Four seasons on the field. Playoff games. The All-Star Game. Thousands of fans. Pepper is what real-world obedience looks like when you do the work.
Quick summary:Pepper is the New York Boulders’ bat dog and an example of the kind of advanced obedience, focus, and public reliability Sit Means Sit Westchester values in real-world dog training.
Pepper is the bat dog for the New York Boulders, a professional minor league baseball team. For 4 seasons, Pepper worked the field — retrieving bats after batters put the ball in play, in front of live crowds, under stadium lights, surrounded by noise, movement, and everything a dog’s instincts were not designed to ignore.
Over those seasons, Pepper worked regular season games, playoff games, the All-Star Game, a charity exhibition game featuring NYPD and FDNY first responders, and the Team Israel exhibition prior to the Olympics.
Pepper is owned and trained by Neil Cohen, founder of Sit Means Sit Westchester & Connecticut. There was no shortcut to get there. Pepper is the product of the same training philosophy Neil applies with every client dog: build real communication, real focus, and real reliability — in the real world.
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A baseball stadium is about as far from a distraction-free training environment as you can get. To perform reliably there, a dog needs:
The ball is moving. People are moving. Other dogs, food, noise — all of it happening at once. A dog that can’t hold itself has no business on a live field.
There is no leash on a baseball diamond. The dog has to respond to handler cues at distance, with zero margin for error.
Thousands of fans, public address announcements, music, and unpredictable movement. A fearful or anxious dog shuts down. A confident dog works.
The dog has to remain oriented to the handler no matter what else is happening. That connection doesn’t appear without training — it’s built deliberately.
No lunging, no barking, no reactivity. A therapy-level temperament in an extreme environment.
Commands that only work at home or in quiet environments are not real commands. Pepper’s obedience works everywhere because it was trained everywhere.
These are not tricks. These are the qualities that define a well-trained dog — and they are exactly what the Dream Dog Program is designed to build.
Pepper is not a stunt. Pepper is not a marketing mascot. Pepper is proof — a working example of what advanced obedience and a strong handler relationship look like when they are applied in the real world at the highest level of distraction.
Most of our clients are not training their dogs for a baseball stadium. They want a dog that walks calmly past other dogs. A dog that comes when called. A dog they can take anywhere without embarrassment or anxiety. A dog they can trust.
Pepper is an example of the standard we hold ourselves to. If we can produce a dog that performs reliably on a professional baseball field in front of thousands of people — we can produce results that matter to you in your everyday life.
The training that made Pepper reliable at a professional baseball game is the same training we use every day with our clients. The tools, the methodology, the standards — they don’t change based on the goal. They scale.
Whether your goal is a dog that walks without pulling, recalls reliably off-leash, stays calm around strangers, or eventually qualifies for therapy dog work, the path starts in the same place: building real communication and real reliability in real environments.
Most clients aren’t looking for a stadium dog. They just want a dog they can enjoy. We can help with that.
Schedule Your Call with Our Training Advisor, Emily ›Pepper is the bat dog for the New York Boulders, a professional minor league baseball team. Pepper served for 4 seasons, retrieving bats on the field during games and performing in front of live stadium crowds. Pepper is owned and trained by Neil Cohen of Sit Means Sit Westchester.
Pepper worked as the official bat dog for the New York Boulders, a professional minor league baseball team based in the Hudson Valley area of New York.
A bat dog retrieves bats from home plate after batters put the ball in play, running out onto a live baseball field in front of a crowd. The role requires a dog to remain calm and focused under the noise, lights, and unpredictability of a stadium environment — responding reliably to handler cues at a distance.
A stadium dog needs exceptional impulse control, reliable off-leash obedience, confidence around large crowds and loud noise, the ability to stay focused on handler cues despite extreme distraction, and a stable, non-reactive temperament. These are the same qualities Sit Means Sit Westchester builds in every dog through the Dream Dog Program.
Over 4 seasons, Pepper worked regular season games, playoff games, the All-Star Game, a charity exhibition game featuring NYPD and FDNY, and the Team Israel exhibition prior to the Olympics.
Most dogs don't need stadium-level performance — but the same foundation that made Pepper reliable at a baseball game is what makes a dog calm on walks, focused in public, and trustworthy off-leash in everyday life. Sit Means Sit Westchester's Dream Dog Program builds that foundation for any dog, any breed, any age.
Yes. Graduates of the Dream Dog Program who meet the temperament and obedience requirements can pursue K-9 Caring Angels therapy dog evaluation and certification at no additional charge. Neil Cohen is a certified evaluator for both AKC CGC and K-9 Caring Angels therapy dog testing.
But they deserve the same quality of training. Schedule your call with our Training Advisor, Emily, and we’ll tell you honestly what your dog needs and what’s realistic.
Serving Westchester County NY and Fairfield County CT from our Valhalla, NY facility. Read client reviews ›