STEP 1๏ธโฃ: ๐CLICK ON THE LINK๐
STEP 2๏ธโฃ: GO AND EXPLORE! STEP 3๏ธโฃ: THAT'S IT! ENJ
(1)
WHEN I FIRST MET FAITH, SHE WAS MORE OR LESS FERAL
Yet despite her rough and ready beginning, she has taught me:-
๐ฅฐ How to be kind.
๐ How to be patient.
and
๐ How to reward and encourage desirable behaviours, instead of simply squashing them down, or punishing anything that I didn't like.
SHE IS THE REASON WHY 'ADVENTURE LEARNING' EXISTS...
(Read more HERE: https://adventurelearningwithoscarandfaith.blogspot.com/2021/09/blog-2-meet-faith.html)
SO YOU WANNA LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT ME, HUH?
Well let's start with the basics...
๐ My name is Cass (duh!).
๐ I'm the Head Trainer at Pups & Ponies: Behaviour and Training
๐ I have got 2 awesome sidekicks: Oscar the dog, and Faith the horse.
๐ I am a mum of 3 adorable little rascals (pictured).
๐ And my ๐ฆธโโ๏ธsuper power๐ฆธโโ๏ธ is the ability to turn quite literally anything into a super fun game!
READ MY FULL INTRODUCTORY POST HERE, ON OUR BRAND NEW BLOG: https://adventurelearningwithoscarandfaith.blogspot.com/2021/09/blog-1-who-runs-this-show.html
Soooooo, today I was going to talk to you about how life doesn't always work out as planned; but sometimes, our best 'mistakes' can actually turn out to be some of our greatest achievements...
..however Facebook very kindly decided to delete my post half way through me writing it ๐คฌ; so instead of that little story-time, I'm actually going to be introducing you to the brand new Pups & Ponies BLOGS!!!
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ I wasn't going to release these just yet, as I wanted to get a few more posts done, so that you guys would have more to read when you got over there; but alas, by hand has been forced...
So, Facebook - I suppose I should be saying, "ENJOY YOUR ORANGE JUICE, suckers!" ๐คช๐คช๐คช๐คช
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(๐ LINK FOR THE BLOGS WILL BE IN THE COMMENTS BELOW ๐)
๐ EVERYBODY LOVES OSCAR! ๐
I've genuinely never met a person who hasn't fallen head over heels with this boy,
and if I was given money every time someone asked if we could swap dogs
- so that they could take Oscar home instead of their own dog -
then I'd be really rather rich right about now!
๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ
BUT IT HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY...
..when we first met Oscar, he was just a gangly little 10(ish) month old Lab x Collie who had found himself living in a rescue centre.
He was nervous of everybody, and would spend most of his days hiding out in the back of his kennel; barking at anyone who tried to come too close (because he was terrified of what might happen to him if they did ๐ข).
HOWEVER
he soon changed his tune when he met us!
Gone was the cowering nervous wreck of an overgrown puppy, and in wiggled this bright-eyed, happy, licky little thing; who, after an initial quick sniff of our legs, jumped up on the bench behind us and starting nibbling lovingly on our ears ๐
It was as if he already knew us, and was simply welcoming us back from a prolonged separation ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ.
I can't even explain how bizarre it felt for us to all feel like we were old friends, even though we'd only just met.
But that's exactly how we felt:
LIKE OLD FRIENDS, RECONNECTING AFTER SPENDING SOME TIME APART.
It was so strange - and yet oddly comforting - to know that we'd met 'the one' in our little Oscar ๐๐ถ [photo 2]
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But it didn't take very long for us to learn that Oscar's anxious nature ran a lot deeper than just being nervous of new people.
For example,
๐ We couldn't lift our arms higher than our elbows without him cowering;
๐ and we didn't dare raise our voices - not even a little bit - because even the slightest hint of a loud voice would send him diving for cover, and probably soiling himself in the process.
๐ He was TERRIFIED of the bin lorries who came to collect the rubbish.
๐ And if I so much as suggested going for a walk, he would shrink himself into the tiniest ball that he could manage, and look up at me through his eyebrows, as if willing me to not make him go outside - it was too scary!!
