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The Everyday Trainer Podcast
The Everyday Trainer Podcast
Blending Passion and Business: Insights from our Dog Training Retreat
We just wrapped up our first ever dog training leadership retreat and I've got a lot to say about it. From creating a sustainable daily routine to building a family of passionate dog trainers, the retreat genuinely changed my life (as I hope it did our participants too). We went on hikes, had family dinners, and set goals- all things that we can integrate into our lives to help us navigate training our own dogs and becoming better people.
You know the drill, grab a tasty drink and enjoy the episode.
Hello and welcome back to the Everyday Training Podcast. We just wrapped up our first ever leadership retreat, which is so freaking cool. So I'm going to tell you guys all about that, how that went, some life updates and also some takeaways from the retreat that can really help your relationship with your dog. So y'all know the drill. Grab yourself a tasty drink. Hello, y'all, and welcome back to the Everyday Trainer podcast.
Meg:It's been a little bit. Life has kind of been all over the place. So you guys know that I was recently in Costa Rica that was the last two episodes were there and then I flew back to my home in Orlando. We packed everything up. Luckily, toma did a lot of the packing. I really just had to show up and then the next day we got in our vans and drove for essentially five days straight across the country over to Joshua Tree where the retreat was hosted.
Meg:So, if you don't know, the leadership retreat was for dog trainers or professionals in the industry, whether it's for people who want to do social media, grow that, grow dog training businesses. Really just show up as a professional in the community. So the reason why I put this retreat together is because I feel like this industry. You know I've talked about it before, but the dog training industry is like a tough space. It can feel very clicky, it can feel very like intimidating, it almost feels like mean sometimes and I really just wanted to put something together where a group of like-minded but for our own personal well-being like meaningful connections, is really valuable, especially if you're trying to reach your goals. It's really hard to do it alone. So the whole premise of this retreat was to really just freaking bring people together and talk about dog training, talk about our business, our goals and talk about dog training, talk about our business, our goals, our lives. It was so awesome. I have to say I'm dealing with the comedown now of post-retreat feels and it's a lot. I miss everybody so much and if you guys are listening to this, I hope that you don't feel the same way that I do, but I'm assuming you probably do, because it was just like so magical and amazing and the group of people that we had at the retreat was like perfect. Like very rarely can you bring nine strangers together and everybody get along so well. But we were all very different but also kind of similar and we all just kind of like balance each other out so nicely and everybody got along and we formed these like awesome friendships and now we have like our own little support system in you know, helping each other reach our goals. And it just so happened that this round everybody was in similar stages where they're either in the process of establishing their dog training business or they're in the process of maybe scaling it or shifting it, and so we really got to work very much on our business and how we can like show up for our clients professionally and show up for, you know, the dogs that we help.
Meg:But I am very passionate about like the business side of things, because that was something that I didn't really know in the beginning. I'm very fortunate in that my mom has started a small business and so she helped me with a lot of like the beginning stuff, like how to set up a website and you know like oh, you need to get insurance, you need to file an LLC, like get an account, all of this sort of stuff. So she really like set me up with the foundation. But for me it's been a lot of trial and error and I talk about that a lot, but like the reason I do is because dog training is wonderful.
Meg:And I find so many dog trainers that are really good at handling dogs, really good at training owners, but they struggle with the business side of things and so it doesn't become like a sustainable way of living for them. And I know that, like there is a dog trainer that I've followed for a while and he made a post that was just talking about like dog training isn't about making money. Like I keep seeing all of these ads for, you know, people who are like, oh, you know, make six figures as a dog trainer or whatever, and he was like just become a better dog trainer, which I totally get. But also I find that so many people are like really good at dog training and they're really good at handling, but they're not, you know, just educated on the business side of things. And so I want to support those people who are very like compassionate and kind and empathetic towards dogs, because that's what we need more of in the industry. So if I can support them in reaching their goals or creating a business that's sustainable and doesn't lead to burnout, then these people stay in the industry longer.
Meg:And the issue with kind of the a lot of the successful people in the industry is you have to have really like thick skin and you have to have a perspective on your business where you're looking at it as a business and not just a passion, like I think the balance there is important, because if you're just looking at dog training as like, oh, this is just a passion, I don't really care about getting paid, I just like doing it because I love doing it, I think that's great, but also it's not sustainable for you, and so if you genuinely love this and you want to do it long term, then you need to do it in a way that's sustainable for you. So that's what I'm really passionate about and I love helping other trainers achieve is because I really had to go through like trial and error for my dog training business and you know I tell everybody I've made every possible mistake that you can. But like it's genuinely true and we were like I was venting to the girls about like all of the stuff that I've been through in my business and they're like, oh my God, but you wouldn't know. You know like I I continue learning from you, know all of the things that happen in dog training and in, you know, running a business and just try to improve Like that's, that's all that I can really do so I'm able to take, like you know, the mistakes that I've made or the trial and error that I've done in my journey as a dog trainer and help other trainers not make those mistakes Right. So that's kind of the whole point of the retreat and honestly, it went 10 million times better than I could have ever ever anticipated. Like it was so wonderful, I loved it so much.
