Joe Williams
Hello! My name is Joe Williams, and I am the owner of Black Diamond K9, and this is my story.
I fell into training dogs during my senior year of college at The University of Montana. When I got my Dutch Shepherd, Rex, I didn't have a clue how much he would change my life and make an impact on my future. When a 19-year-old student gets a 4-month-old Dutch Shepherd, a dog specifically bred for police and military applications, you get problems. A lot of problems. This was the catalyst.
After a year and a half of escalating issues that I didn't know how to address, I knew I had to do something to save my dog and save myself from heartbreak. I put Rex into an intensive board & train program to give him the support and structure he needed, and to give myself the ability to provide him with those same things. After many weeks of training, Rex was back at home with me, with the ability to handle our day-to-day life with poise and confidence. Rex's trainer offered me a part-time apprenticeship as she saw a natural ability within me. The rest is history. Over a decade later, here I am, offering all I have learned and experienced to the community that has given me so many opportunities.
Rex showed me just how deep of a hole I had dug for myself. He showed me what I was missing and how unequipped and completely lost I was as a dog owner. With that experience, I was shown what my purpose was. By learning from the mistakes I had made, I can now provide that same structure and support for others who may be dealing with the same issues.
Thank you, Rex.
Dogs can show us who we truly are at every moment of every day. Their behavior is a reflection of how we feel about our current circumstances and they act as a mirror of how we react to the world. When we make mistakes or find ourselves feeling lost, dogs provide companionship and unconditional love. We are their entire world. It is our duty to honor that gift and to provide safety, structure, and fulfillment in return. If you don't know where to start, That's OK. That’s where we come in. We help people help their dogs, and in turn, they can help us.
MY Resume In a Nutshell
Outside of how I became a professional dog trainer, it's important to know more about my background and how I obtained the experience I have today.
I was born and raised in Hamilton, MT. Since the day I was born, I have been exposed to dogs and horses and the agricultural way of life. My family had Golden Retrievers, Border Collies, German Shepherds, McNabs, Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, and Reservation Dogs. When I graduated high school in 2010, I enrolled at the University of Montana to study criminology in hopes of becoming either an FBI Investigator, a Federal Parole Officer, or a U.S. Marshal. It was during my senior year of college when I acquired my first dog training job. I was responsible for raising and training two Karelian Bear Dogs (Tama and Nanuq) for a Japanese conservation organization (野生生物研究センター) in the Nagano Prefecture in Japan. After my time with the Karelians in 2015, I worked in both Washington D.C. and New Orleans and became the Head Trainer for two companies in those respective cities. After my experience was solidified, I moved back to Montana in 2017 where I became the head trainer for Bozeman’s own Know Thy Dog when it was under the original ownership of Kelly Engel. When the Covid-19 pandemic shook the world, I decided to try something new and I moved to Jacksonville, FL where I became a professional pipe welder. The 8 months I took off from dog training put one thing in perspective for me. That one thing was that I desperately missed training dogs and working with the people who owned them. I doubled down and opened Black Diamond K9 in April of 2021 (originally Black Diamond Dog Company) to continue my life's purpose and to provide safe, fair, and contextualized dog training opportunities to our community.
Pictured below:
Rex - Dutch Shepherd - the dog who started it all
Theo - Border Collie
Java - Whippet