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The Everyday Trainer Podcast
The Everyday Trainer Podcast
The Shift to Online Dog Training ft. Emilee Mahar
In this week's episode I meet up with Emilee Mahar of Smart K9 Training in her home in San Diego. Emilee got started as a dog trainer early on and successfully ran a facility in her hometown in North Dakota. There, she learned what she loves about training and what she doesn't and eventually made the shift into the online world of training.
We talk all about her experience in the industry and the stress that can come from running an in person training business and what finally led her to make the leap to leave. We chat about the day to day, what (and who) to look out for in the dog training industry, and what it means to find your path as a dog trainer and owner.
You know the drill, grab yourself a tasty drink and enjoy.
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It's not really fun, because I've never, like I haven't had, um, not like, a full podcast setup. You know, it's like casual, a little more casual. How am I going to do this? I normally do like a little intro Ready, I think. So you need your drink there you go, All right.
Speaker 1:Ready.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to the Everyday Trainer podcast. My name is Meg and I am a dog trainer. On today's episode, I'm joined with the lovely Emily of Smart K9 Training. She has an in-person business in North Dakota North Dakota, North Dakota but we're currently in San Diego where she is hiding away. So we're going to talk a little bit more about that and so much more. You guys know the drill Grab yourself a tasty drink and meet us back here. All right, Emily, Thank you so much for letting me hang out with you in your house. This is pretty sick. I don't blame you for not wanting to go back to North Dakota, so what are you? What you got going on down here?
Speaker 1:Mostly just. It's like a mini retirement kind of. I just need a break because the in-person facility is a lot, so I'm kind of running away yeah.
Speaker 2:And I want to talk with you about that because I'm also running away from my life, too, and we've both come to realize that, like I'm living your life. So you were one of the people that I found like a while ago on social media and I was like damn, she's younger than me and she's like further along in her business, because you had your facility at the time and, like at the time when I found you, that was like my goal for my business and myself was like the facility, and I think like a lot of people find themselves in that position. But you did it and you left it. So let's like, let's talk about that.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, I, in 2017, I opened up a in-person dog training facility and I mean, I grew up. Within two weeks of opening, we were booked three months out. No advertising, no paid advertising, just social media, word of mouth, referrals. It was nuts. It was more than I knew what to do with and I just first started out by hiring a kennel assistant and then an office assistant, and then another kennel assistant, and then a dog handler and another dog handler, and at one point, I mean I had like 10 people there and it was a full-fledged thing and it was crazy. It was my dream, that's what I wanted, and I had dreams of, like, buying land and building the dream. Damn, we really are living the same life.
Speaker 1:And then, yeah, just one thing after another. It became too much and I contemplated it for a year and I talked heavily about it with my close friends and family of like this is a lot and I don't know if I can do it. And then you go on social media and that's everybody. All everybody talks about is like being an entrepreneur is so hard and hustle and grind, and wake up at 6am and like that's the life that you want, but that's not me. Like I can't. I could not keep up with the pace at which that business was going.
Speaker 1:And then, yeah, like one thing on top of the other, the straw that broke the camel's back and I just I pulled the plug and it it literally. I'm sure like you can resonate with this. I mean, imagine shutting down something that you it was your dream and you worked on day and night and you obsessed over it and that's all you wanted for five years, four years, I think. I had the facility for five years and I just pulled the plug. Everybody was like bye, bye, all my employees, the lease ended, I just let it end, put all the stuff in storage and then I packed up my van and drove across the country for a while. I was like did?
Speaker 2:exactly did, exactly what I'm doing currently. Yeah, and that's like it's the side of the business that, like you never really get to see, you know, and like it looks so glamorous from the outside. It looks so glamorous from the outside You're like, wow, this person is like running this successful dog training business and they have all these dogs and all these clients and they're booked out and you know, like it seems like the dream. And I was in the same position as you where I was like that's what I want. Like I want a facility, I want the in-person business and like the more that I see you know people who are doing it, I realize like it doesn't really align with the life that I want. Like I think that there are people that like it does and that's what they want and they can go into their facility every day and be happy and fulfilled.
Speaker 2:But one side of the business that, like we were talking about earlier, is like the liability of things. Yeah, you know, like the reality of dog training is that you're one like lawsuit away from something really, really bad happening to like everything that you've built and that pressure, that pressure of like what if something does happen? Or you know, like we have people's dogs like live animals. We have live animals Like it's so important that you know they're taking care of and that your business is taking care of. Yeah, you know, and when you put that responsibility on trainers and other people like it's a lot.
Speaker 1:You really can't have control issues you learn to let go a lot when you start hiring a lot of people and you just have to trust yourself, like I'm hiring this person, because X, y and Z and I trust myself. I've done my due diligence, I've done the background check, I've done the interview, I've done the working interview, we've done the three month probationary period. I really like them. But, like, at the end of the day, yeah, are they pulling the dog out and checking the collar to make sure that it's you know? Or the slip lead to make sure that the rivets aren't didn't wear at the end of the day and then pop leash breaks dogs loose. Hopefully that client is understanding. You can get the dog bite, like all of these things are.
Speaker 1:I had a friend who everybody uses stainless steel balls. Right Dog literally shredded a stainless steel bowl. Eight, eight, yeah, like I mean, imagine that with the wrong client who's not understanding of like there is nothing I could have done different, I guess, except let the dog drink outside of the kennel. But then I can't keep them. Let them have a bowl inside their kennel for water. It's like a double-edged sword and you know, it's just one catastrophic weird event that can just send you into, even if you have the contracts. You know everybody is. Don't worry of contracts. That doesn't stop somebody from suing you. They can sue you, and Dre got a lawsuit. They probably have more money than we do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're really relying on, like, the kindness of strangers yeah, the understanding.
Speaker 1:Like my dog came home came home with diarrhea, but stressful. Board and trains are stressful, going home learning a bunch of stuff going they're coming to us and then going back home.
Speaker 2:I would get diarrhea too. You know that's something that I like talk about with owners is they're like my dog has diarrhea. And I'm like, yeah, the routine changed. Like do you ever like travel and have digestive issues? No, just me, Okay, Just me. Okay, I'll be quiet, yeah, but there's just so many like things that can happen and you don't know until you've done this long enough, and I think that's something that you know we were kind of talking about earlier. Like these new trainers, like they just don't know, Like they just don't know what can happen. And even when I like talk with owners, they're like well, do you ever just like leave the dogs out? And I'm like, no, I'm far too paranoid for that. Like I've seen. I've seen the worst of the worst, and it doesn't matter like how much care you put into it. There's those fluke.
Speaker 1:A jaguar comes into your backyard and snatches the dog up, literally. Look what dog eats a stainless steel bowl. I mean, we put our blood, sweat and tears into this just for something crazy to happen. Like yeah, fucking bear Hofstra in your backyard and snatches a dog up.
