APPLAUSE YOUR PAWS, INC.
MIAMI, FLORIDA

From solo-prenuer to Miami's largest reward based dog training company Applause Your Paws, Inc. was founded in 2006 by Dee Hoult (me!), top dog at AYP. I have always had dogs in my life, and realized at an early age that I could train dogs for basic obedience and manners. It wasn’t until after I finished my undergraduate degree, however, that I realized the opportunity to create a dog training company for those dog owners in Miami who wanted an alternative to “traditional” dog training. I had always volunteered my time training (and rescuing) dogs, but it wasn’t until I had one person offer to pay me that the lightbulb went off. I had never considered a career in dog training because I was so focused on going into oceanography and marine science. I realized that I had the opportunity to create something really special for dog owners in Miami. From the beginning I knew I wanted to have a training facility, but that was a goal that would be a long time in the making. I’m not embarrassed to tell people that because of the amount of student loan debt I left college with I wasn’t able to get a loan to launch my business forward. I had to grow my business the old fashioned way — one step at a time, with determination and hard work. The first few years I was a solo-prenuer. Although very fulfilling, my calendar quickly filled to capacity and customers were having to wait 4+ weeks in order to have their dog trained. It was a scary step, but I knew I had to hire another dog trainer to join my team. Before I could do that, I knew I needed someone to help me keep up with emails, answer the phones, and do the behind the scenes stuff that comes along with the territory of running a business. Hiring my first administrative assistant was the best move I ever made. The heart and soul she put into my business is a huge reason why I was able to continue being successful while adding trainers to my business. Somewhere in 2013, after several years of hard work and dedication, I started to think that we would never open a facility. Even though we were running a reputable and profitable business doing private in-home lessons and group classes in the parking lots of veterinary partners throughout our Miami-Dade community, I could never seem to save enough money to put a down payment on a training space. I don’t feel like in 2013 I “gave up,” but I do feel like I had pretty much resigned to the idea that maybe it wasn’t my path to open a facility. I had accepted that I wasn’t meant to have a facility, and that I should continue to focus on the successful private in-home training business I already had. I was totally ok with that idea. But then, something really cool happened. It was a Tuesday afternoon at 4:30PM when I arrived for a private in home lesson appointment with my client Mark, whose dog I had been training every week for the last six years. Over the years I had grown very close to this family. Mark and I talked about a lot of things throughout the years that had nothing to do with dog training, and occasionally we would discuss my business and how things were going. On that particular Tuesday, Mark asked me if I was any closer to my vision of opening a facility. When I told him I had decided to change directions, he asked what it was that was holding me back. I told him it was purely financial, and that I just felt like I would never be able to acquire enough capital to make it happen since, again, getting a loan was out of the option. Throughout the years I have had several clients offer to loan me the capital I needed to open a training facility, but I have respectfully declined. I was certain that Mark was about to make that same, generous offer, yet what he said next was a game changer for my company. Today, my company sees approximately 40 dogs a day in between the dogs in programs at our facility and our team of in-home private lesson instructors that spend their day on the road making house calls. That’s roughly 14,000 training hours that we spend with dogs each year! How cool is that!? To think that I went from being able to help dogs 4-5 hours a day (<1,000 training hours a year) to >14,000 training hours a year is truly a blessing! Applause Your Paws isn’t just about dog training, it’s about helping people. I truly believe that and hope that our genuine love of HUMANS comes through in your interactions with my company. Even though my company has grown to the point that I’m no longer involved in the day to day of the business (yes, I put myself out of a job!), I’m confident you’ll feel the passion, enthusiasm my genuine love for people and dogs in all of your interactions with my staff. Our photography services include an on-site photography studio staffed by a professional photographer with 10 years experience. Our professional trainers are also on hand to assist in getting the best photos possible. With multiple colored backgrounds you have a variety of choices that we are sure will give you photos you can cherish for years to come.  Additionally, our photographer is experienced in producing outdoor, natural light photos at your home or one of the beautiful dog friendly parks in Miami. Magic City K9 is a program that works with Everglades Correctional Institute to provide the outside community with pre-trained dogs. Dogs graduating from this program will fill many roles: from a wonderfully trained family pet, a sophisticated assistance dogs which perform a variety of tasks for their humans, the versatility of training offered is unmatched.  We are supported by donations and the adoption fees we charge for each dog.  The standard adoption fee, $250.00, we charge for each dog includes fees we must pay to procure the dog initially, all standard veterinary care, and daily dog maintenance. This is a minimum required fee, however we encourage all applicants to fundraise additionally so that more dogs can be saved, and more people can be helped.