SouthWest Canine Services Staff

All our staff are:

Members of Association of Pet Dog Trainers.
Canine Good Citizen trainer/evaluator qualified.

Steven A. Lopez
 

Steven has been involved in dog training/dog handling for over 12 years. He started his career with the United States Air Force as a Narcotic Detector Dog Handler and has since worked in the capacity of Kennel Master, Trainer, Explosive Detector Dog Handler and served as liaison between United States Air Force kennels and foreign kennels.

His experience includes competing in several Police K9 Trials, resulting in 1st place finishes in obedience/agility and explosive detection. He has worked alongside United States Secret Service, FBI, DEA, United States Customs and many different civilian police agencies. He has been training pet dogs for two years and as a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and is currently perusing his Certified Pet Dog Trainer title. He is a Canine Good Citizen trainer and evaluator.

Steven finds great satisfaction in providing life changing results for people along with their dogs. He is dedicated to giving people and their dogs the highest quality training possible and to building a solid owner/dog bond. This makes their dogs a more happier, balanced and manageable member of the family.

“Not only am I training people’s dogs, but educating the owners as well. My methods include showing the owners the step by step process of how I am training their dogs. After training is completed the owners can always revert back to the foundation which has been laid into the dog and solve any problems themselves. A well educated owner makes for a well trained dog.”

As a police dog trainer, Steven’s experience is extensive, but his commitment to continuous learning and growth is unwavering and he approaches all aspects of dog training with the same type of mind set.

“I am never satisfied with the status quo. I keep an open mind when it comes to police dog training and will listen to someone that’s been in the business for less than a year just as I would someone who’s been in it for 20 years. Police dog training is my first love and I ensure any dog that’s been trained by me will have received my 110%”


Paul C. Bunker
 

Paul has been professionally training dogs for over 25 years, although his involvement started at a very young age. He was raised in a family that owned and trained many dogs for obedience, show and hunting, such as bird dogs. He has traveled the world training dogs and while In England positioned as Senior Instructor of an advanced training club. While living in Cyprus he was President of Western Sovereign Base Area Dog Training Club. He has many successes in competitions for obedience and bird dog trials. He is an accomplished writer and had many magazine and newspaper articles published about dog training.

"Dogs are a way of life, I view my work as a hobby and gain total job satisfaction from it. I cannot imagine a time when I would not be involved with dogs and their training"

Paul continually strives to improve his knowledge and experience, he attends workshops, conferences and remains up to date with different methods and practices, such as the Clicker training. Example of courses/training include:

National Vocational Qualification Assessor D32/D33 (Animal Care and Training)
Advanced Applied Canine Behavior – Problem solving.
Advanced Applied Canine Behavior – Aggression management.
Advanced Canine Instructors Course.
Basic, Intermediate and Advance Dog Trainers Course.
British Home Office Advanced Canine Instructor/Assessor Qualified.
Member of the Kennel Club Accredited Canine Trainers and Behaviorists Course working towards accreditation.
ClickerExpo (USA), Clicker Expo (UK)
, Various Behavior seminars/conferences.

"I love the challenge of Behavior Modification and Behavior Problems. I gain total satisfaction from meeting a human/dog family that have problems and seeing them turn around to a compatible and happy partnership. I strive tirelessly to solve problems, even the most challenging and I am that confident that I guarantee my work"


Joseph B. Phillips
 

Joseph has been involved in dog training/dog handling for over 9 years. He started his career with the United States Air Force as an Explosives Detector Dog Handler and has since worked in the capacity of Kennel Master, Trainer, and Instructor. Joseph has earned two degrees. The first in criminal justice, and the second in instructor technology.

His experience includes: Obedience, Agility, Advanced Obedience, Off-Leash Obedience, and Police Dog training. He has been training pet dogs for two years and as a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, is currently perusing his Certified Pet Dog Trainer title. He is a Canine Good Citizen trainer and evaluator.

Joseph believes that there are not bad pets, but only pets who need the right guidance. He believes in showing pet owners the tricks of the trade, so they can problem solve themselves later down the road.

 

“it is 100 % satisfaction when you see it all come together with a handler and a dog, I learn something new on every job I go on, that’s the key to dog training, staying open minded and learning as much as possible.”

As a police dog trainer, Joseph’s experience is extensive but his commitment to continuous learning and growth is unwavering and he approaches all aspects of dog training with the same type of mind set.

“ as your trainer, I will give you everything I have, and will guarantee my work, training pets is what I will do for the rest of my life, I never get tired of it and always look forward to the next session’