Meg:So I went in with a general plan of what I wanted the retreat to look like. It's kind of funny because I kind of structure all of my shadow programs and like retreats around. Like I'm almost bored in training people. So I meet the people, I learn about them, I get to know like who they are and what they want to do, their goals, and I've structured the shadow programs and I've structured the retreat around this. So I went in with a general plan and like an outline of what I wanted to do and I had like a few activities that I wanted people to do but I really didn't know where everybody was at in their lives until, you know, we all arrived at this retreat space and I also have to like do a little plug here.
Meg:We this space called cactus moon retreat and I found out about it because one of my virtual shadow program students. I was talking to her about like oh yeah, I really want to host a retreat. I have been looking for a space in Joshua Tree and she was like, oh my god, no way, my mom has like a retreat rental space in Joshua Tree. And I was like what? Like when she told me that I was like no, there's no way. Like that's so crazy that that has just kind of like aligned. So I checked out the space and it was absolutely perfect and it was 10 times better in person than any of the stuff online. And I could not be happier with like the space that we were in. Like it was so cozy and like inviting and it had all of these open windows. You guys know how I am about natural light. So I really structured this retreat around essentially training this group of people together.
Meg:I'm really big on like this is like. I don't know if this is going to sound bad, but I'm really big on like pack work with dogs. Like all of my dogs get along very well, but I've taught them how to be balanced amongst each other, and so I feel like that's what I was kind of doing with, like everybody at the retreat is like everybody had their own strength that I would try to like bring out in the retreat. So I'm going to call a few people out in a good way, in a good way. So Lex, one of the people who was at the retreat, she is very much like go, go, go. Like she needs a job to do. I told her I was like you're a Malinois, like you're literally a Malinois, so I would like give her little tasks to do about, like navigating us Right, like when we're all driving to a hike, or I would say like hey, pick a hike. You know like giving her that job was like important to her in my eyes and I might just be like completely, you know bullshitting this. Important to her in my eyes, and I might just be like completely, you know bullshitting this.
Meg:And like another person, brittany, she told us like oh, I really like to cook, brittany, I love Brittany, she's a phenomenal dog trainer, but she's very shy and so I wanted to like do something that she felt comfortable doing. And so she told us like oh, I really like to cook. So I had everybody kind of like write out the things that they're good at, and told us like, oh, I really like to cook. So I had everybody kind of like write out the things that they're good at. And she was like, yeah, I'm good at cooking. And I was like, perfect.
Meg:So Brittany made like one of our dinners and you know, so I kind of like plugged everybody in to their own roles based on like what I think they needed, on like what I think they needed. And then we had Serena. So Serena is like very bubbly, very, like you know, has a lot of energy, can't sit still. So one day we had a lot of free time in the morning. I specifically gave people like downtime Saturday morning so that we could kind of like settle, do our own thing. If people wanted to hang out at the pool, they could hang out at the pool. And Serena's like why don't we go on a hike today? You know, and I'm like you know well, it's about balance. Like we want to have active days and we also want to have, you know, slower days, like not every day is going to be packed and full of things, so we need to be able to do both.
Meg:And I think she kind of realized that like the equivalent of, you know, putting a dog on place. Like one of the reasons we teach dogs place is because we want, you know, we want to teach them how to settle and do nothing, like that's a very valuable skill. So I kind of like did that with the girls and some people take to it more naturally than others, you know, and we all have, like, our strengths and weaknesses. So throughout the retreat I was essentially doing this like I wanted to get to know everybody individually and offer them a way to grow in a way that builds their confidence right, like I'm not going to ask somebody who's really shy and doesn't like to, you know, talk, to stand up at the front of the room and, you know, explain something if they're not ready. But, for example, kaylani, another person who is there, we've been helping her with her business and so I had her do a little presentation for us on her CRM, her, her setup for her business and how she communicates with clients. Things like that, like giving everybody a role to do, I think was so valuable in the program and that's kind of what I do with my group of dogs as well, and that's not like I'm not trying to like degrade people at all.
Meg:I love dogs. You know, like dogs and people are kind of on the same same level for me, so it's you know it's behavior when you get down to it. But I genuinely had the best time and it was just because of the people there. Like if we did not have that group of people, it would not have been the same and everybody brought something. They were all so kind to each other. We had so much fun and, if y'all are listening, thank you so much, like truly thank you. It like literally made my dreams come true, so I really appreciate you all. It like literally made my dreams come true, so I really appreciate you all. But while we were doing this, you know there were like a few takeaways that I already kind of touched on that we practice at the retreat that are very helpful and not just like your well-being but your dogs Right, we're all here because of our dogs, and so I structured the retreat around a way that I would kind of structure like my ideal day with either dogs or myself.
