Whether it’s a house or a 31-foot RV named “Poe”, home is where the pack is. From two people with a heart for adventure to a traveling troupe of 12, Deirani and Chris have made their dream a reality: make a living doing what they love and inspire others to explore and experience life to the fullest with their dogs. Together they’re better-known as “The Canine Experience”.

Please share a little bit about your story. What sparked The Canine Experience and how did it all begin?

Chris and I met in 2011, through Facebook. When we first met we where both looking to make a change in our lives. To get out of that 8-5 job and do something we both loved, that would allow us to travel with our pack. In 2012 it happened. We had the opportunity to travel to Panama City with 3 of our dogs. What a rush! We met some incredible trainers and performed in front of thousands of people. And at that moment we knew… this is what we want to do.

In Puerto Rico there are barely any dog sports on the island, and what was worst no disc dog! So without a secure job and a little money saved, we packed our bags, our dogs, and we ventured to the Unites States.

The universe conspired and somehow it all came together. We were hired to do what we loved! A year later we decided to come up with a name to identify our pack, who knows maybe we’ll start our own show. After a lot of brain storming we came up with The Canine Experience. We’ve had our website and social media for about a year now, and the feed back and support has been amazing.

This is the beginning of something incredible! Our goal is to show dog owners around the world, that any dog is capable of doing incredible things, and serve as inspiration for then to go out and do the same. Follow your dreams, go out explore, travel, train… but never leave your dog behind.

11 dogs and 11 names. How did you come up with their names? Do they have any specific significance?

Its a little bit of the things we like and the dogs personality. From music to food and even Star Wars we got it all. Lol

Did you adopt each member of the pack from the same shelter or rescue? Who was adopted first?

All the dogs come from different places, like Puerto Rico, Texas and Missouri. Some are from rescues and shelters, others we got straight out of the streets. Our very first rescue was Yoda our Shar Pei. He was found in a pet store in a very bad condition, so bad the vet didn’t think he would make it. But the boy pulled trough and he is now 13 years old. He is living the life back in Puerto Rico and although he’s blind the vet says he’s as healthy as a 2 year old.

We know you love traveling, showcasing the talents of the pack at different contests and events, and promoting the message of rescue and adoption – but what else do you love to do together?

We love to find great dispersed camping spots where ever we go if we have the time. We’ll park Poe (our RV) in the middle of no where, hike with the kids, light a fire at night and just chill and enjoy mother nature and all its glory.

What has been your favorite place to go and why?

We had the opportunity to road trip through a little bit of Utah and we loved it! Utah is definitely a very under rated state. But I have to say our favorite is Colorado. I guess coming from Puerto Rico we need to be around mountains. We also go visit friends that have turned into family, so we try to find our way there at least once a year.

What is meal-time like in the van? How do you feed eleven dogs at one time? Any funny stories? 

We’ve developed a system lol. Its not hard most dogs are crated with only 2 to 3 dogs loose. We serve all the food with the supplements and some water and they get their food from the most quiet one to the loudest one. In our house hold the quieter you are the faster you get tour food. Sometimes when we are very tired, the system breaks down and we’ll give the wrong bowl of food to a dog.

Who snores the loudest?

Hands down Big boy Bass… No contest!

Do all the dogs participate in each type of event? Or do they each have a specific talent/sport they excel well in?

Since we do shows we try to cross train every sport we do. Meaning we train them a little bit in most of them. But each one has their favorite and they all have very specific talents. Like people they have different personalities and they do have favorites, so we kind of let them choose and work of off that.

If you could share just one word to describe each dog what would it be?

Leia- Diva
Ray- Sweetheart
Bass- Spoiled
Jet- Kisser
Bliss- Attitude
Sky- Intense
Poison Ivy- Ready
Ultra- badass
Sushi- loud
Rogue- smart

What is the most rewarding part of your life as Team Canine Experience?

THE DOGS!!! Spreading the word about rescue and adoption, and being able to do it while traveling with our pack! Basically being able to do what we love every day of our lives.

Keep up with Deirani and Chris by following @thecanineexperience on Instagram! Or, visit their website.

Now Go And Play!