Speaker 2:That's what keeps us up at night. It's funny, but like that's literally like some shit that would happen, you know.
Speaker 1:It wouldn't dog trainer comment if that's happened to you, because it probably has.
Speaker 2:I know right. So like okay, you did, you go to a dog trainer school.
Speaker 1:Yes, I did go to a dog training school like a live in, in person one, and then just like continued education, online books, things like that. So, yeah, Okay.
Speaker 2:So after you finished dog trainer school, did you immediately know that you wanted to open up your own like facility and kind of get that going? No, did you work under somebody?
Speaker 1:No. So I called and interviewed at so many places and had a really bad experience trying to work for somebody else. I went, I even went and did it like a what do you call it? Like a working interview at a facility for a week and I was there for a week and the things that I saw I was like I cannot work here. This is terrifying. Yeah, or some of the interviews I did, I was like this is so.
Speaker 2:Wait, what were you seeing at other places?
Speaker 1:So, like the, the one that really stuck out to me was they had two litter not littermates, siblings, but they weren't littermates coming into the facility for sibling fighting, sibling fighting, but they were fighting in the house and apparently they didn't evaluate the dogs correctly and they brought in the dog first. That wasn't the problem. They thought they were bringing in the problem child first for like an eight week and then the other one, who wasn't a problem, was going to come in after for like a three week, but they got them wrong. They're like this is actually not the problem child, the other one is, and they could. At that time they were there together and they couldn't get them to fight and they were literally contemplating putting them into a pen together with E-caller's on and muzzles on, and just waiting until they fought. And then just 127, both of them it's like yeah, so I'm not going to be around for that.
Speaker 2:You're like I want to do things a little bit differently, yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm all right. I'm all right, I'm going to pass on that one.
Speaker 2:So kind of seeing what other people were doing. You're like okay, I, I like can do this better. I want to do this better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, essentially. And I didn't want to move back to North Dakota at all. It's just a very cold place, and so I yeah, I tried interviewing at a bunch of places, couldn't find anywhere. But taking the leap to jump to a new state where you don't know anybody, plus working for yourself, was just too much. So I went back to North Dakota, opened up the facility and, yeah, within two weeks we were booked out and I was like I just wanted to open it for like a year and then save up some money so I could move, get some experience. But it just didn't turn out that way.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, so you had it for five years, right? And when did you start? How old were you it?
Speaker 1:was 2017. I think I was 20. One, yeah, 21 or 22? That's crazy.
Speaker 2:That's like very impressive, thank you. There's not a lot of 21 year olds who are like opening facilities.
Speaker 1:Yeah, don't recommend.
Speaker 2:I'm also. You've just been there, done that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Also like dog training is obviously like a newfound love. But before I was a dog trainer I owned a business, so it's not like I jumped into both of these new things all at once. I kind of had the business understanding and then did the dog.
Speaker 2:What business did you have before?
Speaker 1:I owned an online apparel store.
Speaker 2:No, you didn't.
Speaker 1:Yes, I love that. Yeah, I sold tie-dyes.
Speaker 2:No way Were you making them.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:You were just reselling them. Yes, so you've always been a hustler.
Speaker 1:Always. I love that dude, that's so cool, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:So you opened up your own facility. You're in North Dakota. Flash forward five years, you're on the edge of burnout. What kind of led you to that point?
Speaker 1:Oh man, I think it's really hard to explain and you resonate with just the daily stress that you deal with of like making sure the clients are happy, making sure that your staff is happy, making sure that you are eating.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:Yeah, dude, we have the same life. This is kind of where I knew this is not sustainable for me and that hustle eat promenues every day if you have to. This is not for me it's. I was literally doing so many lessons a day, staying back to help train new staff members and then driving home, literally blacking out while I was driving, eating McDonald's, going home, going to bed and like doing it all over again the next day and I would be talking to my mom and she's like, emily, you got to eat better, try meal prepping. I'm like, yeah, I want to try to meal prep, and then it just that doesn't happen. That does not happen and it gets pushed out of the schedule because there's literally no other option when you're being a slave to dogs and you have team members who need your support, so you have to take the back burner.
Speaker 2:And I just got to a point where I was like I can't, yeah, I can't do it, yeah it like reaches the point where you're like I physically cannot do this anymore, Like my body cannot handle this. And I think kind of the breaking point for me, which is why I really had to take this time off, is I was waking up in the morning and I didn't want to wake up. Like I would wake up and just like the wall of anxiety would just hit me and I'm like I don't, like I want to go back to sleep, Like I don't even want to deal with whatever is like coming my way today.
Speaker 1:Yep, because it's when things are good. It's so euphoric, it's so good. You're like I could live this life forever. This is great. But when things are bad and the hard part for me was and I've talked to a few of my mentors about this who have had facilities it's literally traumatizing to have your own facility, because you're going along life and then you open up a door and things are really great. And then you're going along, you open up another door and things are really great, and then you open up a door and like somebody's holding a gun to your head. That's literally what, and it's like snap. Now, the next week of your life you're going to be dealing with this and nothing else, and your life is going to be so unbelievably crappy, and then things will slowly start going back up. It's traumatizing to me. I literally think that.
Speaker 2:I've already changed. It's so traumatizing oh, I mean, it's not just me too, it's like my staff, like Tori, she's like she's my day, one girl you know, and like I have to. We literally text each other. Hey, can you call me Nothing bad? Like you have to put that disclaimer of like this is nothing bad. Nothing bad has happened, nobody is in trouble, everybody is fine.
Speaker 1:If I get a phone call out of the random from one of my team members, I'm like panic, Like instant Stomach drops. Yep, I better be looking at flights back to North Dakota, I better be getting in my car and going to the facility right now. There's going to be something that I'm going to have to deal with. That's going to be really hard.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think the hardest thing for me and I don't feel it obviously as much anymore because I've like taken some time away from my business, but when you're in it like it's so hard to not be in, just like survival mode.
Speaker 1:Straight yes.
Speaker 2:Like it's like just get through today, like people would ask me, like Meg, what's the plan for this week, what's the plan for tomorrow and I'm like I can't help you, I can't. I don't fucking know.
Speaker 1:I don't know. Yeah, you can. I'm eating McDonald's tonight on the way home and then I'm going to get up and be a zombie and come back in and we're going to just rinse and repeat. Yeah, I'm going to wear the same clothes for three days straight because I don't have time to do fucking laundry. Who has time to do?
Speaker 2:laundry. I don't do laundry, I send it to a laundromat. Like I stopped. I couldn't do it anymore.
Speaker 1:There goes part of your pay laundromat because you don't have time to wash your own clothes.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, meal prep. I would get meal prep pay for laundry. I had a cleaning person at one point because my whole life was just wake up, start working, start working dogs, start, you know, contacting clients. Even like today, I had a few clients reach out to me because it's like Monday, you know, and they're like yep, time to call the dog trainer.
