About Us
Founded in 1997 by husband and wife team John Hendershot and Diann Yandrich, Two Bears is built on a passion for dogs, training, and nutrition. With decades of experience, , working with thousands of dogs of all breeds, we’ve helped countless pet owners foster rewarding relationships with their dogs. Let us help you create the bond you’ve always dreamed of with your furry friend.
our mission
We are dedicated to providing effective, enjoyable training and nutrition that supports a lifetime of health and happiness for your pets.
Our philosophy
We believe in teaching fundamental skills and foundation behaviors that will enable your puppy to become a well-mannered member of your family, supported by quality care and nutrition. These essentials set the stage for all future training, whether your dog will be a beloved companion or a skilled sport competitor.
- Value-Driven Learning: Your dog learns to understand and value the behaviors you want, becoming a reliable and joyful companion.
- Tailored Training: From basic manners to off-leash control, our training is consistent, clear, and customized to meet your dog’s specific needs.
- Marker and Reward-Based Motivation: We use positive markers and rewards to motivate your dog to perform and maintain desirable behaviors. Dogs taught with this approach have a clear understanding of expectations, leading to consistent, reliable behavior.
- Creating Lasting Behaviors: For a behavior to stick, your dog needs to see its value—whether it’s focus, attention, or obedience actions like sit, down, stay, come, and loose-leash walking. At Two Bears, we show you how to add this value, encouraging the behaviors you want in your puppy or dog.
- Premium Nutrition: A raw food diet offers natural, high-quality nutrition, supporting your pet's vitality, digestion, and overall health with every meal.
Passion
We love what we do, and it shows through our work.
Integrity
Honest, transparent, and dedicated to quality.
Expertise
Veterinarian and dog daycare recommended
Compassion
Every pet and owner is treated like family.
Service Area
We proudly serve Boulder County and the surrounding metro areas, including Boulder, Erie, Longmont, Lafayette, Louisville, and surrounding areas.
Raw dog food pickup is available on-site in Erie, Colorado, with delivery options for orders of 3 or more cases.
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meet our family
The People & Animals of Two Bears
All of our pets eat and thrive on a raw meat diet. The newest member of the Two Bears family is Bob, a black Labrador Retriever, who has his AKC Novice nose work title, and is working towards Advanced. Pig is retired and is enjoying life. Scroll down to learn more about our past pets and their impressive history.
Click On the names to
Learn More About Us
Diann
Owner/Trainer
John
Owner/Trainer
Pig
Chien De Trevail M'Pig
Bob
Black Labrador Retriever
Diann
Diann has worked with, cared for and trained animals, both domestic and exotic, since 1964. At the age of eleven, as a junior volunteer at the ASPCA in New York City, she took her first obedience class with a staff member’s chihuahua and later a young German shepherd. Since then Diann has worked for the Bronx Zoo, ASPCA, Denver Dumb Friends League and Raptor Education Foundation. She was the Education Coordinator for the Longmont Humane Society for 3 years. Diann has also assisted in a veterinary clinic in Estes Park and another in Belgium.
While living in Belgium, Diann apprenticed with Geert De Bolster, the first “positive motivational” trainer in Belgium. Geert introduced her to a new way of thinking about and training dogs as well as the sport of Schutzhund. She acquired her German shepherd dog, Cheyenne, (the other of the Two Bears) from him. Diann is a professional member of the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP), and previous member of DVG America and the United States Mondio Ringsport Association (USMRA). Diann is also an AKC certified CGC evaluator.
Diann has put an All American CD title on her mixed-breed dog, Ten-Thirty, Schutzhund II, IPO II, and WD titles on her German shepherd dog, Cheyenne, and Rally Novice, Schutzhund I, Mondio Ringsport II titles on her Belgian malinois, Spit. Her black lab, Devon, was a registered therapy dog with The Alliance of Therapy Dogs, and went through DIA’s CATS program. They have participated in reading programs at Columbine Elementary in Boulder and Erie Library. Devon visited patients and staff at Exempla Good Sam hospital in Lafayette. Devon helped at-risk children at Skyline Vista Elementary school in Denver develop self-worth, confidence and team building through agility training.
John
John has been a professional dog trainer since 1997, turning 15 years of working with human athletes (professional cyclists) into training for canine athletes. His love for and calm approach to working with dogs makes learning and understanding totally clear for the canine student and fun for the human student. John has, and continues to, attend seminars given by trainers with different approaches making him very proficient in the understanding and use of all methods and tools for dog training.
John has volunteered with the Behavior and Training department of the Longmont Humane Society to help shelter dogs develop the skills they will need to be adopted and remain in their forever homes. John is a professional member of the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP). He is a previos member of DVG America and the United States Mondio Ringsport Association and served as president of Black Diamond Working Dog Club.
John was introduced to the sport of Schutzhund while living in Belgium. He has put Schutzhund II, IPO II, and Schutzhund Obedience III titles on his German shepherd dog, Ursa, (one of the Two Bears), Schutzhund BH and AKC CD titles on his Belgian Malinois, Wart, and 2x Schutzhund IPO3 title and Mondio Ringsport Brevet on his Belgian Malinois, Ugh.
Learn More About Us
Diann
Owner/Trainer
John
Owner/Trainer
Pig
Chien De Trevail M'Pig
Bob
Black Labrador Retriever
Diann
Diann has worked with, cared for and trained animals, both domestic and exotic, since 1964. At the age of eleven, as a junior volunteer at the ASPCA in New York City, she took her first obedience class with a staff member’s chihuahua and later a young German shepherd. Since then Diann has worked for the Bronx Zoo, ASPCA, Denver Dumb Friends League and Raptor Education Foundation. She was the Education Coordinator for the Longmont Humane Society for 3 years. Diann has also assisted in a veterinary clinic in Estes Park and another in Belgium.