(I've got a story to tell you actually, about a time when the world got too scary, and we both ended up in a great big heap of defeat on the floor by the gates of the park; all because a cow dared to 'moo' at us ๐ฑ๐ฎโ - but that will have to wait for another time, because this story is about how Oscar came to be the legend that he is today...so focus, people, focus! ๐)
SO AS YOU CAN PROBABLY IMAGINE, THE FIRST FEW WEEKS WITH OSCAR WERE NOT EASY. AT ALL.
His anxiety was overwhelming our lives, and his constant state of panic was driving my anxiety through the roof too.
We were pretty much just triggering each other back and forth,
until one day
I decided to incorporate more games into his training...
..and the more we played. the more his confidence grew.
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
And it wasn't long before we had a more-or-less 'normal' dog, who could go out and do 'normal' things - just like everyone else!
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
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Just a few short months later, I volunteered Oscar for his first job as my dog training assistant.
๐ His job was to hold the paw of our [then] Support Dog foster, who needed some reassurance as she learned how to overcome her anxiety around other dogs.
But Oscar, being the little legend that is he, then took it upon himself to go one step further, and he introduced her to Faith! And he showed our [then] foster dog how much fun it could be to go out riding with Mum (me), running alongside as Faith galloped across the open fields, or trotted down the winding woodland paths! [photo 3]
In fact, I don't think he'd even been with us a year before he started making it known that he wanted to be our Resident Emotional Support Dog.
He was there to hold the paw of any worried canines who just needed a friend. [photo 4]
๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ
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Since those early days, Oscar has helped countless other dogs defeat their anxiety gremlins, so that they can go on to lead long and happy lives with their human companions;
and in doing so,
๐ He has helped me to refine my skills as a dog trainer.
๐ He has taught me how to play hundreds of new games (which we're slowly working on adding to The Games Library, over in the Pups & Ponies school - I'll leave a link for it in the comments ๐๐)
and
๐ He has shown me that, while yes, Faith WAS right in that 'life needs to be interesting enough to be worth putting in the effort';
LIFE ALSO NEEDS BUILT-IN 'SAFE-ZONES'
i.e. somewhere that an overwhelmed brain can rest,
so that it's not always on the go-go-go
(because sometimes it can be nice to just stick with what you know, you know? ๐ฅฐ)
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๐ Oscar has taught me the importance of variety
but even more importantly
๐ He has taught me the value in familiarity and safety,
โJustโbecauseโwe'reโlearningโsomethingโnew,
โdoesn'tโmeanโthatโEVERYTHINGโhasโtoโbeโnew!
We can still make life + learning interesting and exciting without going way outside of our comfort zones ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
SOME OF THE BEST LEARNING THAT YOUR DOG OR HORSE WILL EVER DO, WILL OCCUR WHEN THEY'RE STARTING OFF IN A PLACE WHERE THEY FEEL BOTH โจCOMFORTABLEโจ & โจSECUREโจ [see photo 5]
IN THE BEGINNING, OSCAR WAS AN ANXIOUS MESS...
..AND FAITH?
Well...let's talk about Faith for just a second...
When I first met ๐ดFaith๐ด, she was more or less feral.
(Okay, so maybe 'feral' is a bit of a strong word; but she had only been very lightly handled, despite being nearly 10 years old; and she had seen very little of the world outside of her tiny little field, where she had lived for the past 5+ years - so...take from that what you will)
I mean, you could put on a head collar on her, and you could quite easily throw hay through the window of her stable (so long as she wasn't looking!)
..but that was about it ๐ณ.
โ She wouldn't walk forwards.
โ She wouldn't back up.
โ She didn't know how to turn a corner while someone was walking next to her, without trying to bite them for being too close; or accidentally standing on their toes with her great big furry uncoordinated feet.
โ She couldn't be groomed without trying to bite at whoever happened to be closest. She also couldn't be tacked up without similar issues! And as for getting her to wear a rug? DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED! ๐๐๐
โ She didn't know how to pick up her feet nicely (and on the odd occasion that we did manage to lift them up, she would stomp them down so quickly that it was always a miracle that my fingers and toes were still in one piece.
โ She used to crib bite.
โ She used to charge at the door whenever anyone tried to open it / walk through (she'd even do the same thing to the 2 little ponies that she lived with if they happened to reach the door before she did).
