How this dog trainer became an Astros favorite

Word travels fast in the close quarters of a big league clubhouse. It's not uncommon for players to sling recommendations and referrals across the room, from restaurants to vacation destinations … and even dog trainers.

That's how Wesley Dawe, owner of Good DaweG, ended up with a growing contingent of World Series champions in his clientele.

For Astros stars Yordan Alvarez, Mauricio Dubón, Jose Altuve and Martín Maldonado, Dawe is the go-to when it comes to taking care of their dogs. The busy life of a professional baseball player means they spend half of the regular season away from their beloved pets -- though there will be dogs aplenty at Minute Maid Park on Sunday -- so it takes a good deal of trust to leave their furry friends with someone else.

If you ask them, Dawe has earned it in spades.

"Wesley has something that gives me confidence and comfort when I'm away and I leave them," Dubón said. "That's something I always look for, because those two guys are pretty much my life right now. It's something that I trust him a lot with, and I don't leave my dogs with [just] anybody."

Dawe's journey to where he is now hasn't been linear. Before starting Good DaweG, he had prior experience training bird dogs but hadn't worked in the field since the mid-2010s.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Dawe began moonlighting in dog training here and there -- and then decided to pursue his passion full time in July 2020. Dawe quit his day job, opened Good DaweG and carved out as much space as possible in his 750-square-foot house to make it happen.

He was living, in his words, in a dog kennel.

"All of this blood, sweat, tears, and long nights and sacrificing a lot, has paid off," Dawe said. "I had kennels everywhere. I had two kennels in my room. The room next to my room had upwards of seven kennels in it at times, and I would have kennels in my kitchen."

Good DaweG was a one-man show until recently, and three years later, Dawe's hard work has paid dividends. He's managed to upgrade his space and expand his operations -- so much so that when Alvarez began searching for somewhere to board his dogs late last October, he was directed to Good DaweG.

As Houston's 2022 World Series run was nearing a triumphant close, Dawe was contacted by Alvarez's wife, Monica, about taking care of their two dogs -- Milo, a Frenchie, and Luka, a King Charles spaniel. What started as boarding turned into occasional training sessions and even some cross-country travel when the Alvarezes enlisted Dawe's help in transporting the dogs to Florida during the offseason.

Satisfied customers typically lead to more. When Dubón began asking around the clubhouse about someone to watch his dogs -- Marcelo, a Pug, and Cash, a Frenchie -- in April, Alvarez recommended Dawe.

And with Alvarez's endorsement in hand, it was a no-brainer for Dubón to follow suit.

"He's very picky," Dubón said. "Alvarez is very picky … so I knew my two guys were in good hands."

Then came Altuve and his Cavapoo, Brunello, in June. His brother, Carlos, also uses Good DaweG's services -- he and Dawe happened to meet while playing recreational softball.

"[Alvarez and Dubón] really like him, and they trust him," Altuve said. "Obviously, my brother and I, we're super close, too, and he trusts him, too. So I'm like, this is more than enough for me to trust him, too."

Maldonado and his Australian Labradoodle puppy, Venus, round out the group for the time being. The Astros' backstop had heard promising things about Dawe's work with his teammates' dogs before deciding to reach out.

"That's what I was looking for," Maldonado said. "They said he's really good at taking care of the dogs and all that stuff, so that's great."

For Dawe, it's certainly a feather in his cap to have the backing of four big leaguers. But he finds satisfaction in his work no matter whose dog he's training. Drawing comparisons to the work his most well-known clients have to put in day in and day out, Dawe said he sees his work with dogs as a craft that doesn't end once he closes up shop for the day.

"Altuve won't get better at fielding grounders unless he practices fielding grounders, right? He's not going to get stronger unless he goes to the gym and he works out and he puts in the reps over and over and over," Dawe said. "People don't really understand how consistent and how many reps you have to put into this until they get into it, and they're like, 'Holy smokes.'"

It may require a bounty of effort, but it's rewarding for trainer and owner alike when the results begin to show. For Dawe, it's a labor of love.

"I love dogs. I've always been around dogs. I never for once thought that I was going to be a dog trainer as my professional career," he said. "It is the most gratifying feeling in the world when I'm able to take a dog that bites people and bites other dogs and is just completely chaotic, and turn them into a civilized dog in society."

Dubón, in particular, said his dogs have been behaving noticeably better after working with Dawe for a short time.

"We were in L.A., and actually my dad saw the difference, like, 'Oh, he's behaving. He's here, sitting down. He's chilling,'" Dubón said. "But I think we got the trainer because of me. I spoil them so much."

Dawe's skill with correcting their dogs' behaviors is a plus, but for the quartet of Astros that use his services, it all goes back to how he treats them. Dogs are not just pets, they're lifelong companions, and they mean a good deal to the players and their families.

After all, the dog days of summer aren't so bad when man's best friend is there every step of the way.

"They are part of our family," Maldonado said.

MLB.com Astros beat reporter Brian McTaggart contributed to this story.