Tony and Rochelle (Koehler) Ancheta

My training experiences using the Koehler method dates back to 1969 and my first contact with Bill Koehler.  In 1975 I moved to Pomona, California where a chance meeting in Washington Park would forever change the direction of my life with dogs.  That meeting was with Dick Koehler, the author's son.  Dick was a man whom Bill would often introduce as the "world's most knowledgeable technician of the method."  In the next few years, and for decades beyond, DK (as his friends referred to him) would come to mean much more to me; he was my mentor, advisor, business partner, and friend.

During the years between 1975 and 1979 I worked with many clients and their dogs.  This work was under the careful tutilage of both Bill and Dick Koehler.  They shared equally in my training as a dog-trainer and class instructor.  Bill on matters pertaining to private board & train concepts, and Dick on matters unique to Koehler class instruction.  During this same time period another man, Patrick (Pat) Smith, was also being trained as a class instructor and private trainer.  

In August of 1979 I moved back to my hometown of Stockton, Ca. where I would continue my work in the area of private training.  A few months later Dick and his [then] wife, Rochelle, would move to Parker, Colorado to assist with the Denver project.  I would make several trips to Parker during the next few years to consult with DK on matters pertaining to dog training activities there.  Pat Smith would remain at the kennel in Ontario to run the classes with Bill.  The kennel operation, by this time, had been closed to the public. 

The 'Denver project' was a business and educational concern that Bill became involved in and served as their Director of Dog Training.  Known as the "Academy of Dog Science Application," Bill had high hopes that the school would turn out future trainers with the same promise that Pat and I had demonstrated.  But alas, it would not be.

In 1984 Dick and Rochelle would return to southern California to resume their class training business (known formally as: "Koehler Dog Obedience") offered in several cities.  Pat continued to run the Colton class location, Bill ran a Utility class and a Tracking class at the club house in Fontana, and I remained in Stockton to work private training in the areas of obedience, personal protection, and problem dog rehabilitation.  We were all spread out, but we we got a lot of dogs trained.  It would be safe to say that we have trained thousands of dogs and their owners in both class and private formats.

In 1988 we would regroup in southern California to increase the class locations and worked under the cover of Koehler Dog Obedience.  Dick and I would also re-open the boarding kennel, which is located on Bill's property in Ontario.

In 1990, shortly after Dick and I had the kennel back into full operation, Bill's advancing years motivated his wife, Lillian, to encourage him to move to their home in Squim, Wa. where they could live out their retirement years away from the hussle and sometimes maddening pace of southern California.

Dick and Rochelle would part ways, yet remained good solid friends.  Dick moved to Squim to be with his mother and father.  Rochelle and I would eventually marry and move to West Point, Ca. to begin a dog training business of our own.  Pat Smith, by then married and with children, would purchase the kennel property in Ontario where he and his wife Marilyn continue to run Koehler classes and operate the kennel as a commercial endeavor.  Our personal lives never deterred any of us from our common goals ... keeping the Koehler method of dog training alive and well. 

In 1996 Dick and I became aware of much false information flying around the web about the method, and also of many trainers who were falsely claiming to be Koehler method trainers.  Together, Dick, Rochelle and I launched the Cybertech Lecture, which then gave people surfing the web for information on the Koehler method a more precise picture of what we do and how we get it done.

Once that was done we went on a hunt for those misrepresenting the method as well as those that were abusing the method.  Our goal was simple: we would offer to correct their misunderstanding, or offer to correctly train them in the method's proper use and application.  For those that refused our efforts to help them, we had a different goal; shut them up, shut them down, or at the very least ... expose their inaccuracies and, in some cases, their lies.

In 1998 Dick passed away in his sleep.  This happened one week after he and I taped what would be our last interview together; an interview which aired live in the Las Vegas market and then was re-broadcast on the web.  Dick would never hear the playback. (RIP my friend.)

A short time later Lillian would pass away, but not before her and I were able to shut down [what I hope to be] the last of those abusing the method and then trying to hide behind the Koehler banner.

Since 1990 we have been operating under the name "Dog Management Systems."  Rochelle and I ran several class locations in northern California.  We also continue our private training business here at our kennel.  Adding to that, I have been doing instructor's seminars around the country teaching other trainers how to start and run Koehler Dog Training classes.

Soon after the launching of this website upgrade I will be organizing workshops geared toward helping shelter, rescue and foster volunteers better learn how to provide meaningful training for the dogs they have in their care.  Our hope is that providing such training will give those dogs a better chance of keeping their next home.

Teaching people how to train their dogs to keep their homes should be the goal of every dog obedience instructor.

For information on how to do just that, whether you are new in the business, or looking for a refresher course, or need to add to your continuing education  ... one of our seminars can help.  Be sure to check out the 'Services,' and the 'Programs and Classes' page for upcoming seminars and workshops.

Tony Ancheta