โ She would guard food and water like her life depended on it.
โ She had never been in a trailer or lorry.
โ She hadn't seen the vet, farrier, or dentist in a very, very long time...if ever.
โ She didn't know how to go faster than a walk when being lead. The same thing applied for when she was under saddle (I was once told that apparently her old owner just got on her one day and decided that she was going to be a riding horse now...so yeah, there's that ๐คฆโโ๏ธ).
Basically, she was very well acquainted with humans bringing her food...but that was about as far as it went.
So at almost 10 years old she was probably about as well-handled as most of your typical 1-2 year olds are
*CUE THE ENTRANCE OF 16 YEAR OLD ME*
(a.k.a. A COMPLETE NEWBIE TO THE HORSE WORLD)
Fresh out of secondary school, and with Faith being the first horse I'd ever had sole responsibility for; it was almost inevitable that we would make A LOT of mistakes in the early days (and we did ๐ณ๐คฆโโ๏ธ).
But the one 'mistake' that I want to tell you about (which I promise is related to The Pick 'N' Mix Method that I've mentioned on this page already), is the day that I didn't listen to her when she told me that she was worried about the bouncy castle at the end of the road...
Where Faith lived, we were surrounded by residential roads and houses; so on the day in question, we'd gone out for a little ride around the houses - just like we did most days - and on our way back home, we had to ride past a pub beer garden that just so happened to have an event going on that afternoon.
I could hear children's laughter from behind the wall of the pub garden, and I instantly felt Faith starting to get tense and jiggy underneath me; but naive and inexperienced 16 year old me thought that we could get past the noise, unscathed, so I squeezed Faith on and pushed her to go past it, as going past the pub was the quickest and most direct route home.
Little did I realise at the time was that the children were laughing because they were having loads of fun bouncing up and down on a brightly coloured [and quickly deflating] bouncy castle.
I also didn't realise that there was a group of rowdy drunken men hanging out by the back gate of the pub garden, who were - to my alarm - about to shout obscenities at me as we passed by ๐ฑ.
So anyway, onward we marched - completely oblivious to the potential dangers lying in wait; with Faith jigging away underneath me - the bit between her teeth, neck set high and curved, and haunches tucked and ready to bolt at the slightest sound or movement - while I sat atop, willfully ignorant to her "naughty behaviour" as I could physically SEE the gate that we needed to get to at the other end of the road; so I refused to "let her win" and wind up having to go the long way home from then on.
BUT THEN DISASTER STRUCK
and a whole multitude of things seemed to happen all at once...
1๏ธโฃ A glass smashed on the ground.
2๏ธโฃ The quickly deflating bouncy castle dipped out of sight behind the wall, and then randomly popped up again.
3๏ธโฃ One of the men from around the gateway shouted something obscene about my riding abilities (๐)
and
4๏ธโฃ An exhaust backfired somewhere off behind us, which sounded like a gunshot exploding out of a barrel.
Quite understandably, Faith - who was already primed and ready to run -
BOLTED!
She set off at a gallop and ran blindly up the tarmac for about 200m before I managed to slow her down to a fast canter by sitting deep in my saddle and pulling hard against her reins.
HOWEVER
As we already know, Faith had jammed her bit between her teeth during our 'conversation' about how the bouncy castle was making her feel, so my pulling did very little in terms of asking her to stop, as she couldn't really feel the contact against her *teeth* (๐). And her high set, strong and muscular neck was no match for my weedy little 16 year old arms - so onwards we ran.
Past parked cars.
Past people in their houses.
Past an older lady walking a rather large dog (who may or may not have barked at us as we whizzed by - I honestly couldn't tell you one way or another as I was too busy seeing my life flash before my eyes as we headed straight for an oncoming car...
..which was being driven by a LEARNER DRIVER of all people ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑโโ)
Eventually I managed to haul her nose round so that it was practically on my knee, and then I got her to turn her body 90 degrees so that we were facing a solid brick wall; and she did, finally, stop running.
It. Was. SUCH. a. close. call โโ
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On the day we met the offending bouncy castle, my whole life flashed before my eyes.
And as Faith ran, I clung on for dear life; thinking,
"Holy f*"k! I am in WAY over my head with this one"
We did eventually stop, and I jumped down from the saddle and lead her back home on foot; my heart hammering hard against my chest.
