what being a dog trainer is like: A day in the life of a California dog trainer

“wow, you have such a COOL job! you get to play with animals ALL day!” I hear this statement on an almost weekly basis. Particularly when telling people what I do for a living. They then continue on to tell me that they think they should quit their corporate job and become a dog trainer because they’ve “loved dogs all their lives”. If only it was that simple.

First off, 95% of being a dog trainer, is the ability to teach people how to work with their dogs. It is rare for me to actually spend time playing with a dog. Not in the sense of just throwing a ball or taking a walk with them anyways. I deal with people from all walks of life, and try to explain their dog to them in a way they can understand. I serve as a type of family counselor in some situations, and a dog expert in others. Take for instance the family whose wife loves the dog and refuses to get rid of it, and whose husband hates the dog and insists he stops chewing IMMEDIATELY or risk being sent to the pound. It’s my job to come up with the compromise and to make life more bearable for the dog.

Then there’s the “know it all” types of clients. They hire me to come out so they can tell me how they should be able to fix the problem. They read a book, or watched a trainer on television. Then when I give them a program to modify their dogs behavior, they want to argue that it’s not the way the book says to do it. Many of these often take a few lessons from me, or attend a class, and then hang a shingle and become self proclaimed dog trainers. They advertise 30 years experience because that’s how long they’ve owned dogs, and they try to smear me all over town. I pretty much have to ignore these types and move onto the clients I can help.

Next are the abuse cases. There was the 4 month old pit bull puppy I worked with once. When they told me the dog jumps on them, I asked what they had tried to fix the problem so far, and they said “well, we beat her with a 4 X 4.” And the sad thing was, they were serious.

Follow these with the clients who treat the dog like a piece of furniture. If I can wave my “magic wand” and have the dog trained like lassie in an hour, he can stay because he matches the furniture. Otherwise, they’ll move on to the latest rage in designer pets.

And then, the never so popular having to tell a client they should consider euthanasia. I have VERY strict policies on what constitutes a case like this. I hate doing it. Particularly when there are kids in the family. I get to be the “bad guy” and tell them to PTS the dog. This is NEVER a fun session.

Take into account all the types of cases, and throw in dealing with dogs who want to tear into me on a regular basis, and you get more of a glimpse of my job. At least the downsides to it.

Plus of course, a good dog trainer must also be a good business person. There are endless phone calls and client emails, a need for constant advertising and interaction with other pet professionals, and a whole lot of paperwork.

If you were to look at a typical day during my busy season this is what it would look like. Get up at 6:30 to feed and clean up after my own dogs. Take them for a walk or head to the kennel to work with whatever board and trains I have in at the time. Depending on how easy those dogs are this could take a couple of hours or longer. Then drive sometimes over an hour to go to a private session and help families solve problems for 1-1.5 hours at a time. Repeat this a few times in a day. Head back home to work my own dogs, feed and clean, then relax from about 6pm on, or spend a couple of hours on the phone or email with client questions, generally hearing the same types of questions again, and again, and again and again and again. On nights when I have classes, I generally get home around 8pm, head for bed, and start over the next day.

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE my job. I’m extremely passionate about the dogs and I love my clients. Sure, there are sometimes clients I’d prefer not to deal with, but for the most part, I enjoy spending time with them. I enjoy the puzzle solving and heavy thinking it sometimes takes to fix the problems. I enjoy it when the dogs love me and remember me when they see me on the street later. I love how it feels when I see a dog change from an aggressive teenage brat, to a sweet and loyal companion dog. And I love the depth it adds to the families I work with when they can now enjoy their pets.

I think it’s just important to put it into perspective though. My job is tough. It requires lots of thinking, people skills, and a LOT of continuing education to be good at this job. It requires EXTREME amounts of patience, and the ability to speak a foreign language (dog-ese). And not only must I have these skills, I must be able to instill them into my clients in order to be successful.

So no, while being a full time professional dog trainer is fun, it is a lot more work then meets the eye. I can’t even skim the surface in a blog post.

should I get a dog?

Travelingmom posted this: “My kids are DYING for a dog. They ask me every single day. my 9 y/o has done internet research to find a dog I might like. I know nothing about dogs and barely have time to shower myself let alone another living being. I might be able to handle a small dog that doesn’t shed. Any suggestions? Should I continue to ignore my kids’ sad, whining pleas?”

And here is my reply! I receive questions like this quite often. “Should I get a dog?” I think quite a bit of the answer depends on you. Do YOU want a dog. How old are the kids? etc. Generally it is not a good idea for a parent to get their kids a dog unless the parent wants to take responsibility for the dog when the kids grow bored with it. The appropriate care for a dog does take quite a bit of time. There is time needed to exercise, feed, clean up after, groom, and play with/give mental stimulation to the dog. Granted, different breeds have different requirements. A cocker spaniel will need more grooming then a short haired breed, but all need to be brushed at some point. There is no such thing as a dog that doesn’t need ANY grooming. Even a chinese crested with little to no hair will need some skin care. There are some breeds who have a coat with more of a hair texture then fur, but they still require brushing.

At the same time, a dog does provide a family with many benefits. My grandmother for instance lived alone. She did not want a dog but I convinced her to rescue one. Simon sat at her side for the last 10 years of her life and was her ever faithful companion. Dogs are loyal, and if given the care they need and deserve, they will give you lots of tail wags, laughter, and they’ll comfort you when down. They lower our blood pressure and keep us young. They can also teach kids about responsibility while caring for another living being.

