It's ALL about the DOG!

 After working at a client’s house for 3 hours then driving home 40 miles, I began thinking over my whole afternoon and what lead to taking on this challenge. I received a phone call last week from a woman that was distraught over the aggressive behavior of her dog. The longer I talked with her I knew that this was not a quick fix and would be very time consuming. However, as she began to sob and explain that she did not know what else to do, my heart began to ache for her. She had hit her wall and had decided maybe she should give up on her dog, maybe she should give her up. Then she sobbed even more for she had lived with her companion for five years now and giving her up would be more than difficult. In addition to the problem with her dog, her financial resources were low and she knew I was at least 40 miles away. Would all this be enough to make me turn her away? How many trainers have been in this scenario?

I decided to accept the offer, reduce the fee to cover my gas, set up the appointment and I was on my way. When I got to her house, she met me outside and was very excited to see me. It was lunch time and she had grilled me a hamburger, offered me some chips and a nice piece of pie! I was very humbled. I then went to work with her dog. One hour for the dog to approach me, the 2nd hour for me to comfortably handle the dog and start teaching the exercises I wanted them to practice with her. The third hour I wrote out the plan and practiced the clicker with the owner until she was comfortable. Then the session was over and a new one was set up. She and I walked to my car, suddenly she stopped and sobbed. She said I just want you to know, my daughter moved away and I was very sad so I turned my attention to my dog. Then my father, who adored my dog, passed away and once again I turned my attention to my dog. She has helped me through a lot and I have spoiled her. If you can help her you will have no idea what you have done for me.

Why have I shared this experience with you? It is support for my fellow trainers, rescue groups and anyone else involved with dogs that make the extra effort to help. You see we all have to make a living and I know that is very difficult sometimes in our business. However, there comes a point when the dollar and time just doesn’t matter. We have no idea what a pet means to someone or how it has impacted their life. Many of us work endless hours to rescue and bring families together that are split over their family dog. However I tire over cookie cutter training; bring people in, put their dog in the training mold, take their money and send them home. What I hear is, it doesn’t matter if the dog is getting it, it is a business! There are numerous training business out there where this is the goal but there are many more compassionate, positive trainers who spend hours studying, researching and learning about new training techniques. I applaud you! I challenge myself and you to keep stretching ourselves, reach out to those who need you, even when it doesn’t make sense and you will be amazed at what you will receive in the end.

We will be able to help this dog, you see the problem was not near as big as the owner thought, it will take several sessions but now we have a plan. She said she would sleep much better tonight and I drove home on a high that money could never buy.