"I didn't know what I was getting myself into," Matthew Margolis told his 20 graduating students at their February 25 graduation ceremonies. "I knew I was going to be teaching you to be dog trainers, but I didn't know I would find a family of loving, wonderful, dedicated people."
The first class to complete an innovative program sponsored by the Salvation Army consisted mostly of homeless, drug addicted, and abused victims who had fallen through societies cracks but were determined to climb back up. The hardest part of their journey to independence was still ahead of them, but these 20 - out of an original group of 40 students - had taken that important first step and achieved their first success.
Margolis, better known throughout the dog-loving world as Uncle Matty, connected with the Salvation Army when his dog training business brought him to the home of Dore Charbonneau, executive director of development for the Army's Southern California Division. Charbonneau's home was under assault from an out-of-control litter of puppies she'd adopted from her local shelter. She and Margolis became friends as they worked with her on the puppies' behavior problems. Charbonneau quickly saw a natural connection between her work with the Salvation Army and Uncle Matty's training program. After all, animals aren't the only ones housed in shelters, and homeless, abandoned humans need love and positive training to make them whole again.
Margolis founded the National Institute of Dog Training in 1968, and today he counts among his clients the canine companions of Johnny Carson, Jimmy Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, Madonna, and dozens of other Hollywood stars. In addition to his PBS show, WOOF! It's a Dog's Life, Uncle Matty has been a popular guest on Good Morning America, The Tonight Show, and many other talk shows and has appeared on 20/20 and Oprah Winfrey. His videos, "Woof! It's a Dog's Life" and "Woof! Woof! Uncle Matty's Guide to Dog Training" have been huge hits during PBS pledge weeks, and in live appearances he's taken staff members' dogs with chronic behavior problems and "cured" them in a matter of minutes.
Margolis' high-pitched call of "Come to Uncle Matty!" never fails to send even the most reserved canines into a frenzy of tailwagging joy. His claim that in 90 seconds he can achieve rapport with any dog may sound boastful, but anyone who's seen him in action knows it's no exaggeration. Uncle Matty's philosophy is simple: love, praise and affection. There's never any good reason to hit, yell at, or punish a dog.
Child of an alcoholic and sometimes abusive father, Margolis came by this philosophy through personal experience. Throughout his childhood dogs had been his closest friends, and Margolis frequently refers to them as his "saviors" who always made him feel good. With his empathic connection, he understands how a shy dog feels and has always tried to train dogs from their point of view, asking "How would I want to be treated if I were a dog?"
Starting out in Manhattan, operating his National Institute of Dog Training from his cramped city apartment, Margolis trained his early clients on the bustling urban streets and parks and in the owners homes. Not much could shock or surprise the typical New Yorker, but the sight of a man standing on top of his car, shouting instructions through a makeshift megaphone to a young woman struggling to control a powerful Malamute at least raised a few eyebrows. Fang, a dominant dog who ferociously guarded his small Manhattan apartment from all visitors and terrorized everyone in his path as he dragged his petite owner down the streets on their "walks" was certainly one of Margolis' most difficult students. But after their unique "long distance" training, Fang was able to walk calmly at his mistress' side and agree not to rip the throat out of unwary visitors to his home.
Before his phenomenal success with dogs, Margolis had tried his hand at quite a few careers and failed miserably at them all. Feeling desperate, with no visible means of support or prospects at the age of 26, he took an aptitude test at a friend's suggestion. One of the potential careers recommended was "dog trainer," and at that moment Margolis knew what he wanted to do with his life.
"It's not an exaggeration to say that dogs have saved my life," Margolis claims in the preface to his autobiography, WOOF! My Twenty-Five Years of Training Dogs. " I love what I do every day of my life. I help dogs, help people, and know that I make a difference in their lives." For everyone who loves dogs he recommends taking your passion and making it your profession.
The Salvation Army program offers many people who are at the end of their personal ropes the opportunity to do just that. Developed from the course taught at Margolis' School for Dog Trainers in Southern California, which is now celebrating its 30th anniversary, the program is designed to send the dedicated graduates out into the world of dogs to establish their own businesses. Winton Hill, a one-time junkie and thief who is now the program supervisor-manager at the Salvation Army's Harmony Hall in downtown Los Angeles, has already set up a part-time business with several clients lined up. And Hill is also applying Margolis' methods to his own staff, finding that rewards and praises motivate his staff to correct their mistakes far better than discipline.
In their graduation ceremony, Margolis told his students that he hadn't known what he was getting himself into when he'd started the program. "I knew I was going to be teaching you to be dog trainers, but I didn't know I would find a family of loving, wonderful, dedicated people." As part of his greatly extended family, the graduates will get Margolis' continued support as they go out on their own to learn from experience. He is sending out letters to veterinarians and shelters to help them find work. And they know they are welcome to go to him for assistance for as long as they need it.
In WOOF!, Margolis wrote:
You have to smile when you think about
how many great stories there are about people whose lives were
changed because of dogs. That's my story . . . . Taking charge
of your own life is risky business and can be a painful road to
follow . . . . Still, I knew I was headed in the right direction
the moment I decided to work with dogs. In the beginning, it was
Silver and me out there together growing up and trying to find
a little piece of the world to fit into. Since then, there have
been many dogs and many people in my life, but mostly dogs.
What more could I want?
Matthew Margolis has co-authored 17 books with author Mordecai Siegal, including Good Dog, Bad Dog, Underdog, When Good Dogs Do Bad Things, and I Just Got a Puppy, What Do I Do?
Visit Uncle Matty's website for much more information on dog training.
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