Being a good dog trainer ,whose specialty is aggression ,fear and anxiety , involves becoming quite intimate with the owner (s)
\nIt is very similar to entering into a therapeutic relationship, with a\u00a0 social worker or therapist.
\nI work with people that consider their dogs their children. Just like I do.
\nAnd their child is acting up aggressively, violently, anxiously, fearfully .
\nand they do not know how to make it right.\u00a0 I do.\u00a0 I have the ability now after many many years of honing my skill- to see, feel and grasp what can be done to right the dog, in most circumstances.\u00a0 There must be said that there are some innate drives in dogs that will override even the strongest hand and correction.
\nTheir dog is a reflection of them, just like a child. And when that reflection is a violent one \u2013 it\u2019s full of shame, guilt, doubt, frustration. Everyone looks at an aggressive dog and wants to run the other way.<\/p>\n
And then I am called . This initial phone call to me is usually \u00a0wrought \u00a0with great emotion and fear .\u00a0I want to help because I understand.<\/p>\n
I hear their stories and their \u00a0stories were my story ,many years ago. I feel empathetic. I understand the worry, the stress, the anxiety.<\/p>\n
And I say yes to being their dog trainer
\nAnd then begins very interesting, often intense process between dog, owner and I.<\/p>\n
I become intertwined in their lives for weeks, months, \u00a0sometimes \u00a0years.
\nThere \u00a0have been numerous miraculous shifts \u00a0that inspire me. The combination of intuitive understanding, patience, deliberate correction, and encouragement within a program.
\nThese all \u00a0become this miraculous recipe that leads to transformation. Those programs I will celebrate forever. There have been many and those owners often become my dear friends. We are kindred souls. We have been through the fire together. We understand what it takes to shift an \u00a0aggressive violent dog and they dive in wholeheartedly. I bow to them.<\/p>\n
Yet then there are many more times where I am taxed, emotionally drained and exhausted from the process of working with the human. I\u2019m supposed to be their savior. I\u2019m supposed to make everything right in their world yet \u00a0they have very little understanding that this is an intuitive process that requires an extreme discipline of action, leadership and introspection.\u00a0 and they are unwilling, unable and resistant to truly change<\/p>\n
They are too vulnerable to hold themselves accountable,\u00a0 so they\u00a0 blame the dog or they blame me.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been doing this almost 20 years and as much as was born to do this.<\/p>\n
In so many ways, it\u2019s starting to take a toll. How do I keep doing what I\u2019m doing and not feel my life force dwindling when someone is not satisfied. When someone is not realistic. when someone is irrational ,when someone makes me the savior that can\u2019t save them??<\/p>\n
This is why I contemplate a serious life changes. When does one\u2019s \u00a0passion become a burden?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Being a good dog trainer ,whose specialty is aggression ,fear and anxiety , involves becoming quite intimate with the owner (s) It is very similar to entering into a therapeutic relationship, with a\u00a0 social worker or therapist. I work with people that consider their dogs their children. Just like I do. And their child is … <\/p>\n