Speaker 1:Like what I had a? Yeah, I just like I don't know. I just this randomly popped back into my head but just not knowing what the day is going to bring you. Like I had taken my first vacation in. For a lot of people it doesn't sound like a lot, but I mean you're talking my only day off, full day off, in seven months. Like that's a long time to just be on the clock 24, seven, go, go, go. And I had hired a manager and she knows she'll quit during my only vacation that I'd had in that long. Yeah, and so it was like, well, there goes my vacation. I'm literally sitting by the pool cleaning up messes all the time of. Luckily, I have like a really, really good team. When you find those people, it's like I want to be buried in this lot next to you. Bitch, you're not leaving me, you can't go anywhere. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh. Yeah, it's like it's no joke and I wish like I talked to my friend who she also has a dog training business in Orlando. She's a crazy person. She takes on like an ungodly amount of dogs every month, Like I'm talking like 50. It's like her whole family running it, but like still she has a lot.
Speaker 1:That is so many dogs.
Speaker 2:Insane, right, yeah. But I talked to her about it and she's like all of these clients get upset because I'm not sending enough updates or I don't respond fast enough and I just wish I could strap a GoPro onto my chest, live stream it, yeah, and show people. Look at what I'm doing all day long. Or even for me, when I'm there, I do a lot of pickups and drop offs. If somebody I do like boarding for clients that I have had for like a long time.
Speaker 2:You know, I'm like I'll take care of you, that sort of thing, so I'll do like pickups and drop offs for dogs and I can never be anywhere on time, because it's like one dog gets like diarrhea and like you're pushed back 30 minutes and then one thing is pushed back 30 minutes and then everything else gets pushed back, like you know, the whole day you're having to worry about this dog that has diarrhea.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like this stress that just compounds and like yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you did that for five years. You're like, okay, this like does not match my lifestyle and you just got rid of everything.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I literally hit, unplugged it, everybody off, payroll, payroll, canceled facility down. We moved everything into storage. We would still meet up and do some trainings. But then, yeah, I hopped in my my parents had like a big Sprinter van and I hopped in that and I went from all the way from New York down to San Diego and back. And when I came back, they're like, yeah, we really want you to like, if you open something back up, we'll be here for you. So I signed another three year lease at a building but one of my trainers is on the lease with me. I'm not doing this alone. It's too much weight for me. We need to disperse the weight. Yeah, we used to do primarily board and trains and it just seemed like a lot for us, a lot for the dog, a lot for the owner. Training was really good, you know, the dogs looked great, but it's really hard for the owners to, I don't know. So we moved mostly over to day training and then private lessons and then client exclusive daycare and boarding.
Speaker 2:I like that. I hate board and trains. I'm very I'm very public about my hatred for board and trains. My problem is like it's just what a lot of people know and want you know. So they're like going to a dog trainer and they're like I want a board and train. And it's like just talk to me about your dog first, how much is a board and train?
Speaker 1:And you're like okay, your dog needs two private lessons. Let's calm down.
Speaker 2:So do you like the like day training model? Is it working out nicely?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's good and I also think it helps. You know, we can sit there and try to make the expectation as much as we can in the value we do in person evaluations. We can sit there and try to set the expectation as much as possible, but until you're training the dog and you're trying to revert a habit the dog already has. Clients don't understand fully what that takes and I'm not blaming them, but it's a lot. And with the day training model of having the dog go home with them on the weekend, like you better pay attention in this private lesson because you're about to take your dog home and I'm sending you homework and if you don't do the homework, like you're going to fall behind in training. I mean, we've had clients not not every client follows through. We've had clients. They're like oh yeah, we can't make the lesson this week. We can't make the lesson this week. I mean I can't help you if you're not willing to help yourself.
Speaker 1:So it also kind of helps them one be along for the process of teaching their dog and understanding. You know, if the loosely shawak falls apart eventually because you stop falling through or your dog has to go somewhere with a friend, for I don't know. You go to country I don't know, but you know how to then put it back together because you were there for every step of the way, kind of like a private lesson. You're not completely helpless if I don't. I don't know what to do because I was just told to pop on the leash or walk into the dog or whatever. So it's a nice pace, so yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's kind of why I like daily training for myself and my trainers is we basically just do like daily private lessons with owners, and it's because it's like very owner focused, you know. And then how our training is is like it has to be owner focused, because I know I can train a dog, I know my trainers can train a dog, but you know, are you going to send this dog home and then it's going to go right back to how things are because the owner just doesn't simply know. And it's a lot of behavioral change on the owner's side too.
Speaker 1:Yes, it's.
Speaker 1:And when you have that pairing of the really really high intensity, quick, fast thinking dog with the owner that is not very quick thinking, maybe not very coordinated and just wants a potato dog, it's like I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be the trainer that's going.
Speaker 1:I'm going to teach your dog how to be calm and be still and all of those things, but at the end of the day you can't change genetics. You are going to have to quicken up, you're going to have to learn how to be interesting to this dog, otherwise it's not going to work and your life will forever be miserable with this dog and it's not going to be the dog Like. You need a total mindset change about how you view your dog sometimes and doing that in a boarding train is really tricky because they think they're going to hand the dog no matter how much you set the expectation, they think their dog is going to come back and if they kind of had a relationship, he's like my dogs can come back. A potato dog no, it's still a melon law, so it's tricky.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you're not so much doing that much anymore of the in-person stuff. You're keeping that super small and you're in San Diego and your business is not here, so how does that work? Are you just kind of running things remotely and tell me about your online stuff?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so running things remotely. I have two trainers one dog handler. He's ready to be a trainer. He's just a little nervous, but I think he's ready, he's ready, he's ready, he's ready, and so they're doing a really good job. The two girls have been working with me for a long time, haley and Hannah, and then Nathan is a dog handler. He was a client turned team member. So it's those three, and then we do. We have our little meetings, and I primarily focus a lot of my energy towards the online stuff.
Speaker 2:Tell me about this. I think this is so cool. We were joking earlier that I'm living her life, because everything that has happened to you has happened to me. And you quit your business called Turkey and I'm like, oh shit, I might be doing that and I'm like I'm not going back to Florida. There's no way. You took off in the van, I took off in my van, so tell me what's next for me.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, it's literally crazy. I know, I know, I knew I wanted to do online stuff, and the main reason I started the online stuff is because I wanted my in-person trainers to be able to have a passive income stream, because being a dog trainer is really hard. I don't want my trainers to have to take on 10 dogs in order for us, the business, to thrive and also for them to thrive in their personal life with income. Wise, it's like I don't ever want to become that facility where it's like, oh yep, one of my team members had a baby, so now they need more income, naturally, and now you need to take on five more dogs Like no quality first. We're never going to become that.
