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You might recognize the name Leann “Annie” Phenix from the public relations realm, or you may happen to know her as a dog trainer. She lives by the advice given to her by a friend: “Life is not a dress rehearsal.” She has taken command of her life and now plays the leading role in her job as a dog trainer.
Born into a family of journalists, writing was in Phenix’s blood. Her father was a newspaperman, and as a child she watched him wear all of the entrepreneurial hats it took to be successful. Phenix worked her way up from janitor to managing editor at the Westlake Picayune where she experienced her first taste of public relations. She edited press releases that filtered in and became frustrated when they were not written correctly.
She knew she could do a better job and eventually founded the nationally recognized publicity firm Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists in Austin. Suddenly, she found herself being pulled in several different directions.
“I really wanted to be a publicist,” Phenix said. “I didn’t really want to be a CEO, I just kind of fell into it.”
Phenix was burnt-out and became ill. After a tedious search to discover the problem, she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Fatigued, Phenix turned to Bob Olmstead, her friend and business guru, for guidance.
Olmstead, who has known Phenix for about a decade, remembered a meeting in Phenix’s office when she kept glancing at a picture of horses on her desk. Olmstead asked Phenix to tell him about the picture.
“She honestly spoke to the fact that although she felt blessed by her success, she felt fed-up – she wasn’t feeling fulfilled,” Olmstead said. “Those horses reminded her of things she wanted to do.”
Phenix has had a passion for animals as long as she can remember. During her senior year in college, she and a friend drove to Arkansas to pick up her new puppy, a Rottweiler named Wylie. As it turned out, college was not the ideal environment to raise a puppy.
Wylie would later break Phenix’s finger in a dog training class, be rescued by the rowing team and the fire department after he jumped into Lady Bird Lake, and pop a tire on a truck after breaking out of the yard.
“I didn’t do right by him,” Phenix said. “I did everything wrong with that dog that you could possibly do.”
In the summer of 2005, Phenix sold her company. Before she sold it, she went to Wyoming to pick up her horse – an ex-thoroughbred racehorse. It was during this time that she realized she was not interested in going back to work at Phenix & Phenix.
“Bob [Olmstead] told me to listen to whatever your inner voice or soul is telling you,” Phenix said. “And mine always said dogs and horses.”
After long negotiations to sell her company, Phenix was able to begin her new role as dog trainer.
“She went from a high-powered city girl, to a country girl who is a female version of Dr. Dolittle,” Olmstead said. “Annie could be successful at anything she does; you know when you are in the presence of a leader.”
Phenix received her canine specialist certificate from Triple Crown Dog Training Academy. She trains animals with positive reinforcement in the form of clicker training rather than shock collars, to which she is adamantly opposed. In her spare time, Phenix fosters animals. In the last 15 years, she and her husband Jeff Hebert, have fostered approximately 400 dogs.
“I’m doing what I’m doing to keep dogs from going to shelters,” Phenix said. “Basically that is my motivation.”
Her effective communication skills from the business world have helped her to explain her clients’ inappropriate behaviors with their animals in diplomatic ways.
“I have more of a reason to be blunt if I need to for the dog, than I ever did for an author,” she said. “It means more to me personally to help a dog, because people have choices, but dogs don’t have any choices.”
Kim Chapman came to Phenix in March 2009 because her chocolate Lab, Jessie, was experiencing behavioral and aggression issues. Chapman was devastated by the thought of having to re-home her. She began taking private lessons from Phenix and learned techniques that helped her get Jessie under control.
“She has a passion for animals and it really comes through in her instruction,” Chapman said. “I’m convinced that she cares for each animal she teaches as if it were her own.”
Phenix urges women considering a career change to surround themselves with supportive people and follow their passion. She credits her husband, who provided her with financial help in the early days of her career, with being her main support system for more than 11 years. He also serves as her “in-house techie” and feeds their four horses and seven donkeys.
“Don’t be stuck in a job that bores you or stresses you,” she said. “Life’s too short – Janice [her friend] was right, it’s not a dress rehearsal.”
Today, Phenix has achieved success in her new role as a dog trainer. She works as an independent contractor at Zoot Pets in Georgetown. She is even considering writing a book about her dog named Monster. When asked if she ever wishes she could revert back to life as a businesswoman, she paused and shook her head, “No.”
“Not for a second,” she said. “I love working with dogs and I love working with people who love dogs. You have to follow your passion whatever it is.”
Just as Leann Phenix took center stage in her own life and molded her career into something she loves to do every day, she teaches people to live happily with their animals. After all, their lives aren’t dress rehearsals either.
WEB EXCLUSIVE
Top Dog-Friendly Training Tips
from Trainer Annie Phenix
1) Train from your dog’s perspective, needs and understanding level.
2) Please don’t say “sit, sit, sit, SIT!” The dog doesn’t speak English. He speaks canine and only canine.
3) Your dog is likely to find it aggressive if you give him a hard stare or if you stand over him.
4) Dogs have the human understanding level of an 18-month-old child so please do not do anything to your dog that you wouldn’t do to an 18-month-old child.
5) Dogs do what works … for them, not for us. Therefore make training fun for them and that means training with treats, toys and life rewards. Catch your dog doing the right thing and reward him.
6) You have one second (or less) to praise or interrupt a behavior. If your timing is off, the dog will not match his actions with your praise or punishment.
7) What you positively reinforce (in terms of dog behavior) will increase. Teach a rock solid “sit” and you will have solved the jumping problem because a dog cannot sit and jump at the same time.
8) Having a puppy is a HUGE responsibility. Set the dog up for success in life and take him to a puppy socialization class taught by a positive reinforcement trainer. Give the puppy 100 new POSITIVE experiences in 100 days.
9) A tired dog is a good dog. Please engage your dog’s mind and ensure she gets proper exercise.
10) Do not use a shock collar on your dog. Ever. It is cruel and uncalled for punishment.
WEB EXCLUSIVE
Annie’s Top 10 Tips for Switching Careers
1) Read anything and everything you can about the career you want to switch to . . . while still employed in your current job. Especially read industry periodicals related to your new field.
2) Attend a weekend clinic presented by someone in your field of interest. Spend the money on airfare if you find the right seminar – it’s worth the cost.
3) If there is someone in your area doing the job you want to do, call and ask to take them to lunch and ask them anything and everything about their work. Most people would be honored to spend the time with you. Take them to a very nice restaurant!
4) Be realistic. If you don’t have natural talent in the profession you want to switch to, be brutally honest and ask yourself if you are willing to learn how to do it. Where there is a will, there is a job waiting for you somewhere.
5) Be realistic about the new profession and don’t only see the fun things to do as a way to escape your current profession – every job has some un-fun parts to it so be sure you are ready, willing and able to do all necessary functions of your next career.
6) Spend your vacation working for free for someone in your dream profession. If you can’t find a place that will allow you in, offer to PAY to work for a week. It’s better to know for sure that you will love the job before you make the switch.
7) Be willing to move to a better location to find your dream career path.
8) Be willing to go into an entry-level position in your new field, no matter what your current salary is.
9) Don’t care what “they” think, whoever they are. Listen to your heart and do what is best for you and your loved ones.
10) Never take advice from anyone unless you truly admire how they are living their whole life, not just their work life.
MORE INFO
www.phenixdogs.com