06/26/2024
Y’all…. I’m tired.
I’m tired of clients thinking it’s okay to cancel an appointment last minute (or even worse; a no-call-no-show) and expect there to be no fee. This isn’t solely hobby of mine, it’s my career and livelihood. Being a small scale facility, we depend on our appointments for scheduling and financial purposes.
I’m tired of doing private lessons when the client walks in and the first thing they say is “I haven’t worked on any of the homework the last week”. So, now we can either have a repeat lesson of last week (which is a waste of time for both of us) or we will skip this lesson so you can go home and practice (which goes back to the last point).
I’m tired of clients thinking they can drop off or pick up their dog at any point of the day when we have set hours for this (that have never changed) in addition to requiring them to select a time for both when scheduling. I’m not sitting behind a desk all day; we have lessons to teach, consultations to hold, play groups to run, dogs to train and field trips to go on.
I’m tired of clients thinking they have 24/7 access to me and get mad when I don’t respond at 9pm or while I’m at my nieces high-school graduation. I understand your dog is in my care, but I also get to have a life. Your dogs are treated better than my own and no news is good news in this instance.
I’m tired of spending weeks working with a dog while pouring literal blood, sweat and tears into most of them. Getting them to a point where their owner NEVER thought they would be able to. Taking HOURS making sure the owner is fully capable and understanding of how to continue working with their dog after the program. Only to never receive an update until months later and they are complaining that the dog “knows nothing” when in reality… they never once worked with their dog after the program and never reached out to me for help with anything. Our programs are not cheap and I’ll never understand why some people seemingly just throw that money away.
I’m tired of clients thinking I have a magic wand and that I can fix any and every problem with any and every dog while also expecting it to be done quickly. Though I appreciate the confidence placed within me, truthfully that is incredibly unrealistic. Dogs are not machines and have minds and bodies of their own. Each one needs a different and customized approach to their specific problems and needs. Dogs are NOT trained in 2, 4 or even 6 weeks. This is a lifelong commitment, especially with behavior modification but I don’t have enough time to talk about that.
What was once a burning passion is turning into a burning burden and unfortunately it’s due to the people, not the dogs. Thankfully, the good ones outweigh the bad ones tenfold.
Signed,
A burnt out dog trainer
