Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Solheid.
Hi Sarah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
How did we begin? Well, our story started out unlike a lot of other facilities. I get asked the same question on the daily, “Did you always want to train dogs and own a business?”. Well, this is my story… Let me start out by introducing myself. My name is Sarah Solheid. I am the sole owner of the Premier K9 Center of Minnesota and from the graduating class of 2010 at the Forest Lake High School.
I grew up with animals on a farm as a kid, showed my dogs and horses in 4H and always had a passion for animal behavior. Growing up my biggest passions and hopes for a career would be something to do with either animal behavior, law enforcement, or in the animal medical field. But in all honesty, I never really knew exactly what I wanted to do. Though what I can tell you, is the thought of being a business owner never even crossed my mind. I went to college to become a certified veterinary technologist right out of high school. What was my intent with that Degree? To use it as a background degree to help me get into the animal control field. I finished up my degree by splitting up my externships between a veterinary clinic and the Minneapolis animal control center. Following my graduation from college I was unsure what I wanted to do but knew I loved working with animals in an environment where it is always changing, and I get to do something different every day. I loved helping owners with their pets in a high paced environment and always looking for a new challenge. This brought me to my first job with my degree at the Animal Referral center of MN where I specialized in triaging patients. From there I also worked as an Urgent care technician and certified veterinary technician at a couple of other clinics. During my veterinary technician career, I always trained and competed with my personal dogs in multiple different sports. Along with that I constantly had family, friends, and competitors asking me to help with training their dogs and correcting their behavioral issues. I spent a lot of time learning from other trainers, attending different training classes in multiple different facilities, and learning how to utilize different training methods, and tools. Training is all about being able to change your method/approach depending on the dog, owner, and what works best for them with their end goal in mind. Pretty soon I was training multiple dogs at once in my small basement where I lived that I rented out from a friend. The owner of these dogs I soon found myself not knowing as I boarded and trained dogs just through word of mouth for people. Eventually after having many clients trying to convince me to make this a career I decided to establish the Premier K9 Center of MN in the year of 2017. When people found out I was beginning this path, word of mouth spread like wildfire. Within the first month I cut my vet tech job back to part time. The property I lived on my landlord had a fully finished 30×40 detached garage that was not being used. I asked if I could use that for my business and within a couple of weeks, we had it set up and I then began the business full time and only kept my job working at the vet clinic as a fill in position when they needed.
Fast forward to the next year in 2018 I quickly realized I was outgrowing the space and hiring multiple employees. My business grew so exponentially I could not even believe it. I had people coming from all over the United States for me to help them with their dog’s behavioral issues. Besides basic and advanced obedience people quickly realized my specialty is aggression and anxiety cases. I soon then realized it was time to make a decision to move and build a brand-new facility that I could create specifically to fit my business needs. Where I could help people and their dogs have more enjoyable lives together and to be able to save a lot of these dogs with behavioral issues that would otherwise be euthanized. So, over the next year I grew my clientele, started partnering with rescues to help correct their dogs with behavioral issues, and drawing up my dream facility. In March of 2019 I did just that! After purchasing an old horse farm I used to work at in high school. I finished off one of the barns and created my dream facility. Opening this facility was a dream I honestly never knew I had just a few short years ago. But I am now living the American dream. My motivation to help dogs and their owners is what drove this dream into something I never thought was possible. Over the past 3 years we have trained hundreds of dogs from all over the United States. Created a safe and fun environment for boarding and daycare dogs along with dogs that come here for training. While some dogs just come here to play, I make it a priority for dogs to leave here a better dog. To not only tire them out for owners but to help them learn correct social skills and gain the confidence they need to succeed in everyday life at home and out and about with their families.
This whole process of building this business has been a blessing. To always be able to live on the property close to the business is nothing short of perfect. I wake up every day loving what I do and know that I am making a difference for people and their dogs. And though I talk up this being a big facility. we are exceedingly small compared to most. I wanted a size that allowed us to grow and open new opportunities with the years come. But to most importantly keep it a smaller size to be certain we can always give that smaller hometown feel where your dogs will always be treated as family. Our new facility consists of 39 top of the line 4×6 foot suites and 20 acres to utilize when caring for our furry friends. I have the most fantastic small team of employees one could ask for. Each and every one of them play a huge role into the success of the dogs here at the Premier K9 center. Here we are family and invite all types of personalities, breeds, and ages of dogs where we will help tailor their stay to meet their individual needs.
So, the answer to the question “Did you always want to train dogs and own a business?” The answer was no, but now I can confidently say this is what I was meant to do, and I love every minute of it. I simply cannot thank my family, friends, and clients enough that helped me get to this exact moment in my life. The overwhelming support system that I have is a huge reason to my success and I would not want to be anywhere else. This entire process has helped me grow so much as an individual I cannot even explain. I knew nothing about owning a business 3 years ago, and I continue to learn every day. My favorite quote since a child has always been “Life’s a dance, you learn as you go” and my life has been nothing short of that.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Since the beginning, things for the most part were always very smooth. Consistently growing, adding more services to the business, building a great team, and doing many upgrades along the way. When I finally pulled the trigger on purchasing a new home on 20 acres and building out a new facility on it in 2019, we then had our grand opening March of 2020. Then sadly, COVID hit just 2 weeks into it when we relied on business the most to help support my new venture. Shortly after I went through a difficult divorce and for a moment I felt all of my hard work and progress could be lost. But I looked toward God for Guidance and pushed onward. Fast forward those growing pains were only the beginning of such a beautiful life and thriving business. The business actually continued to have steady growth and I came out of those times really realizing what I have. I absolutely love running Premier K9, my staff is like family, and the dogs are every reason why we do what we do. I always say to do what you love and It won’t seem like work at all, and that is exactly what I live by! Since 2020 I met my wonderful fiancé, and have since been blessed with a handsome son, and beautiful little girl. I am very proud of the business I have built and could not be happier with waking up every morning knowing I really make a difference for dogs and their loving families.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I Sarah Solheid, am the sole owner of the Premier K9 Center of Minnesota. We are a small state of the art facility that offers all inclusive boarding, daycare, and training! This takes place all on my private property! Our facility is top of the line with quality kennel suites, turfed and natural grassed yards, a custom play set, and a SPLASH PAD for those great Minnesota summers!
As a facility we are focused so much more on dogs learning proper social skills and catering to dog’s needs for boarding and daycare. We keep all of our playgroups small and design each day differently depending on the dogs currently staying with us. Some dogs prefer alone play were we use different puzzle games, and toys to help grow confidence and keep their stay fun! We never charge differently for any dog, even if they need specialized care, as all dogs our treated like our own.
Our training ranges from basic, to advanced, to correcting major behavioral issues and rehabilitating dogs with past trauma. We offer private lessons, day trains, and our famous board and train programs where people have traveled from all over the United States for us to train their beloved pup!
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Many days I may FEEL “Lucky” but I do know everything comes from hard work and always doing your best. But I have also been very lucky to be able to cross paths with some of the most amazing team members, clients, and dogs of course!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://premierk9centerofmn.com
- Facebook: Premier K9 Center of Minnesota