While living in Belgium, Diann apprenticed with Geert DeBolster, the first “positive motivational” trainer in Belgium. Geert introduced her to a new way of thinking about and training dogs as well as the sport of Schutzhund. She acquired her German shepherd dog, Cheyenne, (the other of the Two Bears) from him. Diann is a professional member of the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP), DVG America and the United States Mondio Ringsport Association (USMRA). Diann is also an AKC certified CGC evaluator.
Diann has put an All American CD title on her mixed-breed dog, Ten-Thirty, Schutzhund II, IPO II, and WD titles on her German shepherd dog, Cheyenne, and Rally Novice, Schutzhund I, Mondio Ringsport II titles on her Belgian malinois, Spit. Her black lab, Devon, is a registered therapy dog with The Alliance of Therapy Dogs. They have participated in reading programs at Columbine Elementary in Boulder and Erie Library. Devon visited patients and staff at Exempla Good Sam hospital in Lafayette. Devon helped at-risk children at Skyline Vista Elementary school in Denver develop self-worth, confidence and team building through agility training.
John
John has been a professional dog trainer since 1997, turning 15 years of working with human athletes (professional cyclists) into training for canine athletes. His love for and calm approach to working with dogs makes learning and understanding totally clear for the canine student and fun for the human student. John has, and continues to, attend seminars given by trainers with different approaches making him very proficient in the understanding and use of all methods and tools for dog training.
John has volunteered with the Behavior and Training department of the Longmont Humane Society to help shelter dogs develop the skills they will need to be adopted and remain in their forever homes. John is a professional member of the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP). He is a member of DVG America and the United States Mondio Ringsport Association and serves as president of Black Diamond Working Dog Club.
John was introduced to the sport of Schutzhund while living in Belgium. He has put Schutzhund II, IPO II, and Schutzhund Obedience III titles on his German shepherd dog, Ursa, (one of the Two Bears), Schutzhund BH and AKC CD titles on his Belgian Malinois, Wart, and 2x Schutzhund IPO3 title and Mondio Ringsport Brevet on his Belgian Malinois, Ugh. His new puppy, Pig, is in training for IPO and Ring sport.
Over the Rainbow Bridge
Over the Rainbow Bridge
The "Two Bears" of Two Bears Dog Training
Two Bears was named for our two German shepherd dogs, Cheyenne (Big Bear) and Ursa (Little Bear).
“Cheyenne”
Tommy von Hahnleinwinkel
SH2 IPO2 WD
01/20/1995 – 05/07/2008
“Ursa”
Ursa von Hahnleinwinkel
SH2 OB3
07/29/1996 – 05/01/2008
Devon
Lab Mix - CGC
CATS Program at DIA
Felix & Oscar
Our Cats
Wart
BH and CD
Spit
Spitfire Des Barriques RN SchH1 MR2
"Ugh"
Le Grand Ugh Des Barriques - Twin Oaks Brevet IPO-3
Teddy
Lhasa Apso
What people are saying...
Our clients love working with us and the results they're getting! Don't take our word for it...
The picture is all the rocks she has brought us. Over the weekend this behavior saved her life as she found a can of rat poison at the back of a cabinet when we weren't watching her and we only know she got it because she brought it to us! We believe she only consumed a small bit and followed all the protocols the vet recommended.
Fortunately, he came far enough along to pass his evaluation and come home with us. However, within a week or so some unpleasant behaviors resurfaced. He was leery of people and lunged at skateboards and people in motion. He reacted negatively to rocking chairs, stationary bikes, even people shaking hands, and was very uncomfortable around children, including our 7-year-old granddaughter. We called John for help and began a series of training classes designed to correct these conditions. We’ve had Rio eight months now. After the initial classes with John, participation in Two Bears weekly group sessions, and daily training on our part, Rio is a different dog. He has learned all the essential obedience commands, is a strong candidate for the Canine Good Citizen award and has the potential to become a trained agility dog....READ MORE
John’s extensive knowledge of dog behavior helped us through many challenges with patience, kindness, and understanding for a dog who had been mistreated most of his life. Nothing makes us happier than having a dog who comes bounding toward us when we call him. Thank you!
John specifically told me to introduce tug play/training into the regimen contrary to my breeder's advice. It was immediately apparent that this was extraordinarily bonding for Three, and for me. Eye contact became extraordinary, attention improved, and there is now never a time when any sort of training session at any time of day or night is not met with joy, even though we may not do formal tug play every day. I believe in scientific principles, and given the many variables involved In training, I cannot prove that tug play was causal. But there is such a powerful correlation that it should not be ignored. I believe it was very important and thank you for the encouragement. And for focusing on training me first, and only then training Three.
And of course, she loves it! Incidentally, we tried another raw brand once with a lot of other ingredients like eggs and veggies added to the meat, and she couldn't keep it down - needless to say, that experiment ended quickly. We swear by Majestic Raw and have recommended it for our friends' and family's dogs.
We have not had to express his glands once since making the change. He is always energetic, his coat is soft and shiny, his teeth are in perfect condition and he never has bad breath. Gus now always looks forward to his meals and the freeze-dried product is very convenient for the times when we are on the go or Gus needs to be kenneled. We would never have believed the raw diet would have so many benefits until seeing the changes over the past year.
Even my little dwarf German Shepherd who had a host of congenital problems lived to be almost twelve in good condition and excellent spirits. My current dog is a young German Shepherd, Lena. She is from a breeder in California who has been feeding raw only for over 10 years. The breeder said that she has had no cancers in her dogs since the switch...READ MORE
