Secrets of a Dog Trainer
Oodles of Doodles1. It’s a lifestyle, not just a job. If you don’t like muddy pawprints on your coat, rain, standing on your feet all day, smelly vehicles and a uniform of jeans, wellies and sweatshirts – then it’s not the job for you.
2. We talk to each other more than you might think. About the best walking boots, what clothing we are wearing for today’s weather, our financial struggles, the traffic, dodgy men in the woods, fallen trees, etc. It’s a lonely job but we have each other’s backs from a distance.
3. We don’t physically have eyes in the backs of our heads but we know so well the sound of every jingle of every ID tag, and every dog’s individual footfall on the ground behind us.
4. We can’t physically see round corners either, but we know so well each leading dog’s body language in reaction to an oncoming person and/or dog to enable us to make fast decisions.
5. We hear “Are they all yours?!” and “Wow you’ve got your hands full” at least twice a day, but we always smile and say “They keep me on my toes”. Every. Single. Time.
6. If you peel back a few layers of clothing (depending on the season) you will find bruises, scratches and scrapes covering parts of our bodies – we have no idea where they have come from.
7. If you see a dog trainer looking presentable on a weekday, this is because we are not training that day.
8. If we run a doggy daycare as well, we hoover, mop, disinfect, hoover, mop, disinfect on a constant loop.
9. We love our clients’ dogs as we do our own and will sometimes lie awake at night worrying about their injuries, illnesses, and behavioural problems. We can’t help it after spending so much time with them.
10. We love people as much as dogs – any trainer who says they want to be a trainer because “they love dogs” will be in for a shock because we spend most of the time training the humans!
Isabelle Adams-Papé IMDT
Ringwood Dogs, Three Legged Cross on the Dorset, Hampshire and New Forest border.
Dog Training, Dog Day Care, Home Dog Boarding, Dog Walking
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