Speaker 1:So that's the original reason as to why I started an online platform. I was like, oh, we could get, I could get my trainers to make courses and then they would get a kickback from that. That would just be like mailbox money essentially. But then I pulled the plug out and I killed the facility RIP. So I guess now we're still kind of doing that.
Speaker 1:They have a few things on there right now, but it's mostly like a subscription, and like a monthly subscription where you can get a live Q&A with my trainers I think twice a month and ask them anything. There's courses on there that are for purchase, but I primarily focus my energy on my mentorship. Just like three months long and it's like having me in your back pocket. You can reach out to me 24 seven. I'll get back to you within 72 business hours. I will go to the end of the earth to make sure that you are understanding exactly what you're supposed to be doing with your dog to reach the goals that you have set for your dog.
Speaker 1:And, yeah, lifetime access to all my content. All of our live Q&As are recorded. They get lifetime access to those. All past student live Q&As are recorded. They get access to those. If you were to price it out, it would be every single mentorship would cost more money because there's more content in there from the last students. If I had to put a number on the actual dollar amount value if I was going to go through, it would be like 15 grand for three months. That would be the amount of value that somebody would get out of it. Just time wise going through it. My time past student stuff they get access to all my courses. Can ask me a question at any time and I've really, really, really, really fallen in love with that model and I think a lot of trainers are going to be kind of following suit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think we definitely see dog trainers going more online because there is just such a liability and risk and time and energy and so much that goes into training dogs in person and everything is kind of going online anyways. And I'm kind of seeing that a lot of owners want to be more involved in the training, which is why I kind of made the shift over to daily training instead of so many board and trains for our business. But I think that is something that I would do when I was struggling with my dog. Like I wish that I would have had you as a resource to do stuff online, because I was in the position where I was like I know that I need help. I don't really know what I need to be doing right now, but I could do it on my own if I just had the right kind of resources. So you're basically just giving people those resources to be able to train their dog on their own 100%.
Speaker 1:Yeah, students will take a video. Sorry, I'm losing my words. Take a video of them working with their dog on something specific. Send it to me and I'll give them feedback on exactly what they need to do next in order to reach the goal and I'll say do that four more times. Take a video, send it back to me. So it's literally like having me in your pocket.
Speaker 1:I was really, really, really, really nervous to make the jump to online and start the mentorship, because it took me probably six months just to prepare all of the content for the mentorship and how I wanted to stagger it and what I was going to charge in all of this stuff. Yeah, it's been sold out every single time and it's always tricky to online. I hope people are going to get the results, because I can't show them. I can't grab the leash and show them, which can be really helpful sometimes. But I mean I ask students to do a testimonial for me.
Speaker 1:I mean there's so many students that have submitted testimonials, video testimonials of sharing how life-changing of experience it was, and that's the stuff that keeps us going. I want to help you with your dog. That's why I'm a dog trainer. Yes, I love dogs, but I want to help you form a better relationship with your dog so that way you guys can live the life that you want and not this terrified looking out the window before you open the door because your dog might bite somebody. I want you to feel in control of your life until it's really cool to have feedback and proof that You're like yes, I'm doing good things.
Speaker 1:Yes, I'm doing it right. Okay, I'm adding value. That's good. We love validation. Yes, I need it. I need it. Otherwise, I would just think that I'm just not doing a good job.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I'm in the same boat as you and also like I don't know, I think just having you in their back pocket would be huge, you know, because it's so easy to watch videos and be like, oh, I can do that. But then when you start to go, do it on your own dog training in itself is so simple conceptually, but in practice it's not. So like, yeah, so you can have all of these courses and all of this content and all of this information, but if you're not getting that feedback that can coach you through like hey, do this a little bit better next time or do this like you're, you kind of get stuck and you like hit that plateau.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and if you don't have the dog that that specifically fits with, I can tell you how to teach your dog a down in three different ways within 30 minutes. That's all we have time for 30 minutes. Here's three different options. If your dog doesn't cooperate, your dog could not respond to one of those Like okay, well, then we need to backtrack, and so that's what's tricky about just buying a course online. Some dogs it works really great with. Some humans it works really great with. But yeah, being able to get that feedback is really important.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like when I was talking to Shane, he was like explain to me how you would work through like reactivity with a dog, and I was like, well, I don't know, it depends on the situation.
Speaker 1:I can tell you yeah, Like I don't know.
Speaker 2:It depends on the dog and the situation where we're at and what the you know handler is doing and you know, like I don't know, I don't know. It really just depends on so many factors. And that's what I really like about what you're doing. Is I like tried the membership thing, and I don't want to say try, like I did the membership thing, but you definitely need that component of it that like personalized, like let me watch videos of you, let me coach, like I love that. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yes, I really think like that's the way that the dog training community is. Dog trainers are going to start doing exactly that, because everybody's getting burnt out. Everybody in the whole dog training industry is getting burnt out, Like the one groomer I was referring people to. I've worked at a bunch of groomers in my city and some of them are a little sketchy and the one lady I worked for I referred everybody to. She was like yeah, I'm done, I'm burnt out.
Speaker 1:I'm tired of owners blaming me. I'm tired of dogs coming in and having their nails in, grown and embedded into their skin. Like I'm. I can't do it anymore. I love dogs, I love the really good clients that I have, but like it's just too much. Or you know, a lot of groomers aren't taking doodles. A lot of groomers just aren't taking new clients. A lot of groomers are only working part time because the industry is on fire right now and I feel like only the trainers and like the industry professionals are the only ones that are feeling it and the owners have no idea. But I think a lot of things are going to start changing in the next few years and people are going to be like what, why, why can't I find an in-person trainer anymore?
Speaker 1:It's all online.
Speaker 2:Do you think there will be value in the people who do stay in in-person?
Speaker 1:Oh for sure I think there's um, even for my mentorship. I have people do an application call and I've had a few people where I'm like no, let me try to refer you to somebody in person, because this is not it. Like, you need you need a board and train, and it's always just interesting. In those calls I'm like believe me, I am not turning you away because I don't want to help you and I don't want income. I'm helping you by sending you away from me. You need to like. And I'm like on the computer, as I'm on the phone with them, I'm like oh yeah, I know this trainer there's six hours away from you. Oh, six hours. No, go to them. If you want to train your dog, go to them. They don't do somebody local. That's who I would trust my own dog with. So I definitely, I think, um, I could also see a lot of training facilities starting to shrink down a little bit, um, and take a step back, kind of like.
Speaker 1:we have of like yeah maybe it'll be me and a kennel assistant and we're good yeah.
