Today we’d like to introduce you to Samuel Sarkodie.
Hi Samuel, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My journey into dog training started with my first dog, Stride. He knew his commands, but knowing commands and behaving well in everyday life were two completely different things. I couldn’t understand why a dog who knew what I was asking of him still struggled with certain behaviors. That led me down a path of researching, learning from other trainers, and trying to understand dogs on a deeper level. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I wasn’t just learning how to train my dog. I was learning how to become a better handler myself.
As I worked with Stride, I started helping my college roommates with their dogs. Before long, I was working with dogs throughout our student apartment community. My first client outside that circle had a rescue dog struggling with severe separation anxiety and leash reactivity. He wanted his dog to become a more settled member of his household, especially with his wife and young child. That experience helped me recognize that dog training is about much more than teaching commands. It affects the entire household and the quality of life people share with their dogs.
Over time, I began to see a common thread in everything I was learning: patience, consistency, and understanding. I realized that sometimes we expect dogs to understand our world without taking enough time to understand theirs. That realization became the foundation of Sabali Dog Training Academy.
The word Sabali means patience, and our motto is, “It’s Not Magic, It Is Patience.” Those aren’t just words we use for branding. They reflect lessons I had to learn through my own experiences.
Today, we’ve grown from those early days of helping friends and neighbors into a dog training business serving clients through in-home training and board-and-train programs. We work with families navigating everyday obedience challenges, as well as dogs with more complex behavioral needs.
For me, the journey has always been about more than dogs. It’s about helping people build better relationships with them. When you can help someone go from feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, or even embarrassed by their dog’s behavior to feeling confident and connected, you’ve made a difference that extends beyond the training session. That’s what continues to motivate me.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not at all. Building Sabali has required me to grow just as much as the business itself. In the beginning, one of the biggest challenges was getting people to trust us with their dogs. You’re asking someone to place a member of their family in your hands, and that trust isn’t something you can demand. You have to earn it through your work, your consistency, and the results you produce.
As we’ve grown, word of mouth and client referrals have become an important part of our business. Seeing clients recommend us to their friends and family is meaningful because it tells me that the impact of our work doesn’t end when a training program is complete.
One of our biggest ongoing challenges, though, is helping people understand that we don’t just train dogs; we teach people how to train and communicate with their dogs, too. Sometimes an owner comes to us hoping we’ll fix a behavior, but lasting progress requires their participation. We can establish new habits and teach a dog new skills, but the owner has to understand how to maintain that progress in everyday life.
I understand that challenge personally because I had to learn it with my own dogs. It’s easy to focus on what the dog is doing wrong without considering our own timing, consistency, expectations, or communication. But when we begin to look at the relationship as a whole, we can start making meaningful changes.
Another lesson has been learning to grow the business without losing the principles that made us start it in the first place. Growth brings new responsibilities, decisions, and challenges. You have to learn when to be patient, when to make adjustments, and when to keep moving forward even when you can’t see the entire path ahead.
I’ve learned that patience doesn’t mean standing still. It means continuing to do the work, remaining open to learning, and understanding that meaningful results take time. That’s true for dogs, their owners, and building a business.
As you know, we’re big fans of Sabali Dog Training Academy. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
At Sabali Dog Training Academy, our mission is to help people build better relationships with their dogs through patience, understanding, and practical training. We want people to enjoy living with their dogs, not simply love them while feeling overwhelmed by their behavior.
You can love your dog and still feel frustrated when every walk becomes a struggle, guests can’t comfortably visit your home, or your dog struggles to settle when you leave. Those challenges can affect a family’s daily life, and they’re the kinds of problems we help people work through.
We offer in-home training and board-and-train programs, working with dogs at different stages of development and with different behavioral needs. Our work includes foundational obedience, leash manners, household manners, and more challenging behaviors, including reactivity. We have experience working with powerful breeds and dogs whose behavior requires thoughtful, structured handling.
One thing that sets Sabali apart is our belief that the dog is only part of the equation. We don’t believe lasting change comes from simply teaching a dog to follow commands. We want owners to understand why their dogs behave the way they do, how their own actions influence the relationship, and how to create consistency outside the training environment.
That is why our approach is centered on teaching people, not just handling dogs. During training, we work to give owners the knowledge and confidence to continue developing their dogs long after the program ends. Our goal isn’t to make someone dependent on us. It’s to equip them with the skills to succeed with their dog.
I’m also proud of the philosophy behind our brand. Sabali means patience, and “It’s Not Magic, It Is Patience” reminds us that meaningful change is a process. There are no shortcuts to building trust, developing good habits, or changing deeply ingrained behaviors. There is education, consistency, communication, and a willingness to keep showing up.
Ultimately, we want Sabali to represent more than a dog training service. We want it to stand for a different way of approaching the human-dog relationship, one that values understanding over frustration and education over simply correcting behavior.
If there is one thing I want readers to take away, it’s this: you don’t have to choose between loving your dog and addressing its behavioral challenges. You can do both. With the right guidance, a willingness to learn, and patience, you can build a relationship that allows both you and your dog to thrive.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t attribute the success of Sabali or the opportunities I’ve experienced in my life to luck\. I give that credit to God\.
My faith is an important part of who I am and how I approach business\. I believe God planted this idea in me, gave me opportunities to learn, and helped develop the patience and understanding that have shaped the way I work with dogs and their owners\. When I look back at how Sabali began and where it is today, I see a journey that has required work, but one in which I’ve also experienced God’s guidance\.
That doesn’t mean the road has been easy or that everything has gone according to plan\. There have been challenges, unexpected changes, and moments when I’ve had to reassess what I was doing\. But I’ve learned that difficult seasons can teach you things that easier seasons cannot\. Sometimes you develop the discipline, humility, or perspective you need for the next stage of your journey by working through the challenges in front of you\.
I also believe faith requires action\. I can’t simply pray for a successful business and expect everything to happen without putting in the work\. I have to remain committed to learning, serving people well, making thoughtful decisions, and being a good steward of the opportunities I’ve been given\.
For me, patience is connected to that faith\. Not everything happens on my timeline, and not every result comes as quickly as I would like\. But I believe there’s value in continuing to do what I’m called to do, even when I can’t see the full picture\.
When I look at Sabali, I’m grateful for the clients who have trusted us, the people who have supported our growth, and the lessons I’ve learned along the way\. I recognize the work I’ve put in, but I don’t believe I got here by my own strength alone\.
**If I had to sum it up, I’d say this: I do the work, I trust God with the direction, and I try to remain patient with the process\.** That’s the same philosophy that guides me in life and the one I hope people experience when they work with Sabali.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sabaliempire.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabalidogtraining
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Sabali-Empire-LLC-100066985502302/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@sabalidogtrainingacademy?si=ktmVmiRP1cdA9j6V