So the answer to the question is, it really is up to you. If I was in your shoes, I would research the needs of a dog (independent of what the kids say) and determine how much you’re willing to invest into the dog. Particularly if the kids grow tired of him. It also depends on how responsible your kids really are. I know LOTS of families who got a dog when the 9-10 year old wanted one, but when the child hit 14-16 and wanted to go out with her friends, the dog was abandoned. Then again, there are kids who really will spend time with the dog. I was one of those. At 9 years old I trained my first dog. He changed my life and shaped my future career.

Training a deaf dog or a dog with so called “limitations”

I was 10 years old when I decided I wanted to train Pepsi. She was a collie mix of some sort, and probably about 10 years old. Sweet and docile with a willingness to please, she also had a couple of limitations. She was in fact, blind and deaf. She was not born that way, but age had taken it’s toll on her. If I had started when I was older I might have been daunted by the thought of trying to train a 10 year old blind and deaf dog. But being 10 years old, I didn’t understand anything about that. I just knew that I loved to train dogs.

More dog park fun!

Yesterday I went to the dog park for a client. She was having problems with her small dog when at the dog park. While I stated my opinion again that I do not prefer dog parks because of the inability to control certain factors (like the other dogs owners) I went with her. According to her, the dog would snap when another dog came up. In evaluating the dog, I found that this little girl was very small, and did not really want bigger dogs noses in places they shouldn’t be. She was not aggressive, just simply requesting politeness from other dogs. This is not the point of this post however.

Leadership and dominance

I have been thinking a LOT about leadership and dominance theories in dogs lately. It seems to be one of the most hotly debating topics in the industry. You have trainers that seem to think that you are the leader of your pack if you can physically force the animal to his side, and others who are now saying that there is no such thing as dominance in a dog.

difference between dominance theory and leadership in dogs

I found this article to be interesting. There are many points I agree with, a few that I disagree with. There IS a difference between dominance theory, and leadership theory. One I agree with, the other I disagree with. I’ve spent enough time around both dogs and wolves to know what a “pack” REALLY is like in both animals. Check it out! http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonline/images/stories/Position_Statements/dominance%20statement.pdf

I will have more on this topic at a later date.

pros and cons of pinch or prong collars

In our comments section we had someone asking about more training collar options, so I’ll start working on these as time allows:-)

The “pinch collar” also called the “prong collar” is a fairly controversial piece of training equipment. As with any training collar, it can be abused, or it can be used as an effective training tool.  There are trainers that will rant and rave about how the use of them says that a handler is abusive at best. There are other trainers that use them on every dog.

where to find a dog

Considering that many of the animal rights activists in our country continuously scream about the pet overpopulation problem, often times I am approached by families looking for a dog. Where should they go? Who should they trust? What happens if they buy a puppy over the internet? 

Yesterday I was training Hawk just outside the open back of my van. I heard Phoenix barking and turned around just in time to see a cute little pup (I’ll attach a pic!) jump into my van. Considering where I was and what her body condition is like, I assume some family could not afford to keep her and they dumped her at the park to become “someone else’s problem”. It’s so very unfortunate for this little girl. She is extremely thin, scared of alot of things (though she seems to like people, kids and other dogs), and she was VERY thirsty for some clean water I’m sure. She just happened to jump into the right van, I decided I will take her in, put some weight on her, foster her, and then find her the most perfect home. With a face like this what else could I do? 

 

Speagle the beagle/spaniel mix

So it wasn’t very hard for me to find a dog for a pet home. Most people just want a cute dog that fits in with their family. I would urge you to consider diligently your needs for a dog. 

I also have purchased dogs from well known and reputable breeders. I require a specific type of quality in the dogs I compete with, and I know what I’m looking for, and what pedigrees to find it in. I am kind of sick of AR activists calling me inhumane or worse for knowing what i want in a dogs pedigree and going for that. I have been involved with rescue throughout my life, often taking the time to diligently find excellent homes for a variety of dogs and dog breeds. Much of my life has been dedicated to keeping dogs in their homes in the FIRST place. I have a rescue dog in my home currently. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t ever go to a reputable breeder either. If you want to save a dog, consider the pound, or shelter. MAYBE even a reputable rescue without quite the “agenda”. If you are looking for specific qualities, research breeds that have those qualities, you may be able to find a breed rescue. If you, like me, need to know pedigrees in order to help better the breed, purchase from a reputable breeder. So what makes a reputable breeder? More on that later!

group obedience classes forming

sorry for the interruption in our normal programming but it was pointed out to me that in an advertisement I posted the link to this blog but NOT the link to my training website. Please forgive me. Feel free to look around the blog for information on a variety of topics, or sign up for my classes in Lancaster or Agua Dulce at http://btk9academy.edogtrainer.com  or visit our main website at: http://www.blazingtrailsk9academy.com  

Helping dogs live longer – controlling weight

I was on Sparkpeople.com today and while logging my fitness minutes I realized there is no such site like this for dogs. Maybe someday I’ll decide to do it, but it got me to thinking. While American’s have gained weight considerably in the last few decades, so have our dogs. They lay around the house getting fed tasty morsels from the dinner plate, and they grow pudgy. Is it really that bad?