Jim Burwell had invested 20 years in his career as a banker when he realized he was barking up the wrong tree.
Working as a loan officer for Cullen Bank -- now Frost Bank of Texas -- he was busy crunching numbers but, "I was tired of banking," he says.
"You could say I went from banking to barking."
Described by some local residents as "the Houston Dog Whisperer" for his special connection with man's best friend, Burwell founded Texas Dog Training in 1988, rebranding it as Jim Burwell's Petiquette in 2006.
But while Burwell's energy is now focused on refining canine behavior, he hasn't strayed too far from the business pack.
He's busy with numbers once again. These days, however, the numbers are demographics that show him which areas of Houston and other Texas cities are ready to sustain a Jim Burwell's Petiquette franchise.
Burwell first identified the Katy area as a hot spot and, in March 2007, sold his first Petiquette franchise there. Now, with other slots in Houston earmarked for franchises, Burwell is ready to take on Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.
He hopes to have five Houston-area Petiquette franchises open by the end of 2007 and to see other Texas cities come on board in 2008. He also anticipates 75 percent growth for his original training business.
Puppy love
Burwell's special relationship with dogs first came to his attention in the mid-1980s when he acquired Charlie, a golden retriever puppy, at a charity auction.
As he began to train the pup, Burwell noticed that as Charlie's training progressed, so did their dog-owner relationship. And in that way, an ordinary puppy sparked an extraordinary business idea.
Burwell is largely self-taught as a dog trainer. Although he did a lot of reading, attended some seminars and watched some videos, he found his talent for dog training was largely instinctive.
His first clients were dogs belonging to family, friends and neighbors. From there, word-of-mouth quickly generated strong demand for Burwell's skills.
After forming Texas Dog Training, to help drum up business, Burwell invested in a pager so that if he wasn't available to take a client's call, he could returned that call as soon as he was able. Something as simple as a speedy reply gave him an advantage in securing clients.
He also visited vets' offices around Houston where he gave short presentations showcasing his services so his business could be recommended to clients with unruly or problem dogs.
When Burwell began to advertise in print, he always used a photo of himself with dogs. He says this helped to build his credibility as well as his reputation as a dog trainer.
And he's built quite a reputation. Burwell has trained some of Houston's most notable pooches, including Radar the weather dog for KPRC-TV. He's also trained dogs for commercials and theater productions, including the dog that played Sandy in a 1998 stage production of "Annie" at the Wortham Theater.
Canine capers
Over the years, Burwell has tried different ways of training dogs.
He also helped found and was co-owner of Rover Oaks Pet Resort where he taught obedience classes before later selling his interest to his business partner to invest his time and money in Petiquette.
But he says his best results with dog training have come when working in the dogs' own homes.
Burwell spends his days in his SUV, driving from client home to client home, often bringing one of his own well-trained dogs to help in the process.
Dog training costs $150 an hour, with sessions running an hour and a half for one dog. Two or more dogs require longer sessions. Usually a dog will require three to six weekly sessions to fix behavioral problems.
The owners play a key role in the training and set goals for their dogs. Burwell works as much with the human clients as their canine companions, he says.
"(Burwell) really gave us the tools to communicate with our dogs," says Patti Kyle, owner of miniature poodles Toby, T-Boy and Pappy.
Kyle and her husband, David, found Burwell by searching for dog trainers on the Internet. They've always had poodles, she says, and were accustomed to the breed, "But three were a problem," she says. "They had a pack mentality and it was hard for the two of us to wrangle them. We wanted to calm our troop down."
Teaching the owner how to properly reward, control or handle their dog is key to behavior modification, Burwell says. Often, it's by sheer repetition that a behavior pattern is broken and replaced. And understanding a dog's mentality is paramount to a well-behaved pet, he says (see box).
For the Kyles and their rambunctious poodles, Burwell suggested two 45-minute walks a day to help contain their energy levels.
"The dogs loved him and were drawn to him," Kyle says. "He was able to tweak their behavior and has made them a lot more people-friendly. They have totally changed their behavior. We are now able to guide their energy."
Ready to grow
Burwell is constantly evolving his business and, with the launch of his franchise, now has added another platform to his career as a dog trainer: Training the trainers.
That came about after Burwell and his wife, Leila, began to look at their business in terms of how it could be replicated.
The moniker "Texas Dog Training" might not work so well in say, Ohio, for example. So the Burwells rebranded the business as Jim Burwell's Petiquette, which they now are ready to sell to potential business owners.
The Burwells have found that the business works well for their husband-and-wife team: Leila does all the scheduling while Jim takes on the dogs.
Their first franchisees, Melba and Curtiss Lanham, who purchased the Katy franchise, also are a husband-and-wife team who worked for years with American Brittany Rescue -- an organization dedicated to rescuing Brittany spaniels -- before taking the plunge as trainers and business owners.
Burwell's program involves trainers spending two weeks studying at home, followed by four weeks of training alongside Burwell.
The Lanhams have been out in the field training dogs since March 2007 and say business is brisk.
For Melba Lanham, a good day refining behavior is its own reward. "Just to have a dog be a dog is amazing," she says.
Jim Burwell's Petiquette
Founded: 1988 (As Texas Dog Training)
Business: Dog training
Employees: Two
Petiqutte franchises: One
Cost to own a franchise: $67,450 to $72,200
2006 revenue: $160,740
2007 revenue: $213,650 (projected -- does not include Petiquette's Katy franchise)
Clients served: More than 20,000 dogs
Web site: www.petiquettedog.com .
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Petiquette Dog Training Franchise