a municipality for 14 years and started working for two dog-walking companies in Milwaukee.

“When the pandemic hit, everybody had to go home,” Nelsen said. To keep working, he had to start his own service. He did and it turned out to be a blessing.

“That worked because during the pandemic it seemed like everybody got an animal,” Nelsen said.

He sold his pickup truck and Harley-Davidson motorcycle and began his business.

Nelsen acquired some clients from contacts he made in his jobs in Milwaukee, and he quickly picked up more. People watched how well dogs behaved during walks and asked if he could walk their furry friends.

“I’m not going to let a dog pull me around the neighborhood,” Nelsen said. “A few clients have me because they’re terrified to walk their dog. It’s better with me in control of the leash.”

He found it difficult to hand out business cards during his walks, and he needed a marketing strategy. Nelsen found it in facial hair. He tells people to visit his Instagram handle “Jasonthebeardeddogwalker.”

Nelsen learned how to handle dogs through training his own. Otis the English bulldog died at 9 and Lolo the teddy bear was 18 when she died last year. Now, he has a 1-year-old blue heeler/Pomeranian/American Eskimo mix named Sumka.

He also gets advice from his cousin in Oregon. “She’s like my Mr. Miyagi,” he said, comparing her to a figure in “The Karate Movies.”

Nelsen has figured out that human demeanor and behavior are the key to handling man’s best friends.

“People don’t realize dogs are going to match your energy,” he said.

“I’m a big energy guy. I’m interacting with your dog. It’s getting rubs and hugs and stuff from me.”

Nelsen would rather use energy than treats when training dogs. When a dog exhibits a behavior owners want, he suggests people match their reaction to when the Green Bay Packers score a touchdown.

“I’m a big fan of being overly excited when you get the behavior you want,” he said.

When a dog doesn’t do what he wants, he gives a different energy that communicates with the dog.

“My owner loves it when I do good. He’s not happy when I do this,” Nelsen said of a dog’s perspective.

Then comes explaining to the dogs’ owners how to execute that.

“The hardest part is trying to transfer that to someone else,” Nelsen said.

“A lot of it is repetition. You can’t do one training session and think it’s going to happen overnight.”

Nelsen usually provides one-on-one walking and training. Otherwise he has to check on dogs’ vaccines and get permission from the owners to walk multiple canines at once.

As a result, Nelsen develops tight bonds with his clients’ dogs. He whistles as he approaches clients’ homes, and their dogs get as excited to see him as they do their owner when returning from work.

“I get that every time I stop at somebody’s house, and that is probably the best feeling in the world,” Nelsen said. “I have such a good relationship with dogs I have to remind myself it’s not my dog.”

He makes sure to calm the dogs before they start their 30-minute walks. He opens the door and makes dogs sit before they go outside.

“Dogs have to want to listen to you,” he said. “The dog will get to the point where you know each other.”

“You’re kind of selling yourself to them. You have to be the most trustworthy person.”

Nelsen has had to overcome challenges with dogs. Many of his clients’ canines have reaction issues. He has to figure out if the dog is in protective mode or looking to attack.

He tries to walk past as many dogs as he can to change their behavior.

Nelsen used to walk two 150-pound great Pyrenees that once wanted to go after a dog but couldn’t get to it. They did something called “reverse aggression” and began attacking each other.”

Another time, a pitbull that had been used as a bait dog bit through its leash. Nelsen fought with it for 30 minutes before he got it under control. The dog got a ride home in a squad car.

“The police were great,” Nelsen said. “Pitbulls get a bad rap. They’re built like a tank, but so many are sweethearts.”

Those types of situations are one reason Nelsen stays in shape. He and his wife work out in their basement gym.

“It’s better that it happens to me than someone else,” he said of incidents with dogs.

Sometimes, people ask him to watch their dogs when they’re on vacation. Nelsen wants to say yes but has to meet the client first. Nelson has been told by owners that they have the sweetest dog, only to learn it will get triggered into bad behavior by a dog a couple of houses away.

For dogs that react aggressively when passing other dogs, he tries to put them in a sit when he sees a possible confrontation. “I try to get them to focus on me,” Nelsen said.

Once he sees the dog start to make progress, Nelsen enthusiastically rewards it.

“Go nuts. Go big energy. Big energy works a lot with dogs for sure,” he said.

“It’s bliss when you get to that point. You get to pass a dog and it doesn’t do anything.”

Nelsen walks in rain or shine — the back of his Civic is packed with clothes and shoes.

He makes sure to take photos of his happy dogs on their walks.

“My clients light up during the workday when they see their dog happy and outside. That’s why Instagram is great,” he said.

Nelsen, 38, and his wife, both Ozaukee High School grads, have been together since high school and have lived in Grafton since 2016.

For more information, visit www.instagram.com/jasonthebeardeddogwalker.