Speaker 2:That's what I'm starting to see too, and also the model of um having having your trainers have a little bit more ownership over like, let's say, their location. You know like. You know like. You know like like the everyday trainer, but like in different locations, but like that person is like running. That you know because you are only one person. You've learned this. I've learned this You're only one person and you can really only be in so many places at once and like run so many things. I think the secret to like running a dog training business, whether it's like online or in person, is finding those people that you know you want to be buried next to, you know that are like your day, ones that you trust to like be there through all the crazy ups and downs of like running a business. We also we also have to talk about the fact that there aren't very many women doing this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's kind of crazy. Um, I really think it's because it's honestly the horrible men in the industry. Yeah, that too. They probably are like I want to be a dog trainer and they go find the nearest dog training facility and it's some dude who does not treat them very well and they go. I don't want to be a dog trainer anymore. Fair girly fair.
Speaker 2:I think that's one thing that I get a lot of, because, you know, my whole like business is super girly and my all my online stuff is super girly.
Speaker 2:Like the dog training industry is dominated by men at the top but actually run by women, and so there are all of these women who, like I don't know, I get people who reach out to me and they're like I want to come and work for you.
Speaker 2:You know, like I want to come to Orlando, I'll shadow you because like it's so intimidating and like I kind of I can handle it because, I don't know, I like thrive in those environments. Like even when I was at like primal K9, it's like Mike Jones, and then like two other like big dudes and I'm like hello, welcome back to the everyday trainer podcast. You know like flipping my hair and they're like neck tats and face tats, but like I kind of thrive in those situations. But I can see how, you know, like so many other people would be like so intimidated, just like step foot into something like that. So that's something that, like I try to do is like make it the last least as intimidating as it can possibly be because, like I tried to, you know, get into the sport world and stuff like that, and it's like it's kind of scary, yeah, especially when you have a run in with somebody you know, a big man with face tats, and he's not nice and he's rude and blunt maybe not rude, but like blunt or even predatory.
Speaker 1:or this is listen here, little lady like this is how we're going to do it. Like that type of mentality I've ran into over and over and over and over again. And not saying that it was somebody with a face tattoo, I don't even think I've met somebody in the doctoring world with a face tattoo. I have not physically met anybody, but that's the. So it's like intimidating, and then they work up the courage to go and do it and then sometimes they're met with a really terrible experience and it scares them away, rightfully so.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of creepy men like in. There's like there's a lot of creepy men in the dog training industry with like massive freaking egos, and they are the ones who are running dog training businesses.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's like I don't know, I don't, I don't fuck with that, like you can't, you can't. We were talking about? Yeah, we were talking about how I was like oh, do you have all of these like dog trainer men in your DMs like hitting on you? And she's like no, I don't like me either, like I don't give off the vibes of like this shit's going to fly with me?
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely not, absolutely not. And for the ladies listening to say are getting into dog training, you're like, oh yeah, I kind of have a crush on my mentor, or something like that. No, don't do it. Don't do it. You keep your business and your personal life separate.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think that's why you've been able to like well, both of us have been able to like navigate this industry is because of that, because of that understanding, and you know, like I've been fucking burned by dog trainer men, but I'm not, I'm not going to like sit here and like play the victim mentality. I'm going to be like okay, this is kind of how this shit goes. I know how I need to be to kind of like exist in this space and I think that, like for me, I like it, like, I like being that person that like can exist in this space and not get, you know, butt hurt or get my feelings hurt or offended by things, because, like, I am willing to like put myself at risk, to like make that space in the industry. You know for other women to be like you can run your own business. You can do this Like it's not just these like dumb men 100%, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:And and then hopefully, when they try things on us who are highly successful, have our own businesses, have a whole team behind us, we make our own money, we pay our own fricking bills. We don't need no dude to try to hopefully, when they do try something on us and we go get away from me, then they don't do it to the next girl or they think twice before they do it, because, yeah, sometimes it's just straight, straight predatory.
Speaker 2:I think the like newer generation of dog trainers, everybody that I've met so far, has been like very respectful. You know, and maybe I'm just getting old- we're not getting hit on as much. We're having realizations here. That's hilarious. Yeah, I mean, it's not fucking easy dude Like. This shit is not easy.
Speaker 1:No, it's, it's hard and, like you said, it's. I mean the way that you think about dog training. One of the things that I tell my clients, you know they're saying oh yeah, my dog, you know they're. They do all these things, but but they're really good dog and they're really smart. And the whole time I've been sitting here in this eval, all they're describing to me is that the dog has learned how to smart them. That's it. The dog has learned what exactly they can get away with, what exact buttons they can push, what they can do when the with the mom versus the dad, versus when they're home alone with versus when they're not home alone. That's all they're doing is manipulating. And then and then they go. They go, but they're really smart. They say, yes, smart enough to manipulate human.
Speaker 2:Oh, I always like all my phone calls go the exact same way. They're like all. This dog, you know, bit my kids face and, you know, jumps on gas and pulls on the leash. But he's a really smart good dog, yeah, and it's.
Speaker 1:it's kind of the same mentality that you have to take into dealing with these in the dog training circle as a, as a female, is, I'm gonna go into this and I'm gonna be smarter and play a better game than they're trying to play when. When you try to hit on me, I'm not gonna feed into it, I'm not gonna even entertain it Because it's. But also Also, but also like and I'm saying this for all of the girls out there who you know like yeah, go out, go out to dinner in a group Of all of them. Go, you know, have fun and do all of the things, but have a line and know that at some point somebody's gonna try to poke that button and be confident enough in yourself and know the situation that you're putting yourself into.
Speaker 2:I think that's the really big thing around it.
Speaker 2:Is confidence yeah yeah, being confident to be able to Say no, and that just kind of plays into like your value too. Because I think you know, like when I was first starting off, you feel a little bit like lost and isolated. When somebody like reaches out to you and tells you that you're doing great, you're like oh my gosh, you know, but that really just comes from like you don't internally feel like valuable enough on your own or what you're doing on your own, and you really kind of like need that external validation. But if I could go back to Megan, like you know, three or four years ago, I would basically be like you got this, like you don't need other people to tell you that you got this.
Speaker 1:A hundred percent and I think the situations, one of the situations that I was put into with a male trainer. After I left that situation, I just thought to myself like oh my god, if I had just started dog training, I wonder if I would have felt really, really, really, really pressured to, to reciprocate his advances, because he's much better, he's highly successful, he knows all of the things, he's where I want to be, he's cute, like all of those things. I wonder if I would have felt more pressure because I didn't have the confidence that maybe I thought he could give me. But thank god I had the confidence and was just saw right through exactly what he was trying to do. But like, this is worked on baby trainers before, hasn't it? That is so predatory, that is so unbelievably predatory. That's what you're relying on. It's like, yeah, you look up to me, don't you like? I'm so I can. I can give you everything that you need, all the knowledge that you need, don't you want? Well, this is how you get it. Little girl like.
