A year and a half ago, Diamond Bar High School junior Emily Zhou’s passion for animals unexpectedly grew into an interest in training dogs as a sport.

Zhou first met Simba in 2019—a one-year-old German Shepherd. A rambunctious and athletically driven dog, Simba was the perfect introduction to the world of sports dog training.

“I adopted [my first dog] from the shelter and I got Simba from his breeder,” Zhou said. “His breeder was one of the trainers of the sports dogs and introduced me to the sport.”

That introduction grew into true interest when Simba’s breeder brought Zhou to the field where people train dogs. There, Zhou became impressed with the different tricks and movements the dogs were performing, including some of the tracking and protection work they did. 

“I felt that it was very cool, and I think that it is something I want to do, so I talked to the trainer and [he] said that I could try,” Zhou said.

Zhou said that there was no specific reason why she had chosen Simba for sports dog training. In fact, Simba was the last puppy left in the litter by the time she had met him. However, that didn’t stop the bond between Zhou and Simba. 

“I feel like we really match with each other,” Zhou said. “He’s kind of a mid-drive puppy, not like a super crazy with high drive, which is really unsuitable for me as it’s my first time training a sports dog.”

As a person with a soft spot for animals, one of Zhou’s favorite aspects about sports dog training is the strong bond she’s created with Simba. Zhou builds trust with Simba through daily training in between homework sessions and weekly Sunday morning training with the American Kennel Club.

“I want to work with dogs because I think it is a way we can build our relationship solidly,” Zhou said. “So when we are training, the feeling of you and your dog and the relationship keeps building up and becoming really good partners and friends.”

Since they started a year and a half ago, the duo has already achieved the Canine Good Citizen title from the American Kennel Club. Now, Zhou and Simba are focused on making small achievements towards their goals. In two or three months, the pair will compete for BH— a Temperament and Obedience test that is required before advancing to other titles. The next test they will aim for is the IGB titles, which tests a dog’s tracking, protection and obedience on a ten-level scale. 

“I hope to pass the IGB 1 before I go to college,” Zhou said. “We’ll keep continuing the sport to see if I have time after going into college.”

After high school, Zhou plans to continue interacting and working with animals in her career.

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