Gone to the dogs

Over the summer I have been thinking of things I would like to do other than teaching. One of those things is training dogs.

I go to the park and watch owners that have no clue struggle with their pups. They want the most well behaved dog, but constantly make mistakes that enable the dog to be worse. And continue with inconsistency.

How does one go about doing this? Well for me, I have had several dogs over my lifetime. Good ones and not so good ones. I have done my best to train them, with each one better trained than the last. Learning my mistakes along the way.

Anyhow, to make a long story short. My dog comes to me at the park when I call her. She sits and stays (for a minute) even while other dogs are playing. People see this and wonder how it could be. (smart dog) (and a little help from treats:)) Nonetheless, they see this and want to know how it is done. I started putting the thought out there with a few of my friends at the park. Word has spread and yesterday a young (18yr old) girl desperately sought my advice. Her dog is the dominant one in the house, he bites and doesn’t listen. He is a beagle mix and about 7 lbs. I sat with her and explained that she needed to be the dominant one and showed her a technique that has worked for me with 4 of my dogs. Then when I got home last night, I received another call… this time a one on one dog training with an australian shepherd. I start this Sunday… I am so excited. Right now, I am not making money but working for references. I am also thinking of putting together a 4 week 1 hour course to get my name out there and charging about 10$ for the entire course. We shall see. But I am excited to do something other than teaching kids:)

Don’t get me wrong I love my students, but I think it’ll be a nice change of pace:)