We’re proud to share that Graham Bloem, our Founder & CEO of Specialty Dog Training as well as the Cofounder of Shelter to Soldier, was recently featured in The San Diego Union-Tribune. The article by Jan Goldsmith sheds light on Graham’s deep commitment to using his expertise in dog training and leadership to make a difference in the lives of veterans and rescue dogs alike.
In a report by CBS8 San Diego reporter, Alex Lai, Specialty Dog Training highlights their expertise in placing trained protection dogs to enhance personal and family security. Offering comprehensive training in advanced obedience, house manners, environmental adaptability, and protection work, SDT dogs are ideal for families. Proper breeding, selection, early training, and owner commitment are crucial for success. For a deeper look into how these dogs are transforming security, watch the full video! Thank you to CBS8 News for sharing this story and our program.
Imagine a loyal companion who not only brings joy to your family but also ensures your safety. Catch Graham Bloem, the owner and CEO of Specialty Dog Training, on “Good Business San Diego” as he delves into specially trained dogs for home and business security. At Specialty Dog Training, these dogs are not only trained to protect using their keen senses and loyalty but also to be family-friendly with impeccable manners.
Graham Bloem, Owner & CEO of Specialty Dog Training & Cofounder of San Diego-based nonprofit Shelter to Soldier, received the 2016 Tailwaggers Foundation’s Waggy Award for community service at a celebration in Hollywood.
Bloem Cofounded the nonprofit to rescue and train dogs from local shelters to become psychiatric service animals for post-9/11 veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
Graham Bloem, long-time dog trainer and owner of San Diego-based Specialty Dog Training™, is one of the professionals who recommends against dogs eating in the kitchen. “Not only is the kitchen unsafe for dogs with cooking utensils and stove-top items, but it also is the source of human food in the home, which makes it more difficult for the dog to focus on the task given.
Bloem pointed to the growing problem of dogs in the U.S. shelter system. "Often they're there because they were left alone and destroyed the sofa, a favorite pair of shoes, or the backyard. Then they escaped, became a runaway, or were sent to a shelter. The CleverPet can help stop this problem. A dog with a job is a happy dog."
Dog Trainer Graham Bloem says that the device works when your dog presses a colored button, making a small portion of food pop out.
"Once three buttons have been conquered, your dog, like in a video game, is going to change levels or level up,” says Bloem.
Patriotism runs deep at Southwest Airlines, and they are proud of all those who serve, especially the Active Duty, Reservists and Veterans that are part of the Southwest Family. Southwest honors Veterans, the sacrifice these heroes make, and the unbreakable bond many soldiers have with their dog. In San Diego there are various organizations dedicated to assisting and enhancing the lives of our military heroes.
Shelter to Soldier is rescuing shelter dogs and training them to be psychiatric service companions for Veterans. They also provide military personnel battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or other disabilities with a service dog from a local animal rescue or shelter. Dogs on Deployment provides an online network for service members to search for volunteers who are willing to board their pets during their owner's service commitments.
For years, Graham Bloem volunteered his time and skills, honed over a decade ago at the Animal Behavior College, to focus on rescue dogs. He trained nine stray dogs from Iraq; two became the subjects of best-selling books. The therapeutic affection that these combat veterans had for their dogs sparked the idea that Bloem could put his dog-training skills to use to benefit servicemen with post-traumatic stress disorder.
San Diego resident Graham Bloem is the “Dog Father” of all dog trainers. With decades of experience training dogs, his business Specialty Dog Training™ San Diego supports pet owners and places trained pets, service dogs and protection dogs. "Lucky for me, I’ve had the honor of working with Bloem over the years and can honestly say this man has the ability to graciously well manner any barking beast that comes his way, all with out breaking is sweat." - Tania Milberg
Graham Bloem honored as a Lead San Diego Community Spotlight nominee.
The co-founders say CleverPet is intended to help dogs and other pets get through the boredom of the day while they’re alone at home. The company says American pets spend more than 10 billion hours alone. For a pack animal like a dog, that can lead to separation anxiety—and such behavioral issues as ceaseless barking, spinning thousands of circles while biting its tail, or gnawing on irrigation sprinklers in the yard.
San Diego dog trainer Graham Bloem, who has been working with CleverPet, says dog owners already are hiring dog walkers or taking their pets to doggie daycare. In fact, Americans spend more than $58 billion a year on their pets, according the American Pet Products Association.
Nevertheless, Bloem says the pet world has been asking for something like CleverPet for a long time. Instead of coming home to a bored and anxious dog with pent-up energy, Bloem says interacting with CleverPet “exhausts your dog mentally and physically. You’re coming home to a healthy, happy pet.”