Once Faith was safely back out in the field with her buddies, my legs just gave way, and I crumpled to the ground, sobbing with relief as the reality of what had just happened, sank in.
I COULD HAVE DIED THAT DAY ๐ณ
and then a little voice inside my head, whispered,
"If only you'd listened to your horse before trying to make her walk past something that was clearly making her feel worried,
then all of that drama could've been avoided!"
SO THAT WAS
MISTAKE #1
โALWAYSโLISTENโTOโYOURโHORSEโ!
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Over the next year or so, we made plenty more silly little mistakes, when it came to riding and training and generally just trying to communicate with each other (as a newbie, we've all done it, right?); but none were ever as downright stupid as ignoring a very blatant display of anxiety / discomfort, which resulted in us both being at risk of crashing through a car windscreen.
HOWEVER
It wasn't until I took Faith to university with me, that I realised that we still weren't quite there when it came to finding a perfect training method / technique for her...
You see, we'd made a lot of changes in regards to how we interacted with one another after the bouncy castle incident:
๐ซ We ditched the bit (well it didn't do anything to make her stop when she bolted up the road, did it? So what did we have to lose?)
๐ซ We ditched any and all gadgets that we had previously been recommended (which to be fair, really wasn't very much at all; but away went the flash strap [obviously], away went the crop, and away went the treed saddle that I was never 100% sure ever really fitted her anyway).
๐ซ We all but abandoned the 'traditional' way of working with horses, in favour of a more humane, and 'natural' way of communication. (Yep, we discovered Monty Roberts and his 'Natural Horsemanship' methodology...๐. In my defence, he sounded great, and seemed to get really good results in a relatively short space of time, so I was sucked in by the propaganda.)
But once we were at Uni, one of the first things I learned about was Animal Learning Theory; and in doing so, I was introduced to the idea that it was possible to ACTIVELY ENCOURAGE A BEHAVIOUR THAT YOU LIKED, so that the animal would repeat said behaviour more often.
๐ Put simply: I no longer had to spend the rest of my days squashing down any undesirable behaviours that Faith displayed.
I could just teach her what I wanted her to do instead! ๐๐๐๐
๐ฒ๐คฏ
The realisation that there was a whole other world outside of the [surprisingly very tiny] 'traditional horse world' blew my mind.
It was like taking off a blindfold that I didn't realise I had been wearing.
My eyes felt so open. So fresh. And so keen to try All The Things.
And Faith was keen too.
She was beyond happy that I seemed to have shaken off any notion that there was ever going to be a better teacher for horse behaviour than the very horse who was standing right in front of me;
and she was incredibly eager to show me just how well she could put that clever ๐ง brain๐ง of hers to good use.
So over the next few years, Faith taught me:
๐ How to be patient.
๐ How to be kind.
๐ How to reward and encourage desirable behaviours, instead of simply squashing them down, or punishing anything that I didn't like.
๐ She taught me all about the importance of good timing.
๐ And about how we can 1,000,000% aim for the stars, if that's where we wanna go; but if we're ever going to get there, then we need to start off by learning how to put our feet on that very first rung of the space-ladder! (teeny tiny baby steps are the key ๐๐)
But I think the biggest thing Faith ever taught me was
the fact that
๐ LIFE NEEDS TO BE INTERESTING IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE WORTH THE EFFORT! ๐
And that, my friends, is how
๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซThe Pick 'N' Mix Method๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ
came into existence!
๐ค It was from Faith that I learned how to break down a training task into lots of fun, little games, that we could mix and match with other things that we were working on; to keep all of our interactions fun, and light, and happy.
๐ค She is the reason why I now question absolutely everything that I learn.
(Because once upon a time we were squished into a teeny tiny box, believing that 'traditional horsemanship' was all that there was...
..oh how wrong were we!!!)
๐ค She is the reason why I will always listen to my gut when I'm trying out something new.
(and if it doesn't sit right with me, then we ain't doing it!)
๐ค And she is the reason why I will NEVER stop asking my Learners how they are feeling about what we are doing in our training. And why I will always take their opinion into account when planning new things.
