I AM NOONE SPECIAL

I am no one special!  I am NOT SOME GREAT GERU of dogs. I have worked my butt off to get to where I am in knowledge and experience! Yes, I do have a gift with animals that comes from God.  I do not believe that the gift and knowledge is limited to me! I also believe that everyone has his or her own journey to walk in life and with dog training.  Sometimes it is about time, sometimes it is about life, but the END IS NEVER TOTAL ACHIEVED or completed when it comes to dog training.  No matter how much I know I CAN ALWAYS LEARN MORE! ALWAYS!!! ALWAYS! NO ONE WAY WORKS FOR EVERY DOG OR EVERY PERSON!

It is also OK to pay a lot of money for a good DAD, but here is a little secret; you are still going to have to learn how to train it!  You are going to have to learn how THAT TRAINER communicated with that dog! It is very reasonable and feasible that the price tag would be in the neighborhood of 20 K for a well trained fully alerting dog!  However you have to remember that you still have to learn how that dog was trained.  Dogs are NOT ROBOTS!  They are living breathing, thinking, and feeling creatures!

Many people think that MORE MONEY means a better PRODUCT!  It is the way of our world!  I was taught at a very early age HARD WORK pays off!  KNOWLEDGE pays off...not always in money but in success!  I have paid for training. I have paid to learn from others. I have also learned a lot just from experience of watching dogs.  Very often if we don’t pay something we tend to not value it! For example I hate asking 1500 to 2000 grand for my baby puppies but I know what THEY ARE WORTH EVERY DIME and MORE! If you factor in the cost of the litter, my time, and training that price is VERY CHEAP!  The head start that you get with these pups is amazing.

As most know I am a huge proponent of SELF TRAINING! But it ONLY WORKS when you are willing to ask/pay for help when you need it and IF YOU ARE COMMITTED 100 percent to the cause! It takes TIME! It takes PATIENCE! It takes PERSTISTANCE!  You have to be WILLING TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET THE OUTCOME YOU DESERVE!  There is no TIME TABLE and life will happen but YOU HAVE TO GO THE DISTANCE…NO MATTER WHAT THAT MEANS!

No matter where that diabetic alert dog comes from you MUST BUILD A RELATIONSHIP with that dog! You have to spend time learning about dogs.  You read, watch, and listen every chance you get!  Sometimes it will not apply to your current dog! However down the road it just might so you need to file it away for future reference! My house and file cabinets are full of books, videos, cds, and assorted other dog training stuff! I learned very quickly that relationship is built through training but it is also built through just spending time with the dog!  Appreciating what the dog gives you in that moment! It is hard to not keep expecting the dog to do more and more, but a dog also needs time to just BE!

Bravo is turning SEVEN this year and I STILL have training things to do and HE STILL LEARNS NEW THINGS!  DOG TRAINING IS NEVER FINISHED! It is LIKE BEING A PARENT! You will always be a parent no matter how old the kid gets, however the roles do change and mature!  WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THAT WE KEEP OUR EYE OR THE PRIZE! WE LEARN!  WE GROW!  IT TAKES AS LONG AS IT TAKES!

 I try to never bash others for how they do things what I don’t understand is why I and others like me get bashed for recommending self-training.  I believe most people are smart enough to do this! They just need guidance!  I have more or as much dog experience as many of the ones doing the bashing.  I have successfully trained dogs to the upper levels in 8 venues.  WHY??? Because I believe in dogs! I believe in our relationship with dogs! And because I am still amazed by what we can teach dogs and WHAT DOGS TEACH US!  THE MORE I KNOW ABOUT SOME PEOPLE, THE MORE I PREFER TO BE WITH MY DOGS!