There’s something very powerful about the bond between people and
pets. As a professional dog trainer for more than a decade, Graham Bloem
has developed an insider’s eye into the psyche of canine companions, and
since August 2012, through his San Diego-based nonprofit organization
Shelter to Soldier, he’s tapped into the unconditional love of the animal to
help save some of society’s most vulnerable citizens: military personnel
suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
With the help of Graham Bloem of Specialty Dog Training™, both Maverick and Sophie are camera ready! A big thanks goes to Graham!
Specialty Dog Training™'s CEO, Graham Bloem, called into the AJ show on Energy 103.7 to bid against other local companies to sponsor AJ's shirt for the kid's crane. The auction benefitted Rady Children's Hospital. Specialty Dog Training™ had the winning bid of $1500.00! Graham went on air to present the donation check to AJ while he was living in AJ's Kids Crane raising 100,000 toys for Rady's.
San Diegan Man, Graham Bloem, Bettering Lives of Veterans and Shelter Dogs
The KPRi Morning Show with Madison:
Dog Trainer Graham Bloem joined us for a special Dog Lover's 8@8 this morning and reminded us why a dog is man's best friend and a veteran's favorite companion...
Petco shares the story of Kira, a service dog in training from our program, Shelter to Soldier. The video highlights STS founder Graham Bloem, his son and the impact dogs have on our veterans.
Experienced, knowledgable, patient and above all passionate, Graham Bloem is a powerhouse in the world of Dog Training. He is a first-hand example of the incredible evolutionary changes between the intimate relationship of dog and human. With over 10 years working with canines, Bloem has created an extraordinary non-profit program that rescues shelter dogs and trains them to be service companions for Veterans, what he calls Shelter to Soldier.
The Halloween Pet Costume Contest will happen at 4:15pm during Trick or Treat on MAGIC Street and will be judged by Dog Trainer Graham Bloem from Specialty Dog Training™, Jessica Geurke from Helen Woodward Animal Center and Linda Septon from Chula Vista Animal Care Facility.
The saying goes, "There are only two places where you get unconditional love ---- God and Dog." This is a story about one of them.
Article by John Van Zante
Catch our Specialty Dog Training™ expert Graham Bloem on CBS 8 – San Diego News tonight at 5pm talking about our non profit organization, Shelter to Solider. — with Tania Rose Milberg at Rancho Coastal Humane Society
Bloem has gained tremendous respect from San Diego’s highest profile animal rescue organizations and programs. Today he is proudly supported by San Diego Animal organizations such as San Diego’s Helen Woodward Animal Center, Rancho Coastal Humane Society, as well has been countlessly featured on San Diego news stations such as KFMB CBS 8, , FOX 5 San Diego, and NBC San Diego.
Jagger & Kristi followed through on Laurie’s wishes and enlisted the help of Dog Trainer Graham Bloem from Specialty Dog Training™.
"Because of their intelligence, their willingness to work, the alertness, their speed, it's exactly why they're a perfect fit for the military," said Graham Bloem.
Interest in adopting military dogs is soaring to new heights. They're more than just companions: dogs take on an important role in the military. Graham Bloem shares more.
One was the leader of an 11-man U.S. Marine counterinsurgency force on the Iraq-Syria border. The other, the scrappy leader of a wild pack of 11 dogs living in abandoned ruins and subsisting on garbage. Dog Trainer, Graham Bloem, volunteered his time to train Nubs and was later featured in the NY Times Best Selling book, Nubs, The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine, and a Miracle.
The frozen, war-ravaged desert and ruins of Iraq are in the past for this dog. The German shepherd-border collie mix that was rescued and nursed back to health by Marine Maj. Brian Dennis and his men arrived in Chicago on Wednesday on a Royal Jordanian Airlines flight. Nubs flew out again Friday on an American Airlines jet, landing in the afternoon at San Diego's Lindbergh Field before heading to his new address. San Diego Dog Trainer, Graham Bloem, volunteered his time to train Nubs and was later featured in the NY Times Best Selling book, Nubs, The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine, and a Miracle.
Friendships formed by soldiers in war zones are often lifelong and titanium strong. Soldier/canine friendships built in times of war are no different. Dogs can give soldiers a bit of home in a far-off land or a moment of love during a ruthless mission—and the abandoned or feral dogs find solace in the company of caring people.
It's been an intense 10-day training mission for the seven Iraqi puppies waiting to be reunited with Camp Pendleton Marines who adopted them.
"Routine and exercise help keep me sane, but I know that my experiences in Iraq have changed me. When I first got back, and Lava was enduring one private training session after another, I would just watch him and Graham Bloem, who'd helped with Lava's first days in the United States and continued as his dog trainer throughout his life.
"It's how the dog learns to be more domineering, more bossy," says Graham Bloem, a certified advanced dog trainer in San Diego, Calif., who works with numerous dog rescue groups and shelters.