๐ค๐ค BECAUSE OF FAITH, I WILL NEVER AGAIN LET MY EGO GET IN THE WAY OF DOING WHAT IS RIGHT, IN FAVOUR OF DOING WHAT IS EASY ๐ค๐ค
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My early years with Faith mean that I've been where you are.
I've struggled.
And then I found a better way to be.
..sooooo naturally, I then collected up everything that we've learned over the years and stashed them all together
- over in the Pups & Ponies school (which I'll leave a link for in comments) -
so that you guys can make the most of our experience
WITHOUT having to go through all of the struggles and ๐heartbreak๐ that we did.
SO WHAT'S THIS 'PICK 'N' MIX METHOD' THAT YOU MENTIONED โ
The Pick 'N' Mix method is a way to describe how Pups & Ponies will guide you through the process of:-
๐ Pinpointing which of your current struggles is driving you the most crazy ๐คช๐คฌ
๐ Pointing you in the direction of our most effective service for said struggle; although we'll also give you a couple of other options to choose from - just in case our suggested option isn't the best fit for you right now (hence the name, Pick 'N' Mix ๐)
and then
๐ Figuring out which combination of our super-fun training games will be the best ones for you to play, to help you and your dog ๐ABSOLUTELY SMASH๐ those training goals, and start living your best lives A.S.A.P
IT REALLY IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
1๏ธโฃ You tell us what you're struggling with.
2๏ธโฃ You pick a service that suits you.
and then once you're all signed up / enrolled with your chosen Pups & Ponies service,
3๏ธโฃ We can work together to find a bundle of games that will help you turn your currently problematic training troubles, into some new found absolute training ๐ช๐ฆธโโ๏ธsuper powers๐ฆธโโ๏ธ๐ช!
We've got a whole array of services that you can choose from, but I'll tell you about those at a later date; because right now, we're about to meet the first member of the Pups & Ponies team ๐๐๐!!!
(Photo of The Pick 'N' Mix Method as an easy to understand flowchart)
SO YOU WANNA LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT ME, HUH?
Well let's start with the basics...
๐ My name is Cass (duh!).
๐ I'm the Head Trainer here at Pups & Ponies.
๐ I have got 2 awesome sidekicks: Oscar the dog, and Faith the horse - if you hang around on the page for a little while then I promise to give you guys a proper introduction ๐ฅฐ
๐ I am a mum of 3 adorable little rascals (see picture).
๐ And my ๐ฆธโโ๏ธsuper power๐ฆธโโ๏ธ is the ability to turn quite literally anything into a super fun game!
Experience-wise...
๐ I have a degree in Animal Behaviour Science.
๐ I have a passion for making people smile (and when I say 'people', I'm obviously including all of the amazing dogs and horses out there too ๐๐ฅฐ)
๐ And I have spent the past 13+ years learning about dog and horse behaviour, refining my training techniques, and practicing on as many 4-legged volunteers as I could physically get my hands on...
..only to completely overthrow pretty much everything that I ever learned, when I discovered that GAMES actually work better than any kind of traditionally structured training ๐๐๐
๐ I have trained with The School Of Canine Science.
๐ I have trained with AbsoluteDOGS.
๐ I have trained with ILLIS (Animal Behaviour Consulting).
๐ And I did my university training with some of the [then] best veterinary behaviourists in the world.
"How do you train?"
I believe in a "No Force, No Fear - Just FUN!" ethos; so I guess that puts me under the
โ FORCE FREE
โ FEAR FREE
โ SCIENCE-BACKED
โ REWARDS-BASED
โ POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
bracket of training;
"And what makes you different?"
The thing that sets Pups & Ponies apart is the way that I've taken the old adage,
"every animal is unique, and so you should train the one in front of you",
and ran with it; to create what I now call The Pick 'N' Mix method (which I'll explain this in a separate post), where YOU get to choose how your Pathway To Success is built - AND have tonnes of fun while doing so!
You see, when it comes to struggling with behavioural issues: I've been there.
Even to the point where I've felt like I was drowning in conflicting information; I'd never know which way to turn, or who's opinion to trust...THE STRUGGLE IS REAL, and I know that because I've been there!!
