From the Prodogz Archives • August 17, 1998
A Dated Record of More Than 30 Years in Dog Training
Long before Prodogz became what it is today, the Mail Tribune profiled Jason Lake as a young dog trainer in Medford, Oregon. The story was published on August 17, 1998 and documents that Jason had already been training dogs since high school and had started his own dog-training business.
More than three decades after those early training years, the article provides a public, dated record of a career that has continued to grow through family-dog training, working dogs, competition, problem solving, and coaching dog owners throughout Southern Oregon.
Why This 1998 Article Matters Today
The story captures Jason near the beginning of his professional career. It describes him training client dogs at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park, explains that he had started training his first dog while still in high school, and notes that he had already built a client base through his business, Canine Training Wheels.
That timeline is important because it shows that Jason’s experience is not a recent marketing claim. The article is a dated piece of local journalism documenting his dog-training work in the 1990s. Today, Jason brings 30+ years of hands-on dog-training experience to Prodogz clients.
Historical Article Transcription
“This trainer’s got wheels”
Lake sees opportunities, not disability
The text below is transcribed from the original 1998 newspaper clipping. Newspaper line breaks and hyphenation have been normalized for easier reading on phones and computers.
Three months ago, Hutch was a puppy newly adopted from the Humane Society.
He jumped on everyone. Had no manners. He was so afraid of cars he was violently ill on his first ride home with his new family.
Now, despite children shouting and other dogs running around Fichtner-Mainwaring Park, Hutch’s entire attention is on his owner, Pam Wallace of Ashland.
He walks obediently at her heel, even though she’s not holding his leash.
“He’s much more civilized,” says Wallace. She smiles toward Jason Lake, the dog trainer who helped her achieve the training feat with the 9-month-old Doberman/German shepherd mix.
Lake mainly uses reward techniques in training. He’s not much on punishment. Sitting in a wheelchair, and without use of his arms, Lake wouldn’t have much luck even if he wanted to give a disobedient pup a smack.
Lake, 22, didn’t expect to make a career of dog training, but he found his options limited when he graduated from North Medford High School.
“I graduated with a 3.5 grade point average, but I couldn’t get a job,” he said. “A lot of people don’t see past the wheelchair.”
So he went into business for himself, joining two of his passions.
“I like people, and I like playing with puppies all day,” he said, “so it turned out good.”
Lake was born without many of the normal human muscles in his body. He has no muscles in his wrist, so his hands that are held to his chest simply flop. He’s missing muscles in his feet, and he can’t walk. His spine required a steel rod because he also was missing muscles there.
“There are a lot of cases of this disease worse than mine,” Lake said. “Sometimes it affects the mind and in that way I’m lucky.”
Lake can work on strengthening the muscles he does have, but doctors and therapists can’t help where there are no muscles at all.
But his lack of muscle mass has never meant a lack of initiative.
“I’m not a pity case,” Lake said. “The wheelchair means nothing. I don’t even think of myself in a wheelchair.”
Lake’s father, Lance Lake, said that his son always had a go-getter attitude.
“We’re very proud of him, needless to say,” said Lance Lake. “He’s basically done this totally on his own and found a way to adapt to his disability and show people how to train dogs without manhandling.”
Lance Lake said that he and his wife, Betty, treated their son just like his older, fully mobile siblings. And they never let teachers give him breaks either.
When one teacher said he needed a device to turn the pages of his books, Lance and Betty went into the classroom and proved to her that their son was capable.
“We didn’t allow him to take the easy way out,” he said. “We challenged him.”
Lake started training his first dog in high school, with the help of dog trainer Kim Meinhardt.
About a year ago, he started Canine Training Wheels. He’s had 25 clients so far. He meets with his clients twice a week to assure steady progress. Although he hasn’t listed himself in the yellow pages yet, he runs ads and is listed at the Humane Society, where Wallace found him.
Meinhardt said Lake has what it takes to do the work.
“The most important characteristic is patience and willingness to be open to doing different things, being innovative,” Meinhardt said. “Sometimes what it takes is thinking fast on your feet, or in your chair.”
Meinhardt said he believes that Lake’s disability has actually enhanced his ability to train dogs.
“Being disabled like he is helps him with the patience and being innovative,” he said, “because, he’s had to do that.”
Jason has even helped disabled people new to wheelchairs understand their lack of limitations. Mike Smith lost the use of everything below his chest after a motorcycle accident in March 1996. Lake visited Smith in a Medford nursing home.
“One thing I learned I could accomplish with Jason was going out to McDonald’s,” said Smith, who now goes to college in Portland. “And that was time away from the nursing home.”
Smith said he’s been inspired by Lake’s tenacity.
“He’s not afraid of failure,” Smith said. “He just goes.”
Lake said his ultimate goal is to train police dogs.
Back at Fichtner-Mainwaring Park, Wallace’s 45-minute lesson has ended. She puts her kids in the car, and Hutch, now unafraid, jumps gleefully in after them.
Publication Details
- Newspaper
- Mail Tribune, Medford, Oregon
- Date
- Monday, August 17, 1998
- Headline
- This trainer’s got wheels
- Subheadline
- Lake sees opportunities, not disability
- Reporter
- Dani Dodge
- Photo credit
- Mail Tribune / Jim Craven