034 | Aimee of Pawfect Behaviour on everything mindset and dogs and leaving the UK to be a Dubai dog trainer

034 | Aimee of Pawfect Behaviour on everything mindset and dogs and leaving the UK to be a Dubai dog trainer

How does a UK national end up a dog (and other animals) trainer in Dubai? Just listening to Aimee’s backstory will have you in awe of the way she has stayed true to herself making big life decisions.

We talk about how she tries to make clients feel like they can share everything with her as a trainer so that they don’t have to hide their feelings and frustration.

We discuss how breed stereotypes and other assumptions may prevent us from recognizing our dogs are in pain.  Are poodles simply fussy eaters or is there an underlying problem with their teeth causing them pain when they eat?

What about the disappointment we feel when our dog’s behavior seems to relapse? What can we do? Should we try something new or go back to basics?

Links:
Aimee’s business in Dubai:
https://pawfectgroup.com/
Aimee on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/pawfectbehaviourme/

Want to be less crushed by training setbacks?

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033 |Agnieszka Janarek of Tromplo on errorless learning, (lack of) perfectionism and resilience in both humans and dogs

033 |Agnieszka Janarek of Tromplo on errorless learning, (lack of) perfectionism and resilience in both humans and dogs

This episode is for you if you identify as a perfectionist. Simply talking with Aga, the short version for Agnieszka about the concept of errorless learning has given me another way to look at perfectionism and how it can (often but not always) be unhelpful.

Aga talks about training behaviors to fluency which is different from perfection, and about the benefits of playing by someone else’s rules now and then, just to get you out of your comfort zone.

She will have you completely rethink the idea of “just one more repetition” and “ending on a win”.

 

Not just that. What about extinction and frustration? Do we need frustration or can we skip it?

Aga also blew my mind by giving me a way of looking at resilience completely differently. What if resilience, the ability to bounce back, isn’t an innate trait? What if it simply amounts to having a big enough skillset to be able to handle errors? And since skills can be taught, what if you could teach resilience? Errorlessly? With minimal frustration?

How does this apply to humans?

How does she apply it in her personal life and her business?

And of course, we chat about Agnieszka’s new book, the Animal Trainer’s Comprehensive Handbook.

Listen to this episode multiple times. It’s packed with gems!

Links:

Tromplo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tromplo/

Agnieszka’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agnieszkajanarektrainer/

The Tromplo website: https://tromplo.com/

The link to the new book, the Animal Trainer’s Comprehensive Handbook: https://tromplo.com/product/animal-trainers-comprehensive-handbook-by-agnieszka-janarek/

 

Also mentioned:

Dr. Susan Friedman: https://www.behaviorworks.org/

Ken Ramirez: https://www.kenramireztraining.com/

Kay Laurence: https://www.learningaboutdogs.com/

 

Is perfectionism getting in your way?

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032 | Ninke Lemmens & Luka en Ellie over buitenlandse adoptie honden, de zoektocht naar hulp, en de rol van pijn

032 | Ninke Lemmens & Luka en Ellie over buitenlandse adoptie honden, de zoektocht naar hulp, en de rol van pijn

Als Ninke Luka adopteert heeft hij al twee jaar lang in een Russisch asiel gezeten. Eenmaal thuis in Belgisch Limburg durft hij niet eens binnen te komen, zo ontzettend moet hij wennen aan zijn nieuwe leven.

Goedbedoelde adviezen als “da’s een een scheper, die moet u wel bezig houden” blijken voor Luka helemaal niet te werken.
Ninke vertelt over de omzwervingen die haar uiteindelijk naar Daniëlla van Paws in Touch leiden en wat haar overtuigde om toch nog weer meer geld in training te steken.

 

Althans, het belangrijkste voor Luka blijkt om helemaal niet te “trainen”, maar om juist in te zetten op rust.
Als later blijkt dat Luka weer achteruit gaat, vertrouwt Ninke het niet. Ze vermoedt dat er pijn in het spel kan zijn. Eerste röntgen foto’s laten “slechts” een milde heupdysplasie aan één heup zien.
Gelukkig gaat Ninke af op haar eigen intuïtie en laat ze verder onderzoek doen. Luka blijkt gruwelijk pijn te hebben van een zware hernia.

Ondertussen is ook Ellie bij het gezin gekomen. Wat heeft Ninke anders gedaan bij Ellie? Heeft ze op andere dingen gelet? Wat maakte dat ze het aandurfde er nog een tweede hond bij te nemen?

En last but not least, wat zou ze andere hondenbaasjes als advies mee willen geven?

