Turning Passion into Purpose with ABC and Rover
By: The Rover Staff
For Edina Jacox, dog training started as part of her college coursework—but quickly became something bigger. While earning her degree, she worked hands-on with shelter dogs and, in her words, “just fell in love with it.”
To grow her skills and earn professional credentials, Edina enrolled at ABC. She was drawn to the program’s well-rounded curriculum: “They taught you how to run a business, not just how to train dogs,” she said. “And they had connections and a job board, so even if you couldn’t start your business right away, you had the resources to get a good job and keep building experience.”
Today, Edina is doing exactly that, building on her experience and growing her client base, now with even more help through the Rover Training platform, where credentialed, reward-based trainers can list their services, connect with new clients, and grow at their own pace. Edina initially signed up with Rover because she thought it was a great opportunity to get her name out there, while avoiding high costs of marketing. She appreciates being able to set her own rates, define her service area, and offer multi-session packages. As she says, “It really did help—I’ve found a lot of clients through Rover!” (Of course, individual results will vary.)
To ABC grads considering joining Rover, Edina has clear advice: “Do it,” and also,” be smart about how you set it up.” She recommends keeping your service area wide to increase client volume and grouping appointments geographically to avoid burnout. “When I first started scheduling, I was just running back and forth”. But now she’s able to balance the increased volume of clients, scheduling them grouped by area and even including mileage fees so she can help clients a bit further away.
Edina’s goals don’t stop there though. She’s currently focused on working with mild to moderate behavior cases and is building toward a future where she can take on more severe ones—dogs who may be at risk due to reactivity or significant behavior concerns. Ultimately, she hopes to open a shelter of her own, funded by the work she does as a trainer. “My goal is that my training business will help me fund my animal shelters,” she said.
Edina’s story is a reminder that certification is just the beginning. With the right foundation and a platform like Rover, ABC grads can build momentum, grow their experience, and take real steps toward their long-term goals.
Interested in joining Rover as a trainer? ABC graduates are eligible to apply! Learn more and get started here: get.rover.com/training-abc