โ
I've been there,
โ
I've done that,
โ
& I've got the T-shirt!
and let me tell you, it doesn't get better by simply burying your head in the sand and hoping the problems will go away on their own... ๐๐๐
๐ You've gotta work at it! ๐
But do you know what?
It's absolutely OK to ask for help if you're struggling.
(After all, that's what people like me are here for ๐ฅฐ)
In fact, can let you in on a little secret...?
๐คซ๐คซ๐คซ๐คซ๐คซ๐คซ๐คซ๐คซ
*whispers* Oscar and Faith haven't always been the Calm, Confident, Go Anywhere creatures that they are today...
๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฒ - I know, right?!
They both actually had quite troubled pasts, and we have been through A LOT to get to where we are today.
But it's *because of* those struggles that they've learned how to be the
๐คROCK SOLID๐ค
resident demo dog + resident demo horse that we've all come to know and love ๐
So yeah, that's me!
Leave me a GIF in the comments if you wanna say hi ๐
WHO RUNS THIS SHOW?
The main faces you'll see around here are those of Cass, the Head Trainer here at Pups & Ponies; and her awesome furry sidekicks, Oscar the dog, and Faith the horse :-)
Give me a ๐โโ๏ธ hands up ๐โโ๏ธ in the comments if you want to learn a bit more about each of the Pups & Ponies team members!!
Good morning ponies ๐ฅฐ - whoโs ready for some breakfast?! ๐๐ผโโ๏ธ๐๐ผโโ๏ธ๐๐ผโโ๏ธ๐๐ผโโ๏ธ
Just practicing our Distance Stops, Waiting In Postion, and then Freedom Cues on the way to see the ponies ๐
"SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE...SOMETHING IS STILL MISSING..."
When I first started out as a Dog Trainer I only used to offer in-person 1-to-1s, either as a single training session OR as part of a bigger training package.
Very sensibly, most of my clients tended to opt for the package deals, as they knew they'd get be able to get so much more support from me when we could afford to slow down a bit and stop trying to cram everything that they could possibly ever need to know inside of their allotted 60-90 minute window.
This was working really well, and we'd make some AMAZING progress inside of those training packages, BUT I'd always find myself coming away from a session (or leaving a client after their training package had come to an end) feeling like I could've done more.
Like there was SO MUCH MORE I could have done to help that dog, and that family...if only the client had opted to keep on working together. But most people ground to a halt after maybe 4-6 lessons, and I couldn't quite put my finger on why...
I mean, I get it: I was expensive.
But all good Dog Trainers are.
After all, we have MANY years of education to try and back pay back ๐คฃ๐คฃ๐!!!
And then there's all of the 'hidden expenses', such as:
โก the never ending CPD to keep on top of (so that we can confidently give you the most up-to-date advice, whether that be in relation to training, nutrition, enrichment, vaccinations, alternative therapies...you get the picture: good trainers NEVER stop learning. But unfortunately, that learning does come at a cost to us).
โก the ever-growing stash of treats, toys, training equipment, and general "dog stuff" that we use on a daily basis to help you work with your dog.
โก the Insurance payments to cover - so that we can keep everyone safe and protected, while working in what can sometimes be really quite dangerous situations!
โก the upkeep and general maintenance of any vehicles that we might need to use to get to or from your sessions, and/or transport you and your dog around the local area to find a more suitable training location.
NOT TO MENTION OUR TIME!
ALL OF THOSE HOURS WHERE WE'RE TALKING TO YOU ABOUT YOUR DOG, PLANNING LESSONS, ASSISTING WITH HOMEWORK, AND SUPPORTING YOU WITH ANY OTHER ISSUES THAT YOU MIGHT BE HAVING OUTSIDE OF YOUR 1-TO-1 SESSION (BOTH BEFORE *AND* AFTER YOUR 60-90 MINUTE TRAINING SESSIONS WITH US): WE ESSENTIALLY DO ALL OF THAT *FOR FREE*.
I mean, if you were to work it all out and deduct all of the 'hidden expenses' listed above, then you'll see that most dog trainers - even the 'expensive ones' - are actually working for an hourly rate that is equal to, or even less than, the national minimum wage. Now that is CRAZY!
And then because we're 'just people' too, WE ALSO HAVE OUR OWN DAY-TO-DAY BILLS TO PAY!