Speaker 2:I was on a phone call today with a dog trainer and he ended the call with okay, girls, and I was like Kill me, kill me, don't do that, don't like, it's just so, just like If you guys need recommendations for mentors.
Speaker 1:We can hook you up with people who won't be creepy. There are so many good men in the industry, so many good men in the industry who have literally changed my opinions about training, change my whole business model, changed how I viewed the world in such good ways. And if you need one of those mentors, I we can. I can send you their Instagram. I can just DM, dm us, let us do the filtering? Exactly. We have a good idea of the scope of what's going on around here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think that's something, too, that I get a lot of messages from. You know new dog trainers who are like I want to get involved in the industry. Like what's my first step? What's something that you would tell them?
Speaker 1:Hmm so if they have, they have no experience or little experience with dogs. You know, maybe they grew up with dogs or their dog walking or something. Right now, one of the One of the best things I think I can tell somebody do is go get hired as a groomer or a bather somewhere. Truthfully, I'm hesitant to tell people to go find a trainer and be a go work under a trainer, because if they are no doing not so good things like you know, old school hunt trainer that, just like you know, not there behind the times, that's gonna be their first impression of the industry and either they're gonna run and be like this is terrible or they're going to be like okay, I guess this is what I that's kind of what I fell into is when I first started training, I was like this doesn't feel right to me, but I guess this is just what you do. And I actually was like I can't be a doctor because I just I don't have the heart for this is not what I want to do. Um, and then you have this. You know it's character building for sure, like it built my character to see all the things and hear all the things in their thought process and stuff like that. But it took me a long time To come out from that and realize that there's a better way to do things, and so I think as a I worked as a groomer, slash bather for a while and you gotta learn body language.
Speaker 1:You learn a really valuable skill that you're gonna take into as a trainer, which is grooming. You won't believe the amount of times that you might have to shave a dog like we have it in our in our drop off agreement and we tell people your dog needs to be fully groomed before they come in to a board and train some important training your dog, training your dog, grooming your dog and they don't do it and it's like, okay, well, now I have to reschedule these people for months because we're booked for months out. Or I could groom dog myself and charge them. What am I gonna do? I'm gonna groom the dog myself and charge them cuz I know how. It's a really valuable skill that you can bring with you anywhere. You make a really good money as a groomer as well make bank. But you you learn a lot about what it's like working with dogs without potentially stepping into something that's going to take your Experience getting into the industry, but also like a lot of people go work at a doggy daycare.
Speaker 2:Well, I just think that's dangerous if you want the like bad side of it.
Speaker 1:you know, yeah, when I tell my facility one of my, a girl that I had hired. She had no dog experience before me. She came into my facility. She worked there for, like I think she almost two years, maybe a year, before I shut it down, and she went and worked at a daycare and she quit after three days. She was like Emily, what the fuck? And I'm like, yeah, girl, we do it way different. We do it way different, don't? She's like I couldn't, I couldn't do it like, yeah, you know, yeah, it was really bad, but that's probably and you know, for people that don't have a trainer near them, you probably have a groomer near you. So do that and then Find really good trainers online that are putting out really good, knowledgeable content.
Speaker 1:Go through my follow list. I try to really follow trainers that I believe in and back up, because that's what I did when I was a baby trainer. I was like, oh, I'm gonna go to this talk training that I look up to and follow everybody that they follow. And so I try to be. I don't know, maybe this sounds like snooty or whatever. I but try to be very selective about who I follow, because I don't want somebody Following somebody who's doing some dog daddy stuff and Like this is good, this is great stuff. I like it. I must do it to. Emily follows them. They must be doing something good. Right, that was my thought process when I first started.
Speaker 1:But Reading books, I'm not sure. If you have an Amazon storefront the link in my bio I have an Amazon storefront. I have some really good books on there that I like. That can give you some insight. And then really to you know, getting your hands on as many dogs as possible, shelters, but it can be kind of dangerous. You don't know what you're walking into, especially if you have kind of a janky shelter and just, yeah, getting your hands on friends and families dogs, but knowing that working with friends and families typically isn't, they're not gonna follow through with what you say most likely, but just get the experience with the dog. That's the most important part.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. I started off as a walker so I always tell people go walk dogs. Like, get your hands on as many dogs as you can. As a walker and like, you will learn so much, not just about the dog but about what people are doing in the home.
Speaker 1:A hundred percent how these dogs are living. Dog walking scares a crap out of me, honestly.
Speaker 2:It scares a crap out of me. It's the hardest job in the whole world.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I. You're having untrained dogs. You're going into people's homes that you don't know. You don't know them, you don't know your dog, you don't know what's gonna set them off, you don't know the medical background. Dog walking serious crap. Did you see the girl? Your name is Jacqueline, from Texas. Ever since I saw this, I was like I knew it was a really scary job and I'm not trying to like scare anybody, but you need to be careful when you're why what happened dogs.
Speaker 1:She was a dog walker on Rover and she's like this little girl girl, but college age, little little lady, and she went over to these, this family's house, and they had two dogs. They were on vacation, I think, and she goes in and they just they mall her for hours, like hours. It took 45 minutes for EMS to be able to get her out of the house safely and she's still like. It's been, I think, two years and she's still having like reconstructive surgery on her face. She's like completely deformed. Her ears were ripped off, her lips were ripped off. Yeah, there's body cam footage of it. I mean it took 45 minutes to get her out of that also kind of goes into.
Speaker 2:I've been talking a lot about this recently, about, like Keeping those types of dogs around. You know, like I think there's very much the mentality of like save all the dogs. You know, like all dogs deserve training and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But like, as I become a more experienced trainer, I do not put dogs lives ahead of owners. Like, if you know, I'm talking to a client and they're like our dog bit a person multiple times. I have the very real conversation with them about like Is it really worth your life? Because that's what can happen and it does happen. Like these dogs like do actually mall people?
Speaker 1:Yeah, people are. Society in America and other parts of the world has gotten so detached that this is an animal with one inch teeth that can kill you and like there are dogs there are. The majority of dogs would never kill somebody. They might nip at somebody like that's all they got in them, but they'd rather just avoid the fight. They're not going to escalate to that point, but there are some dogs out there. Genetically, yeah, it's just not. And they're just unsafe, yeah, it's unsafe. It's unsafe for our society. That's, and that's what I mean.
Speaker 1:I had a, a blackmouth mountain cur, come into the facility six months old. I mean scarring the owners, not puppy bites like Fuck you, I'm not going to go in that kennel and you're not going to make me go in that kennel. Or fuck you, I'm not putting that harness on. You're not going to make me put that harness on and I will. I will fight you over it, I will throw hands. They were, I mean jeans, ripped scars should go. Dog going into straight defense at six months old. Long search for the owner. Apparently one of the mom had ptsd and every time that he barked she would essentially unknowingly civil the dog. She would scream and jump away from him every single time he barked, from the time he was a puppy. We're already dealing with a field Like this. Dog was bred in the mountains of Wyoming to go bear hunt. He had good genetics for what he was supposed to do, but in a home mixed, with him getting literally civil every single time that he barked.
