About the trainers

Hope and Torque

Hi! About the trainers: We’re sisters, Fran and Hope Saidel, and we’re the kind of people who greet dogs first. We’ve been dog-obsessed since childhood, and found out that begging actually worked when our mother broke down and brought Spunky, a Boston Terrier, into the family when we were 9 and 6, respectively.

There have been quite a few dogs since, and every one teaches us more. As adults our professional and personal lives revolve around dogs – we own Golly Gear, an online small-dog specialty boutique. (If you want a great harness for your dog, check it out.) We belong to the North Shore Dog Training Club as teachers, students, and members. We also teach Manners, Obedience, Tricks and Rally at Rex’s Place in Evanston, Illinois. And we compete with our dogs in Obedience, Rally, and Agility.

We live what we teach

We train our own dogs every day. And, while 30 minutes  a day is more than 2 minutes each for 4 dogs, that’s not really a lot of time. Start at 8, done by 8:30. Training with fast, fun games. The ones we write about in the weekly 2-Minute Tip. We reward what we like and ignore (mostly) what we don’t like.


Hope and Torque

Hope is an AKC-approved Canine Good Citizen (CGC) evaluator and STAR Puppy teacher, and is also a private trainer. If you’re on the north side of Chicago’s metro area, , send Hope an email to set up an appointment.


Fran and Tango

Fran is an accountant by schooling, but when she’s not training dogs, she’s writing about them. Fran wrote the 5th ebook / guide: The Reactive Dog Recipe based on her experiences training her Tango. And she wrote a book about her journey with him: Tango: Transforming My Hellhound. (This link takes you to the Amazon listing for the book.)


Measuring success one happy team at a time

How do we measure success in our classes and with our private clients? When our students are happy with their dogs, and their dogs are happy and focused on their owners. Our students compete in Obedience and Rally, and are successful by training the 2-Minute Trainer way. It’s not unusual for a brand new student to achieve their first AKC title within 6 months of starting class. But you don’t have to compete with your dog to be happy. If you just want to go for a nice walk with your four-legged best friend, we’re here for you. We’ve got just the games to play with your dog for you both to be happy.

We’d love to hear from you and help your on your training journey. Please contact us. Email us and let us know how it’s going. And don’t forget to join the 2-Minute Trainer community on Facebook!

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