By Heidi Dahms Foster
Two people with a love of dogs have, over the span of decades, turned their passion into a legacy of helping dog owners improve their relationship with their pets.
When Farbenholt Kennels’ Ray Farber was a little boy, he said, his family had German Shepherds, for awhile. “I was always interested in dogs, but as my parents had more and more kids we had fewer and fewer dogs.”
It wasn’t until he got out of school and entered the military that Farber was again able to pursue his love of dogs. An Air Force military policeman, he rekindled his interest in working K9s. “I wasn’t a handler, but I traveled with them and watched them work, and I was curious about how the trainers motivated them to work.”
After his stint in the Air Force, Farber attended school to become a dog trainer. Serendipitously, the school he attended was one at which Jeri Holton was teaching.
Born and raised in Vermont, Holton’s father raised Coonhounds and Beagles. “We had about 20 head of cattle and some sheep on our small dairy farm, and a couple of collie dogs that did the work. That’s what got me interested in herding,” Holton said.
She also successfully showed horses, earning top awards at the national level. But horses were prohibitively expensive, and Holton was most interested in the dogs anyway. She started showing Doberman Pinschers, and had great success in the ‘70s in the conformation ring and in obedience trials.
Holton finally switched breeds from Dobermans to German Shepherds, which she found to be much easier to train. “The Dobes promised me everything and gave me nothing,” she said with a chuckle. “The Shepherds promised me everything and gave it to me.”
She began working in Schutzhund with Argus, a shepherd she was able to import from Germany. Schutzhund is a German word meaning “protection dog.” The sport aims to develop and evaluate the skills in dogs that make them useful and happy companions, according to the United Schutzhund Clubs of America. With Argus, Holton earned an excellent rating in Schutzhund work, which included tracking, obedience and protection disciplines. The pair scored a 99 ½ out of 100 in one tracking test.
By 1981, Holton was managing a 100-run kennel in Bethlehem, Pennsyvania. She was an instructor at the school for dog trainers, accredited by the local community college, in which students learned all aspects of the training business. It was here that she and Farber met, and it was most definitely not love at first sight.
“Ray didn’t like me then. I was a drill sergeant,” Holton said.
Farber did become friends with Holton’s late former husband, a police officer who taught him K9 obedience, protection work, narcotics detection, and tracking, all things Farber would not have learned in the school’s normal course work. Farber graduated in 1988 as a certified dog trainer.
“All of that was enlightening,” he said, “but you can only do so much at school. When you leave, you learn on your own, and experience helps. I now have 30 plus years of doing training and protection work, with some narcotics work.”
At some point, the assertive Holton said, she started talking with Ray instead of telling him what to do. “He decided I wasn’t so bad after all.”
She began to notice that the more introverted Ray was “funny and sweet and sincere, and those are all really good things.”
Ray was attracted to Holton’s ability to handle herself in all situations. “She has the attitude that ‘I can do it.’ She doesn’t back down to a problem, she can handle most everyone that comes along.”
Oh, and he did mention that “She’s beautiful.”
The two became an item in 1993, and found they were floundering with former relationships. Farber’s parents lived part time in the Prescott Valley area, so they decided to take a chance and come to Arizona to see what it was like. His father had driven through Prescott and Prescott Valley on a previous trip and loved the weather. They bought property and with Farber’s sister and brother-in-law, made a life in Prescott Valley.
“We moved here in 1994,” Farber said. “The first year we lived in one of my dad’s duplexes with two shepherds and paid rent. But even then we had a vision of what we wanted to create in a kennel and training area. We found this property in Dewey and we’ve been here ever since.”
The two didn’t have things easy during their start in Prescott Valley. “We both worked two jobs.” Farber soon found the security management job he still holds, and Holton was able to devote her time to building the couple’s dog training business.
Today, the couple raises and trains German Shepherds (for 42 years) and Belgian Malinois (for 18), fosters and rescues a variety of dogs, and focuses on obedience training for the general public. Holton works full time at the kennel and Farber continues to hold his full-time job and train on the side. She is an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator and a temperament evaluator, aiming for a stable, well-rounded, happy dog that can function in public places.
Holton usually trains in private lessons, with the occasional group class. Any puppies the kennel produces receive lifetime free obedience classes. She draws on her years of experience in successful dog show and trial competitions, and as a former veterinary tech for large and small animals.
Holton and Farber are adamant that training is crucial for a successful bond between owner and dog. “I think dog training is important with every dog, whether it’s a perfect dog to start or the worst dog on the planet. Usually dog problems are caused by people. But the work should be fun for the dog and the handler. Problems are not fun, but you can get over them, that can be accomplished,” Holton said.
Farber said most dogs end up in shelters because they don’t listen, or there is a miscommunication between owner and dog. “They’re doing something bad, and the owner gives up, because they can’t deal with it.” That’s why, Holton said, two to three times per year they offer free hours of obedience. “You come out, and we discuss the problem, and help get you going in the right direction.”
She said the couples’ training is all about positive motivation, which means different things for different dogs, whether it’s food, a special toy, or simply praise from the owner.
“A dog won’t work well if you’re just forcing it,” Holton said. “That’s not fun for the handler, the dog, or the trainer. If you can find something the dog will work for, before you know it the dog is working for pleasure, and that makes everyone happy. Then you’re on the same page going forward. Everything we do in the beginning is done on leash, so the dogs learns that you are a team, and there is a team leader.”
One of Holton’s proudest accomplishments is her 20 years of being a 4-H leader in the area. In partnership with Molly Wisecarver of Mayer, she has seen a couple generations of kids excel in dog sports.
Early this year, four of her 4-H members won the top four championships at the Arizona 4-H State Dog Show. Ellyn Peterson, 13, of Dewey, won the Rally Obedience Championship with a score of 99 of 100, Patricia Disert, 11, of Prescott, won the Obedience Championship, Addie Kennedy, 17, of Dewey was the Showmanship Champion and Lilia Johnson, 18, of Dewey, in her last year of 4-H competition, won the Agility Championship. All are part of the Lonesome Valley Wranglers 4-H club.
“I’m so proud of my 20 years a 4-H leader, and so proud of what these 4-H kids have done. They are motivated and I’m so excited they have done so well,” Holton said.
Currently, Holton and Farber are happy to welcome owners and their dogs to work on problem behaviors and help them develop a closer bond with their dog. “If people can understand why their dog is doing certain things, and adjust the harmony between the dog and owner, the dog is more likely to stay in that home.” Holton said.
One of the things both Holton and Farber enjoy is the many rescue dogs they’ve taken in over the years. “We’ve had three or four dachshunds, one that bit someone in every state,” she said with a laugh, “and a hound that wouldn’t stay in a fence. We’ve also fostered for Yavapai Humane Trappers.”
The biting Dachshund and the escapee hound have a permanent home with the couple, and both are doing fine. A few rescue cats have also joined the menagerie over the years.
With Holton’s 42 years of experience in dogs, and Farber’s 30-plus, the couple is well-equipped to help local dog owners learn how to solve problems and forge a harmonious relationship with their pets.
Contact Farbenholt Kennels at 928-632-7557 or email farbenholt@bullerinetworks.net. Visit their website at www.azgermanshepherds.net or Farbenholt Kennels on Facebook.