Speaker 2:Explain civil people are going to know what that means.
Speaker 1:I don't want to like over explain, but I think I'm going to over explain because I always do that. You have prey driving, you have defense, defensive drive. Pray drive is like it's a game to the dog. It's like chasing a squirrel or chasing a rabbit. And then you have the prey cycle catch, kill, consume, dissect, eat, whatever. So it's happy, happy, fun time. That's what a lot of like protection dogs are trained in, because it's more fun for the dog and you can start at a younger age. But then you have defensive drive, which is more of like the fight, flight, freeze.
Speaker 1:We're going to put the dog into a defensive state. Where they have to, they believe they have to defend themselves. There's some breeds that are naturally more defensive and even just some lines of certain breeds that are naturally more defensive. But yeah, this dog was, he would go straight like no, we're throwing hands now and I'm going to kind of enjoy doing it and it's like they'd went to another trainer and they're like oh, it's just puppy stuff. Hi, I just assumed they didn't know what they were looking at and they didn't know what to tell these people. But we had to have that serious conversation. We had him in our facility for a week and I said this dog is six months old and you can look at it. There's trainers that will look at that two ways. Okay, he's six months old. There's a lot of time. You have time to undo and you have time to rehabilitate. He's so young. But then you have the other side of the coin, which is like he's six months old and he's taking this out.
Speaker 2:That's like what I would think in that moment. When I get dogs like that that are like biting with intent or like showing intent, I'm like this is alarming. You know, at six months old that's like a big genetic red flag 100% to be in.
Speaker 1:And I saw these owners like where did you get this dog? Who gave you this dog? Because you should not have this dog in a city, in a home. This dog is meant to tree bears and mountain lions in the wild and then live in a pen outside and then come outside and hunt and then go back in the pen and then go hunt and then go back in the pen. That should be this dog's life and you're trying to make him a couch dog. That's just not going to work. And then you have to think about too, the owner's handling skills. That's a really big one for me. When talking about like rehoming or euthanasia, is the owner's handling skills? That dog needed somebody to never jump when he barked again, to just stand there and be like bro. It doesn't work. I always say your powers are futile here. I love that.
Speaker 2:I'm like biting me.
Speaker 1:I'm like your powers are futile. And then they look at you like they're like what I thought it was so powerful I'm like no, not to me.
Speaker 1:So, like a dog that's won so many times and a dog that that is. His issue is, he's essentially been silled up his whole life and realized that he's a Billy badass and when he acts scary, people will back away. And I'm not going to hammer on the dog and go no, you don't bite me, I'm going to kick your ass. Now I'm just going to not react and say that doesn't work. Try something else. Like stop biting me, that would be great.
Speaker 1:So that owner, specifically that dog, can't be in that home. She has a disorder that's not going to go away, that this dog has already figured out. And then it's like okay, well, they told me we're going to try to re-home the dog. You can't re-home a dog unless you find a hunting home in North Dakota that hunts. We don't have bears in North Dakota. I can't, I'm not taking the dog. Like, I know what kind of dog that is. I'm probably one of the very few people in the state that could live a normal life with that dog and I'm telling you I'm not taking the dog.
Speaker 2:I mean, I have a dog like that at my house that I took in because she had a bite history and all it was is she learned I can bite and I can keep you away, and it works. And she, you know, got a few successful bites and now she knows oh, I can do this and I'm fine with her, I can handle her, but my trainers cannot handle her. I cannot find another home for her and at some point, like I have to decide what is worth it. You know, like is this dog's life worth? Like the risk that I have by keeping her around?
Speaker 1:For sure, 100%, and you know these people. They're like, well, maybe we could have a thing for him outside, and I was like they're pregnant. I was like this dog is a dog who will not. One day he will decide he is not letting you on the couch and then he will decide he's not letting you in the living room and then he will decide he's not letting you in your house and he will fight you to the death over it. That's what he will decide one day. That is this dog and it's you know.
Speaker 1:We every once in a while, because we deal with behavioral issues, we get the email that's like, hey, my life circumstances have changed Since I trained with you. Do you know anybody who can take this dog? No, no, I'm. I'm sorry you have. If you have a dog who has a major behavioral issue, you are the best home for that dog. That is the dog's biggest chance at success. 99.9% of the time that I've seen, that's you are the dog's biggest. You already have a bond with the dog. You got it as a puppy. You know the dog in and out. You've been through training with the dog. Anybody who voluntarily goes. You have a dog that's bitten four people before I can, I'll take it. They think they can fix it with love, and then it's going to end up in somebody getting hurt. Yeah.
Speaker 2:So what did you suggest for those owners? What did they end up doing?
Speaker 1:So I said I'll reach out to a few people I know in the dog world that are in the, the more of the working working side of the industry, people who hunt bears and stuff, and I had a few leads. But then when they because I'm going to be honest, like he has behavioral issues because of you know, the things that he's been through they are all like no, I can't take him, which again, rightfully so they it's another trainer looking at it and going, yeah, I know what that's going to turn into. And then they tried to reach back out to the breeder. Of course the breeder said we can't take him. And so they they didn't tell me, but I got an email about a week later that they euthanized him. Yeah, and I was, I cried, I was fucked up, I was messed up and I, I, I, I know in my heart of hearts after meeting that dog, that that Well, that's the best option, you know, as far as like human safety goes.
Speaker 1:You know, and their baby like and they're like could we put up a gate up, like have him on a climb and put a gate up and have him in a muzzle? No, absolutely not. Because two years from now, when you've been managing it really really managing it really really well, and you go, oh, he doesn't need the muzzle. He loves our baby, bam Dead baby. Like I hate to be dramatic and gory, but no, I do.
Speaker 2:I do the same thing. Like when I'm talking to my clients. I'm like, listen, nobody is going to tell you this, but I will tell you. Like this is what all these dog trainers sit around and talk about, like we would not put our lives or other people's lives at risk over a dog, you know. And when I talk to inexperienced trainers and they're like guilting people for re-homing dogs or guilting people for behavioral use the nasia I'm like you haven't seen. You haven't seen what these dogs can do to people because they will literally maul people over what? Like your guilt of keeping this dog alive. You know like some dogs are just genetically unsafe to be fit like to live in.