So that figure on your Dog Training invoice isn't just paying for the 60-90 minutes that we're physically there with you. It is helping us to cover all of the above 'unseen expenses' listed above, AND feed our families, AND keep a roof over our heads at the same time.
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BUT I DIGRESS.
I already knew that I was expensive, and that there would probably come a time when some of my clients simply couldn't afford to keep on working with me; but deep down I didn't feel like that was the real issue...
The real issue was ๐๐ผLACK OF SUPPORT๐๐ผ.
Obviously, I was available for the client to talk to / ask questions to in-between sessions; but talking on the phone or through disjointed Facebook messenger conversations just wasn't the same as having a real-time conversation, which could include in-the-moment demonstrations and/or tweaks to your mechanics so that you could get better results from the things that you were doing with your dog.
Phone calls and messenger conversations tended to have no flow. No connection. And no way of me knowing just how much of my advice the client had put into practice until we met up again...which was fine if we had another session booked in; but for those times when client's ran out of time or money, or I was simply too fully booked to be able to squeeze them in without a major gap in training: waiting for 'next time' just wasn't good enough.
SOMETHING HAD TO CHANGE.
๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ And then 2020 happened ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
THE CORONA VIRUS HIT, AND WE ALL HAD TO STAY AT HOME!
I wasn't allowed to do in-person 1-to-1s anymore. And I'll be honest, I struggled.
And so did my clients.
And so did their dogs. The dogs definitely struggled the most!
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We were all struggling because of the Lock Down situation that was happening across the globe
BUT THERE WAS NOTHING MUCH THAT WE COULD REALLY DO ABOUT IT.....OR WAS THERE?!?!?! ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค
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At first, I found myself muddling just like everyone else. Trying to do the best I could in a very weird, and totally surreal situation.
One of the biggest things that I had to do was learn how to adapt from doing in-person 1-to-1s, to meeting my clients and running training sessions online, via Zoom.
Now I'll be first to admit that Zoom just isn't the same as being able to be there, in-person, to demonstrate and tweak and celebrate and even HUG owners as they saw with their own eyes just how amazing their dog could be; but it did it's job of helping us to stay connected.
And that's pretty much what 2020 was all about: STAYING CONNECTED.
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The pandemic made the whole world find new ways to stay connected - and going online was definitely a smart move for us here at Steady Neddies Horse & Hound. In fact, it has probably been one of the BEST things that I have ever done for my Dog Training business.
โ No longer did I have to waste hours of my day driving back and forth to different houses, spending 60-90 minutes with my clients, only to maybe spend the same amount of time again driving to my next appointment. Going online has meant that I am no longer limited to only helping those people who's houses I could physically get to - being on became a worldwide option!
โ No longer did my clients have to wait for a specific time slot in order to ask me their questions - they could just drop a quick message to my email or Facebook messenger inbox; and, unlike before, they knew that I would see it almost instantly and typically get back to them within the hour with something new and fun that they could try.
โ And no longer did I have to try and remember all of the post-session advice that I wanted to share with a client until the late hours of the evening when I'd finally found a minute to sit down and catch up on the day's notes, because I already had all of my notes right there in front of me, on my computer screen...with actual real-life video evidence of all of the fun stuff that we'd been doing that day! Post-session reports have never been so easy!
BUT STILL I FELT LIKE I WASN'T GIVING ENOUGH.
SOMETHING WAS STILL MISSING - AND THIS TIME IT WASN'T 'SUPPORT'.....IT WAS ORDER / ORGANISATION.
Zoom just wasn't cutting it in terms of keeping lessons organised and easy to refer back to.
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Don't get me wrong, Zoom is all well and good, and it's definitely been a god-send in the sense of allowing lots of people worldwide to stay connected; and in the case of us dog trainers, Zoom has allowed us to continue helping you to help your dogs.
But just 'continuing' wasn't enough for me.
Nobody knows how long all of this will go on for; and nobody knows what the world will look like once it's all over. So I didn't want to just 'survive' anymore...I wanted to THRIVE!
And I wanted to figure out a way so that you guys could thrive along with me!
