#service dogs have training

[abirddogmoment]

today's hot take for dog people: management is not the same thing as training.

[luna-loveboop]

Hey shoutout to the guy at the store who started talking about my service dog, and when I looked uncomfortable and couldn't answer, politely said 'have a nice day' and walked off.

I couldn't tell you in that moment how much I appreciate it, but respect and allowing service dog owners to stay silent rather than engaging in conversation with a stranger is a rarity.

Thanks

[fayeandknight]

Even more find the keys practice.

I don't know what it says about me that his first thought was to check the dumpster, but it's probably accurate lol

[connorskeepers]

Frost covered grass makes for very happy hooskers

[x22817]

"the most well behaved dog here!" -five different vendors at the farmers market

[skankhunt44]

Yeah I'm a fucking dick,

But this dick isn't supporting terrorism and isn't sympathetic for people who want to ethnically cleanse the middle East funded by the UN?

Lol yes, Karen, you're totally on the right side of history here, you're quoting antisemetic tropes from both the Nazis and the KKK handbooks, and openly calling for ethnically cleansing Jews from Israel which they call "isn't real" or whatever but it's named over 100 times in the Quran, and I've read the xtian bible it's mentioned probably twice that at least. But it isn't real. Sorry it's hard not to laugh at that logic.

Glad we had this chat.

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

Did you see the part where Meg was annoyed that only dogs can be qualified to be service medical dogs? lol guess she's mad a bird can't be a service cardic arrest animal. Once again pulled up the "people think only DOGS can be trained to do this!!! How dare they!!!" *grumbling about mammalian bias* argument. I'm sorry Meg but your fucking bird or a rabbit cannot be a service animal for the blind or anything that dogs have be bred to do

me when they won’t let my service crocodile into Walmart:

[grainsofexcellence]

Here's me working with all my assistance animals on sharing and manners. My son's the rudest while my two girls are so patient.

[scandalousscarlet83]

Dumped by phone call out of nowhere after 9 months. I'm completely shocked and absolutely blindsided. I really thought he was the one.

[healingheartdogs]

I know it's been a few years since I've run my own dog training business instead of working for someone else for exploitation wages and that previously I was working in the rural south where prices are a bit different in general, but out of curiosity I decided to look at some dog training services in my area in upstate NY today and got hit with sticker shock ngl.

Most places don't post their prices so I could only compare a few (which... I sort of get since they want to avoid competition doing what I'm doing right now lol but as someone who has run a dog training business and had business marketing included in my education it's something I see as an... *interesting* choice, because most clients want to know price up front without having to contact you and wait for a response because they probably already have a budget in mind and just want to be able to quickly see if you fit into it or not, which means not having prices posted will make some potential clients immediately look elsewhere and if you don't even have some sort of price range for services posted somewhere then most of your calls and emails will just be people asking for pricing and a majority of those calls and emails will not lead to services purchased so it ends up wasting a lot of unpaid time on office work BUT THATS AN UNRELATED TOPIC, I DIGRESS) but WOWZA the ones that did have prices posted really made me realize I do NOT live in a low cost of living place anymore.

One of the popular places here that I looked at charges $150+ for ONE training session with one of their APPRENTICE trainers. It's double that price to train with one of their more experienced dog trainers for just one session.

I looked back at some of the trainers I was competing with back in FL and NC to compare as well as the dog training school I went to just to check and see if prices were getting that high in other rural areas, and nope. Most places $300 would still get you at least three - maybe up to six - private lessons spread out over three (or six, or whatever) weeks, which is the pricing range I'm used to seeing dog trainers in the rural south suffer with because of places like Petsmart setting the pricing bar so low.

I'm pretty sure I have more formal dog training education and certification than most of the employees at this place too since even their main "behaviorist" (not a protected title in the USA so anyone can call themselves that) has no certifications listed at all that I can find, so... I guess now that I live here if I ever start training again I'm going to have to rethink my pricing lol even if I don't charge those kinds of prices I clearly still need to bump them up in this area from what I used to charge in order to be competitive with these other training businesses.

[elvenferretots]

Maybe the problem isn't more places being dog-friendly. Maybe the problem is that American dogs are chronically ungroomed and unexercised. Maybe the problem is that dogs who are brought in public should be kept in training classes or competitions longterm to maintain their training and emotional wellbeing. Maybe the problem is that dogs need to have trained public access skills to be safe and considerate to bring in public.

The problem is not businesses allowing dogs (grocery stores and indoor restaurants can't legally be dog friendly, so that's a straw man argument); but that dog owners have a huge problem with selecting, caring for, and training their dogs to the standards of the society we live in.

[luna-loveboop]

Yo

I'm gonna not post anything for linktober today or probably tomorrow bc I'm waiting on the right equipment- all my shiny things are dull and I also need new safety gloves- and the last time I cut myself cutting glass it got infected so. I want proper equipment before I continue :) I'll catch up probably! Or just skip a day or two, but the plan is to catch up. I'm having a lot of fun with this and appreciate all the support :P

[fayeandknight]

My 8.5 hour drive turned into 10 and now I'm cranky and out of sorts. 8 is not bad with a break halfway. 9 makes me antsy but 10 as a solo driver is where I start to really hit my limit.

Going to relax with a good book and my faithful companion and hopefully have a good day tomorrow at the seminar.

[x22817]

We went Places and did Things

Place 1: A farm with lots of puppies and kitties running everywhere. We worked on our down stays with these kittens and a puppy who I didn't get a picture of. Hek was so good that she even let this little guy climb on top of her while she stayed in that spot. I was very impressed, not going to lie.

Place 2: Our favorite cemetery to stop at on our way home. It was so nice out we had a little picnic under the lovely trees. We talked to this really cool, nice guy who fought in the war of 1812

Herz had just "down stayed" very nicely for 3 hours so this was the only time I actually asked her to recall so we could go back to the car. I honestly didn't want to do anything. I thought I should but we just enjoyed the nice weather and good sniffs

[hellishvxbes]

The only thing I do on Twitter is retweet gay shit and tell ppl they are stupid as fuck

[dogtiber]

took Tiber to a pottery class last night and he was so good and well behaved. I worry so much about his behavior in public but man I think I just have unrealistic standards for us in public (hello anxiety) because he really is just so good. did he perfectly settle next to me the whole time? no. but he just wandered around gently at my feet on leash and was quiet and unobtrusive and sweet and gentle to everyone. he only barked once when he got himself tangled around the table. he did go settle on his mat whenever I asked. and that is so good for a one and a half year old puppy. he got lots of treats and pats and I made a cool ring dish.