Speaker 1:You know people's homes 100% and we also have to remember that our skillset can handle that dog and have that dog live a pretty normal, good life for the rest of its life. But these aren't dog trainers and they're never going to be dog trainers and they're only dealing with one dog. So, like we have hindsight, they don't have hindsight. So even if we make them a dog trainer for their specific dog, they don't have the hindsight of again two years from now. Everything's going fine. I'm just going to have my sister come watch the dog for the weekend because she's met him a bunch of times, he does really good with her and boarding's really expensive. Well, now sister is locked in a bathroom because dog got off leash and it's holding her hostage Like that's. Those are the stories that we hear over and over and over and over and over again, and then at a certain point you just go yup, saw that coming from three years ago.
Speaker 2:I have those stories too, with like little things like crates, or like putting blankets in the crate, or like leaving toys. Can't I leave a toy? Can I leave a toy out? I feel so bad, I'm like no, it's never worth it. You're going to have to send your dog to a vet for an obstruction and they're going to have to do an emergency surgery, and it's just like. It's never worth it, just like if you're not watching your dog create your dog. Trust me, I've seen the worst of the worst. I've seen dogs die. I've had all of this crazy shit. If you truly love your dog, you will give them enough structure. You will put them in the environment that is best suited for them, not just suited for you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they don't know any different. I mean, I've even had a guy. He came into me for training with his next dog, but his last dog he had always put her in the bathroom when he left because she was really good. She's like a potato dog, a golden retriever never did anything, never chewed anything up. And one day he came home from work and she had to eat in the bath mat and brought her to the vet. They stitched her stomach up but then, like three months later, she had a complication with it because her guts were just all messed up and she passed away.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's why running an in-person business is very stressful, because there's always something. It's just such a high risk job and people have no idea. I think especially too because social media has just glamorized it.
Speaker 1:Oh, 100%. Oh my gosh. There was a chick I'm friends with on Facebook from high school and she posted she was like a hairstylist or something. And then she posted she's like I'm looking at buying this property to open a dog boarding facility. And I'm like what are you doing? What are you doing? One, why would you do that to yourself? First of all, why would you do that to yourself? Do you hate yourself? We need to talk about it. But two, where did this come from? Because you love playing with puppies all day. Because you're going to be scooping poop all day.
Speaker 2:That's what you're going to be doing Scooping poop, sending updates like I don't know, just every just chaos, just chaos.
Speaker 1:Go work at a boarding facility for a month and then, if you're still our head over heels and in love with it, then open your boarding facility. But where is this coming from?
Speaker 2:I would never have a boarding facility, even if I have let's say, I have a space for training. I do not want boarding dogs. Oh my God. The liability of boarding dogs is just never worth it. That's why I'm very selective about who we do boarding with. I'm like we can't have just anybody's dogs in our house 100%.
Speaker 1:You don't know what they're going to do, even with the dogs that you have thoroughly vetted and did evaluations on, like that trainer. That just terrifies me. Literally shredded a stainless steel bowl Shredded how do you do that? It was like a lab too. It wasn't even this big meat head oh, my God, really. Yeah, yeah Showed me the bowl in a baggie. It shred and they had to open up its stomach and take shards of a stainless steel bowl out of its stomach. Luckily it survived. Luckily the owners were like, yeah, you couldn't have predicted that. That's so weird.
Speaker 2:Shreds. Oh my gosh, yeah, damn. All right. Well, what's one piece of advice that you want to give to dog owners out there? Because the experienced dog trainer that you are, because you're very experienced and nobody is going to go out there and like hype you up, but I'll hype you up right now. You really know your shit. Thanks, genuinely. I talk about it all the time. I talk to a lot of dog trainers and you know that you can have the conversation with a dog trainer and you know exactly where they're at in their dog training journey and how many dogs they've actually worked with and how many owners they've actually worked with. So you've been there. Like you just don't know and I can tell. Like you've been there, you've worked with the dogs, you did the facility, now you're doing the online stuff. So, like, for the average owner, what's like that one piece of advice that, like you, just feel like you can't share enough about.
Speaker 1:Probably to play with your dog. I think a lot of people it doesn't matter if your dog's a puppy, if your dog is old, if your dog has severe behavioral issues, if your dog is a potato dog learn how to play with your dog. Play is how dogs teach each other things. From the time they were born, that's what they've been doing. They've been play, fighting and wrestling around and exploring the environment and playing in new environments to gain confidence and environmental exposure. That's how a lot of animals and even humans like if you grew up with siblings you play to teach each other a lot of things.
Speaker 1:And I think people have kind of lost that connection with their dog or they associate play with fetch, which sorry but newsflash a lot of dogs don't like fetch or we've only, we've just conditioned them to like fetch because that's the only form of like exercise and interaction they get from you, except for, you know, the random belly rub on the couch. So, learning how your dog likes to play, whether that's with a toy, with food because yes, you can play with food personal play, that's another thing. Like a lot of owners want to play personally with their dogs and a lot of dogs are getting kind of freaked out by it. You see it a lot with dudes actually.
Speaker 2:Wait, what do you mean explain?
Speaker 1:Like they want to wrestle with their dog and the dog is liking it for about a split second and then they're like wait, are you mad at me? Are we fighting? Like what? What is going on here? And I see it a lot with men. They do that with their dogs, so really a lot of dogs can have fun playing with food. A lot of dogs learn how to play with your dog. Long story short, I do. I do have a course on play. I'm not trying to sell you something right now.
Speaker 2:Oh no, let's sell the people.
Speaker 1:Let's sell it. I have a course on play. You also get it included in my 90 day mentorship. If you're a super dedicated owner especially if you're struggling with reactivity or just relationship issues, my 90 day mentorship is like the best place that you could possibly be. But I think my play course is literally 20 or 40 bucks. I tried to make it really affordable because I believe that play is the key to a lot of things. It's how I start. Almost all my training is through play.
Speaker 2:Yes, Nice, and how can the people find you and join your membership or community or mentorship, all the things you?
Speaker 1:got Well. Instagram is Emily Malhar E-M-I-L-E-E-M-A-H-A-R. Tiktok is Emily Dog Lady. And then the links in my bio.
Speaker 2:Perfect. Well, thank you, emily, you're the best. Thanks for having me on. This is my first podcast, by the way, is it really?
Speaker 1:Yeah, we just popped your podcast, cherry, you did. Oh my gosh, are you so proud.
Speaker 2:I am. I have to go get this was recorded on my camera's going to die in a second but we had to record this on my camera with my little road mic because I accidentally left the power cord to my podcast setup at Shane's house. So I'm going to have to go back to Shane's and then give you the full podcast experience. I'll come back before I travel to Florida. Are you serious? I need another excuse to not go back. To not go back? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Do it. Yeah, I'll be here till March. Let's freaking do it. But yeah, cool. Well, thank you.
Speaker 2:Thanks, you're the best Thanks, and thank you so much for listening. We will see you all back here next week.
Speaker 1:Subscribe.
Speaker 2:Subscribe.
Speaker 1:Like and subscribe, like and subscribe, like and subscribe, like and subscribe.