CUE THE BIRTH OF OUR BRAND NEW SERVICE: โจTRAINER IN YOUR POCKETโจ
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"SO WHAT IS 'TRAINER IN YOUR POCKET'?" I HEAR YOU ASK
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Well, Trainer In Your Pocket is quite literally as the name suggests: it's a rolling monthly subscription where you get to have a Trainer (I.e. me) living in your pocket [via your phone/computer] - primed and ready to answer any questions or assist you with any sort of training that you might need. We can chat, share photos and videos, and even schedule Zoom calls if you think some live 1-on-1 coaching would be helpful for you.
๐๐ผ You won't have to desperately try to write down everything that your Trainer says in each of your training sessions, because you'll have all of your instructions (photos, videos, and recorded Zoom coaching calls included), right there in front of you; with lifetime access to all of it. So even if you choose to cancel your subscription at some point in the future, then you'll still be able to look back at all of the fun stuff that we did together, and refresh your memory as to why you and your dog are โจTOTALLY AWESOMEโจ!
๐๐ผ You won't have to wait for days/weeks in-between sessions just so that you can learn something new. I love it when you ask for more, even if it's only been about a hour since I gave you your last task - I LOVE IT!
All of you Keen Beans are my favourite kind of people ๐ฅฐ๐ฅฐ
๐๐ผ There is absolutely NO WAY that you'll be left feeling stranded after an interaction with your Trainer - feeling like you have no way to ask a seemingly insignificant question without having to pay for a whole extra session.
We don't do that here.
We believe that ALL questions are valid questions, so once you're 'in' Trainer In Your Pocket, then that's it: you've got 24/7 access to me, to ask me about anything and everything dog-related.
No time limits.
No extra charges.
Nothing.
Just straight up dog training advice and support, and a whole lot of fun and games along the way!
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With Trainer In Your Pocket, it really is as simple as you leaving me a message in your โpocketโ [i.e. your personal online training space] whenever you think of something you want to talk to me about; Iโll get a notification pop up at my end, and then Iโll jump into your โpocketโ and be ready to help you out however you need me ๐. We can even organise a few live Zoom training sessions if you wanted some real-time assistance while youโre working on something - all without it costing you anything more than your monthly subscription fee.
SOUNDS GREAT, RIGHT?..SO WHAT'S THE CATCH? ๐คจ๐คจ๐คจ๐คจ๐คจ๐คจ
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There is literally NO CATCH.
All that you have to do is cover the monthly subscription fee (which, at the moment, is an absolute STEAL if I do say so myself) and then we'll give you all of the ๐awesomeness๐ that we've mentioned above.
And that's it.
SIMPLES!
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So if you've been reading this, nodding along and thinking, "Wow! I could really use some help like that for my dog", then hit the ๐๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐ผlink below๐๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐ผ and come and claim your 'Pocket'.
๐ steady-neddies.teachable.com/p/trainer-in-your-pocket ๐
It's only going to cost you a little over ยฃ1 per day (approximately ยฃ1.20 to be more precise) FOR A WHOLE MONTH'S ACCESS TO YOUR VERY OWN PERSONAL FORCE FREE DOG TRAINER.
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For around ยฃ1 per day, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE?
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Claim your 'Pocket' HERE: steady-neddies.teachable.com/p/trainer-in-your-pocket
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Soooooo, today I was going to talk to you about how life doesn't always work out as planned; but sometimes, our best 'mistakes' can actually turn out to be some of our greatest achievements... ...however Facebook very kindly decided to delete my post half way through me writing it ๐คฌ; so instead of that little story-time, I'm actually going to be introducing you to the brand new Pups & Ponies BLOGS!!! ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ I wasn't going to release these just yet, as I wanted to get a few more posts done, so that you guys would have more to read when you got over there; but alas, by hand has been forced... So, Facebook - I suppose I should be saying, "ENJOY YOUR ORANGE JUICE, suckers!" ๐คช๐คช๐คช๐คช ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (๐ LINK FOR THE BLOGS WILL BE IN THE COMMENTS BELOW ๐)
Good morning ponies ๐ฅฐ - whoโs ready for some breakfast?! ๐๐ผโโ๏ธ๐๐ผโโ๏ธ๐๐ผโโ๏ธ๐๐ผโโ๏ธ
Just practicing our Distance Stops, Waiting In Postion, and then Freedom Cues on the way to see the ponies ๐
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