Links:

Luka & Ellie op Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adogcalledluka/

Paws in Touch: https://pawsintouch.be/

Wil jij ook weer meer op je intuïtie leren vertrouwen?

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031 | Georgie of Trickwoofs on compassion fatigue in the dog training world, the parallels with raising a human child, learning to love frustration, and more

031 | Georgie of Trickwoofs on compassion fatigue in the dog training world, the parallels with raising a human child, learning to love frustration, and more

If you follow any kind of dog related social media, then you will know Georgie, where she posts under the handle @trickwoofs.

You will have seen the lovely whimsical cartoons she draws about life with a reactive dog, which are so extremely on point they always make me laugh.

A particular cartoon comes to mind that has the guardian and their dog navigating the urban jungle that is the city, James Bond style, ducking behind walls and sneaking around corners, all in an attempt to avoid triggers.

 

The topics we discuss are as diverse as Georgie’s interests.

We talk about compassion fatigue in the dog training world, the parallels to raising a human child, learning to love frustration, following your passion and almost feeling like you’re not worthy of it, and so much more.

 

Did you know, Georgie transitioned from a modeling career to dog training?

Many people wanting to make a career switch in life will recognize the little voice that Georgie describes. The one that asks the question: Could I really be worthy of making a living doing the thing I love?

 

I ask Georgie about compassion fatigue in the dog world and the dog rescue world in particular.

She describes it as no longer feeling anything when you know you should be feeling something. It’s like the body shuts down to all emotions.

The question becomes. How does one prevent or overcome it? Georgie’s short answer is by finding community and talking about it! To not believe that there is some kind of limit below which it is no longer okay to ask for help.

She also recommends finding what works for you when it comes to doing a bodily reset. For her it’s yoga and breathwork, but for someone it might be boxing or rock climbing.

 

We talk about allowing emotions in ours dogs and ourselves similar to what we do with our children and not feeling the pressure to of needing to respond to something.

 

And of course, we talk about her art, and her other project which is the development of a treat dispensing muzzle. What keeps her going? What allows her to press pause when needed? What has she learned about failure and also:

How DOES she manage to combine all the things she does (and she does a LOT)?

Links:

The Trickwoofs website: https://www.trickwoofs.com/

Trickwoofs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trickwoofs/

And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trickwoofs

 

Are you dealing with compassion fatigue? Scared about switching careers?

Coaching gives you the tools to be able to sort this stuff out, so you can live the life you want.

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029 | Ali & Indie, on becoming and being a dog trainer and not burning out

029 | Ali & Indie, on becoming and being a dog trainer and not burning out

Ali was from London but now lives in Maryland

We talk about how she got into the business of dog training, which has a little something to do with her German Shepherd cross Indie.

We talk about the widespread misunderstanding that all dogs should love all dogs and I may or may not tell an anecdote of me hugging a stranger to try and show them that they wouldn’t appreciate being crowded either. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work.

 

Ali also explains something that I think is amazing:

She tells new clients to first take a break from everything (like training) for a week or so, so they can reconnect with all the reasons why they love their dog in the first place.

 

Another tough nut to crack for most of us is that of questioning authority. Ali had fewer difficulties there as asking “Why?” comes naturally to her. My hope is that by listening to Ali talk, more people will feel free to do the same.

 

Ali’s training philosophy is that she wants to provide people with the skills that allow them to be able to tackle possible future setbacks, since it serves us well to take into account that your anxious dog will probably keep showing some anxiety from time to time, despite all the training effort you put in.

Speaking of training and being a trainer, working 80 hours a week is no exception in the dog world and at first it wasn’t for Ali either.

We talk about all things dog professional:

The emotional burden of being a dog trainer, the taking on the setback and emotions of your clients, not earning enough to make a living, and giving away a part of you every time so that there’s less and less of you to go around.

 

So, how did she manage to find that elusive work-life balance?

Upon moving to the USA she completely restructured her business and she explains what that looks like.

Her advice to aspiring dog trainers: Don’t try to be everything to all people.

And finally, there’s Ali’s summary of her thoughts on expectation, frustration and celebration. It’s so on point, that I would be remiss if I didn’t write it down here:

Manage expectation, minimize frustration, maximize celebration

Links:

Ali’s website: https://rebarkable.com/

Find Ali on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/re.barkable/

Ali’s podcast “Ask Ali” on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/ask-ali-a-professional-dog-trainer-answers-your-dog/id1586671078

and on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/49evBFpTbFUdOakjRA6FTV?si=21ad9666aa1d4e27

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