He had a dog he was training at the time, and after a long, stressful day at work, training his dog gave him joy. This passion led Benson to find a hands-on dog training program in Missouri, where he met his business partner, Jerry Wolfe.
Benson and Wolfe then founded the Triple Crown Dog Academy, which started as six dog kennels in Wolfe’s backyard in Arizona. The business continued to grow, and two years later they renamed it Starmark Animal Behavior Center. From there, Starmark found its home on a 300-plus-acre ranch in Hutto.
“At the heart of what we were doing was helping to improve the quality of life between people and their pets through training,” Benson said. “We embraced all types of training methodologies and techniques and immersed ourselves in learning more about dog training and behavior.”
There are three separate businesses under the Starmark umbrella—Starmark Animal Behavior Center, Starmark Academy and Starmark Pet Products.
Starmark Animal Behavior Center offers boarding and training for dogs. The service options are a basic boarding or a luxury boarding, which include doggy ice cream, interactive toys, a massage and a nature walk.
Starmark Academy is where dog trainers go for certification through one of several programs that vary in length from four weeks to 16 weeks.
At Starmark Pet Products, all products are designed and engineered in house. One product called the Pro-Training Clicker allows owners to mark the exact moment good behavior occurs, which leads to rewards for the dog.
“It’s a great way to build a relationship with your dog. It’s a great way to mentally exercise your dog as well,” academy instructor Rosalyn Garcia said.
Starmark also works closely with local rescue shelters and groups to help enhance their adoption services.
Through the school for dog trainers, more than 150 dogs come to Starmark annually. The dogs receive training for up to 16 weeks, then they are adopted out as fully trained dogs by the end of the program. Starmark has helped about 5,000 dogs get adopted.
“At our core, we are about improving the quality of life between people and their pets, and there’s so many ways to do that,” Benson said.
Starmark Animal Behavior Center
200 CR 197, Hutto
512-759-2275
www.aboutdogtraining.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-1 p.m., closed Sun.
