Work Your Pack

The Lovechild of a Lifetime with Dogs and a Career Behind the Camera.

Why does WYP exist?

After nearly 15 years as a canine professional and teacher—and a solid run as a reality TV producer—I figured it was time to join my two worlds. I built Work Your Pack to prove that online dog training doesn’t have to be boring or half-baked. When you combine legit K9 experience with real video storytelling, you get courses that are short, punchy, cinematic, and actually useful.

Sometimes you’ll see me leading the lessons; other times, you’ll meet experts I’ve learned from and respect as true pros in the field. Every course is broken into bite-sized chapters for you to watch, re-watch, and actually use—whether you’re fine-tuning your pet dog or working with serious canines. No endless lectures. No wasted time. Just practical ideas and real-world know-how for both everyday dog owners and working dog handlers.

And honestly, we don’t take ourselves too seriously around here. Some courses are probably rated 13-ish: expect some language, beer-drinking elements, and dogs not wearing clothes. But hey, it’s all in good fun—the point is to make learning about the logic and process of modern dog training actually enjoyable, across all kinds of disciplines.

If we inspired you through a good learning culture to go out and improve your training culture, we’ll take that as a win.

Origins and the Orange Bandana

Meet the Human Behind WYP

I’m Chris Williams—dog nerd, video production geek, and the kind of kid who grew up with German Shepherds underfoot and a pile of Jack London books close by. I pretty much decided early on that I’d end up in the mountains with a dog, because that’s just how the best stories go.

Montana was the obvious move, so I came out here for college, supposedly to study media arts. Truth is, I spent more time outside than in class. At one point, I needed an interesting story for a project and tracked down a dog musher who was training for the Iditarod. I got a little too into it, and he noticed—next thing I knew, he offered me a job. So I dropped out of school and jumped in. (Don’t worry, I eventually went back and finished. My mom was relieved.)

With my paychecks from that wild detour, I finally got my first “real” dog—a long-coated, wolfy-looking German Shepherd named Schuck (pronounced “Shook,” or Schuck Handsome if you asked him). Schuck was the spark. His orange bandana became his thing, and now every company I build has him in the logo, sitting proud. If you spot a dog with an orange bandana, that’s Schuck—still at the heart of it all.

Schuck kicked off my obsession with learning everything I could about dog training. Then came Rumble—a shepherd who made it crystal clear I still had a lot to learn. That’s when I started taking my education seriously, seeking out real mentors and diving deep into professional training. Schuck passed away in 2018, and Rumble in 2023. Losing them was brutal, but honestly, my entire career now revolves around dogs and training because of those two, and their legacy is still at the heart of everything I do.

From TV to Yurt Life & The Pack Today

I kept mushing part-time but went back to college full-time, eventually graduating with a degree in journalism and media arts. After that, I fell in with a production company and, before long, found myself deep in the world of reality TV—shows like Mountain Men and all the chaos that comes with them. I loved the stories, the travel, and the unpredictability, but while I was off chasing wild storylines for the camera, dog training quietly shifted from hobby, to side hustle, to the thing I actually wanted to do for a living.

So my wife and I went all in. We moved into an off-grid yurt—no running water, no driveway, just a lot of mud, pine trees, and a hell of a view. Part adventure, part necessity: living cheap was the only way I could walk away from TV and build something real with dogs.That yurt was home base for over two years while I got Run Your Pack off the ground. It started small, but before long I was traveling to teach seminars, building a working dog club in Missoula, and signing up for PSA competitions. Eventually, we moved the family back onto the grid, and the yurt became my backyard training and studio space. (Editing video is way easier with electricity.)These days, Work Your Pack is the main gig. Most days you’ll find me working on these courses—traveling, filming, or editing. Sometimes I’m in front of the camera; other times, I’m featuring trainers and experts I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and learning from along the way.As for the current crew:

  • Liesel Weppen: German Shepherd, tracking/trailing and nosework specialist, occasional movie star (she’s met Ed Harris, Robert Duvall, and Garrett Hedlund).
  • Oaken: Dutch Shepherd, bite work and demo dog.
  • Liesel and Oaken are usually the duo rocking aviators together in the Work Your Pack banners.
  • Boston: Blue heeler rookie, already stealing scenes in tracking and soon to star in our Paddleboard with Your Dog course.

If I’m not filming, training, or brushing dog hair off my clothes, I’m probably with my wife, quietly wondering how our three young kids somehow ended up in charge of everything. I do manage to escape to play hockey a couple times a week—my one non-dog thing.

As of writing this, there are over 4,500 students from all around the world enrolled in Work Your Pack—and that number keeps growing. I’m going to keep making courses and expanding the catalog, with the goal of educating, entertaining, and inspiring you to get out there and actually have fun working with your dog.

These are the courses I wish I’d had when I was first learning, and I hope they make a real impact for anyone willing to put in the work and apply what’s inside.

Cheers, and happy training—
Chris

Training Philosophy

There are a lot of misconceptions in this industry. I’ve spent years trying just about every style out there—from dominance theory to purely positive and everything in between. What I’ve learned is that real training is about building a culture that fits the dog in front of you, honors their instincts, and creates harmony between dog and human.

All of my courses follow a similar formula: it’s a scaffolded process designed to get the dog fully invested in the work—so much so, it feels like their idea. Once you’ve got that ignition and drive, it becomes easy to name behaviors or layer in pressure as a communication tool (or as a bit of toughness that actually compounds their commitment). Anything you use to help teach—lures, prompts, even pressure—should be faded out as the dog figures it out for themselves.

My goal is that you and your dog understand each other better, can clearly set goals, and follow a program to actually reach those goals—together. It’s all about motivation, communication, and working as a team, whether you’re raising a family pet or handling a working canine.

User experience

How Work Your Pack Works

What can you expect when you enroll in a course?

Short, punchy lessons. Mobile-friendly design. Unlimited access and downloadable PDFs. No hour-long, tripod-locked lectures—just information you can actually absorb, delivered in an entertaining way with step-by-step systems you can use with your own dog.

SEE HOW WYP WORKS

Trusted By the Industry

Along the way, I’ve been hired by some of the top names in the dog world. I produced the official online Silver School for NePoPo®, created gear features and the goggle instructional course for Rex Specs, and shot all the back cover ads for Martin System gear featured in Police K9 Magazine and K9 Cop Magazine.If you’ve seen their videos or ads, you’ve probably seen my work (and my dogs).

NePoPo® Online Silver School

Produced the official NePoPo® Online Silver School—bringing proven, modern dog training methods online with clear, practical video lessons. The course has been translated into multiple languages and is studied by trainers worldwide.

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Rex Specs® Gear & Goggle Courses

Worked with Rex Specs® to create their gear feature videos and official goggle instructional course—making it easier for dog owners and handlers to get the most out of their equipment. If you’ve watched their product demos or training guides, you’ve seen my work (and probably my dogs).

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Martin System® K9 Magazine Ads

Shot and designed the back cover ads for Martin System®—featured in Police K9 Magazine and K9 Cop Magazine.

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See my pack in action

My K9 Crew

'Find My Shit Command' - Liesel hunts down lost items of mine in the woods.

'PSA1 Courage Test' - Oaken doing his fur missle thing

'Shed Hunting & Wounded Game Tracking' - Oaken rocks the track and Liesel finds sheds.

'Bite and Obedience'- Oaken doing reps prepping for PSA 2 (he's since earned)

'Tracking & Evasion w/ US Army' - Big day of manhunting, helicopter insertion/extraction with Liesel.