September 2024

This series is dedicated to helping our community get to know the dedicated and selfless human beings that keep Magnificent Mutts Rescue running.

This month we feature Derrick Rollerson II as Someone You Should Know! As a certified dog trainer Derrick plays a key role when it comes to our Magnificent Mutts. Whether he is helping us evaluate a dog to see what type of home would suit it best, or working with some of our more challenging dogs who need behavior corrections, or helping 100’s of our adopters train their new family members after adoption he is a very important person in the lives of our Mutts!

  1. How long have you been training dogs?
    I have been training dogs for about 15 years. I got started doing personal protection and guard dog training and then got a position at Petco where I was the Senior District Mentor Dog Trainer. I’ve also worked at other locations such as Pup Pets Club, and K9 University doing nose work, tricks, behavioral modification and intro into agility.
  2. Did you always know you wanted to be a dog trainer?
    I had never thought about being a dog trainer until the opportunity presented itself. I always loved working and being around animals and wanted to be a zookeeper for Brookfield Zoo to work with their carnivores.
  3. You have helped with many of Magnificent Mutts dogs prior to their adoptions. What is your favorite, or most memorable MM experience or story?
    One of my most memorable experiences with MM was working with a dog whose name is slipping me but his breed was a Dogue de Bordeaux. He was such a gentle giant and I had a lot of fun working with him on taking items and holding them in his mouth, entering and exiting the kennel on command and going over some basic obedience. He was extremely intelligent and gentle and got adopted very quickly when I had made a video of me working with him. That was one of my most memorable moments but I have several others!
  4. Do you have a favorite dog breed or dog type?
    I love all the dogs because they were all bred for their own unique purposes and jobs but if I had to choose a favorite it would be pit bulls, bullies and cane corsos. They are some of the most loving, playful dogs with hearts of gold that just want to please their parents. They pitties and bullies receive such negative attention because of media, poor training or handling and usually lack of proper socialization.
  5. What are your hobbies, or what do you like to do for fun?
    Some of my hobbies include fishing, camping, hiking, archery and hanging out with my lovely wife!
  6. From you experience, what is the number one error that owners make with their pets?
    That is a challenging question because there are a number or mistakes we can make when adopting a new dog. If I had to narrow it down to only 1 thing it would be the majority of people don’t take training classes or if they do they only do the bare minimum. There is so much to learn working and living with anything that is alive and has a mind of its own and we do a disservice to our dogs as well as to ourselves when we don’t take the time to learn as much as we can about the animals we bring into our homes.
  7. Are you a morning person, or a night owl?
    I am a morning person. I like waking up early before the majority of people get their day started. It gives me time to relax, strategize and plan feeling prepared for the day.
  8. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
    If I could visit anywhere in the world I would visit Africa! I would love to go on a Safari and see a lot of the animals I love in their natural environment roaming free.
  9. What advice would you give new adopters?
    I would tell new adopters to set some rules, boundaries and have goals set for the dog and themselves. The majority of failed forever homes comes from lack of proper planning, no boundaries, and poor communication. If we set goals, have rules, boundaries, standards, and a plan we usually will find more success with the dogs staying in their forever homes.
  10. If you could be one animal- what animal would that be?
    If I could be one animal I would be a Jaguar. They are extremely intelligent, agile, athletic, powerful and extremely determined when they have a goal in mind.
  11. What type of pets do you own?
    I have 3 dogs right now. I have a American Staffordshire Terrier who is 9 years old, an American pit bull terrier who is 8 and a Shipoo who is also 8.
  12. Tell us your favorites… Song, artist, or type of music, TV show or movie, Food, Sport or Sports team, Book
    I’m a music head. I love all kinds of music ranging from RnB, to rap, classical, country, gospel and jazz. My favorite books are The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle and Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Favorite sport teams are all Chicago sports.
  13. What is the biggest misconception about dog training?
    The biggest misconception is thinking that just because your dog knows come, sit, down, partial stay and paw you have a trained dog. Those are some great starting points but there is so much more your dog can know and master.
  14. What type of classes/services do you offer?
    We offer a combination of obedience classes ranging from beginners all the way to advance. In the beginner class we help to ensure the dogs have an understanding and comprehension of the work and information we want them to understand and perform. In the intermediate class we start to build on that information even more by taking field trips to help ensure we get better listening skills in different environments. In the advance classes we prepare the dogs and owners to take either the Canine Good Citizen test and/or the Therapy Dog Certification test.
    We also offer private lessons for more personalized time addressing either obedience, behavioral issues, or other specific needs. Board and trains are another option that we offer to help give the parents a head start on the training or as a way to really reach a breakthrough with the dog for again obedience, socialization and behavioral modification.
  15. How can people get a hold of you if they are interested in your services?
    I can be reached through Elmhurst Animal Care Center whether by phone or email. Phone numbers to reach me at are Elmhurst (630)530-1900, Work cell (630)327-5050, email- Trainer@thepetexperts.com.

Class schedules can be found on the Elmhurst Animal Care Centers Website and if you are inquiring about private lessons or board and trains you can contact my work cell or email.