Your experience of working with dogs.

[emmabeth]

As a fellow self employed person, I think with any self employment you do get that sort of 'it was fun, now is a chore' aspect.

That is why I and a lot of other self employed persons tend to have our fingers in several pies at once!

So whilst most of what I do is dog related, not all of it involves one-to-one with people - I do struggle with people who won't do as they are told! I also do leatherwork (when I am fully fit and well, so its on hold at the moment), which is mainly dog leads, collars etc, and a minor sideline in arty things too...

So each day is different and I never get that 'here we go again' mundane, rat race feeling.

It CAN get a bit boring repeating the same basic stuff over and over, however I find that giving people the tools and skills they need to share a happy life with their dog really outweighs that, and when you unlock the inner dog-geek in someone, thats BRILLIANT. As is when someone finds the penny has dropped and they are making progress - its SUCH a buzz!

[CoolDog]

emmabeth said:As a fellow self employed person, I think with any self employment you do get that sort of 'it was fun, now is a chore' aspect.

That is why I and a lot of other self employed persons tend to have our fingers in several pies at once!

So whilst most of what I do is dog related, not all of it involves one-to-one with people - I do struggle with people who won't do as they are told! I also do leatherwork (when I am fully fit and well, so its on hold at the moment), which is mainly dog leads, collars etc, and a minor sideline in arty things too...

So each day is different and I never get that 'here we go again' mundane, rat race feeling.

It CAN get a bit boring repeating the same basic stuff over and over, however I find that giving people the tools and skills they need to share a happy life with their dog really outweighs that, and when you unlock the inner dog-geek in someone, thats BRILLIANT. As is when someone finds the penny has dropped and they are making progress - its SUCH a buzz!

I think you need to do what other dog trainers, including Victoria, does: show the clients how to train their dog and then working with the clients by having them train their dogs that way you can see if they have method of training packed inside their heads, so that they will be training their dogs, because after all, the dog will trust them more, if you think of it that way, and you can check on them to see how their progress is going. This way, you can answer any questions they may have or just be there to catch anything they're doing wrong and correct them on the proper training methods. In other words, you're putting the job of responsibility in training on the client and not allowing them to blame you if something goes wrong!

[Flyby]

....i would love to work with animals, but i don't know how i would deal with seeing the bad side of the way PEOPLE treat their animals, if that makes sense.

Complete sense to me. I once toyed with the idea of the S.S.P.C.A. work, (that's a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), and helping animals in serious trouble. I'd love that side of things, but just don't think I could deal those kinds of people very successfully, nor risk becomming indifferent to what I might see on the front line.

There are programs on TV now following RSPCA people, who raid homes where people are trapping wild birds for sale. The trapped birds become evidence, and not released until the Court confirms they can be released, and have to remain in captivity for months and they often die. I would really struggle with the dilemma between get the person convicted and not letting the birds go fee immediately, - which is why I should best leave that type of work to others.

[WufWuf]

Hi Minkee

I too dream of helping animals and people understand each other better someday. I've been reading everything i can for the last few years and 2 years ago i started helping out at a dog shelter. It's hard smelly work and yes sometimes it's tough to deal with but i would gladly to it for free everyday if i could. I used to do 3 full days a week but due to health problems i'm reduced to one afternoon visit a week.
If you can find somewhere to volunteer you'll be amazed how much you learn from the dogs. The people you meet may also be able to give you ins to other areas of the dog world such as trainers, groomers, working dogs,vets etc. It might also help you decide if you want to do the course as you will experience some of what it's like to work with pet owners, e.g answering their questions about the dogs, taking in dogs and doing home checks.

Good luck i'd love to hear how you get on!