Meg:I kind of lump us all in together and so to get us started each day. Y'all know, if you know me by now, the importance of sunlight in eyes to natural light in the morning and getting plenty of sun on our skin. It really sets the tone for our day and our hormones and how we sleep at night and feel, and it's really like a huge part of our biology is the sunrise and sunset. So it's the same for our dogs and for me, how I like to structure my routine and my dog's routine is first thing in the morning we get outside, we get some sunlight on our skin. You know we sit in that morning light and expose our eyes to that morning light because it really helps our body get into that rhythm for the day and for the week and it improves mood, it improves sleep. It's so, so important for us. So that was something that I emphasized at the retreat is okay, we're going to have relatively early mornings, nothing crazy. We're up around I don't know, probably between like 6.30 and 7.30 for everybody waking up, doing something active.
Meg:First thing in the morning, which a lot of the time for us was, we went on a hike. So we went on a hike every day, except for one of the days and lucky for us, we were in Yucca Valley. Yucca, yucca, I don't know. Yucca, something I don't know how to pronounce the U in Yucca Valley. I don't know, we'll see.
Meg:So we were there and we had like all of these amazing freaking trails around us, like in the middle of the desert. It was so absolutely gorgeous, it was hot but it wasn't anything crazy Like I was very surprised how like breezy and cool it was. I'm already plotting my you know buying land out there. Me and Toma actually found an Airstream and we're like trying to figure out where we can put the Airstream for now until we get some lands to put it on and kind of like find a home base out here. That's kind of our goal. So if you have land around Joshua Tree area or honestly anywhere in California that you would let us park this Airstream on, let me know. Like if you're listening to this, send me a DM. I would love that.
Meg:Anyways, back to the important stuff. So we had these amazing trails, we got outside, we exerted some physical effort Like I think that that is also very important in nature which I think is vital for our dogs and our well-being, and then we're also doing something a little bit difficult. So we were climbing some pretty steep hills like we were getting out of breath, like doing something physically challenging every single day is very important, whether that's going for a hike, if you can, or, you know, lifting some heavy weights, or going for a run, like exerting yourself physically to the point where your brain's like I can't do this, this is too hard, I want to stop. And you're like no, we're going to keep going, like kind of silencing that voice that's telling you to stop. I think is very important. So whenever we came back for a hike, everybody was pooped.
Meg:We came back in and that's when we had breakfast. We had and this is this is kind of what I wanted it to be we had healthy food with balance, right. So we had like cinnamon rolls every day, but we had cinnamon rolls for like dessert, but for breakfast, you know, we had just like pretty whole foods. We had fruit every day. I would make pancakes, we had bacon and eggs and toast and bagels. It's not the epitome of health. But also I didn't want it to be too extreme. I think we can kind of swing too far in the other direction as far as our healthy eating goes, where it becomes obsessive, and then that obsessive eating is kind of unhealthy in its own.
Meg:So I'm very big on like balance with our meals, and I'm the same way with my dogs too. So I obviously really love raw food for dogs. But right now, like we're traveling, my dogs are literally living out of the van with me and so I am feeding them kibble and it's OK Like it's. Or like, let's say, you can't afford raw for a month. Like it's okay to feed your dog kibble. It's all about balance. You know, like, when you can, you're providing your dog with whole foods, like some veggies or whole meat or bones or a little piece of fruit here and there. Like whole foods is always going to be better than highly processed kibble. But we want to do it with balance, to where it doesn't become obsessive of. You know us just fixating on the ingredients in our dog's food and, like you know, being super upset with ourselves if we can't make these like really fancy raw meals that we see online. Like it's all about balance for us.
Meg:So we came back in, had breakfast and then we would typically have some downtime after breakfast where everybody would, you know, socialize or shower or do their own thing. I think that's another really important thing is to kind of integrate some downtime into our days, integrate some downtime into the days with our dogs. We really want to fill their schedule 24-7. But if I did that with everybody at the retreat it would have been too much. It would have been so unsustainable for people to continue past the retreat. So unsustainable for people to continue past the retreat. That's like, oh, we're doing this, then this, then this activity, then this, then this, then this.
Meg:I really wanted it to be very much like a reset for people of you know we're going to work, we're going to talk goals, we're going to get shit done, but also like we need to relax, like at the end of the day, nothing is that serious. And same thing with our dogs. I find that people get so just worked up over their dog's behavior or become obsessive about training and like, at the end of the day, we're doing this because we love our dogs, right? That's like the whole goal of training our dogs is we want to love and appreciate our dogs for who they are. So it's really not that serious.
Meg:Integrate training into your day but also integrate some downtime. You don't need to feel guilty if you're not packing your dog's day with. You know structured walks and training and you know place, time and all of this. You know, all of these like activities, like it's okay to have downtime and do nothing and that's what makes our routine sustainable for us. So that downtime was a big part of the retreat. I wanted to give people the time to decompress and I found that a lot of us like myself included that came into this retreat were in very much like a transition period, and I think it's very important that whenever you're in a transition period, even like for your dogs, you take some time to you know, settle and think and just kind of like realign yourself.
Meg:So when people move a lot of times, their dog's behaviors will change drastically and I think that's very normal, like it's the same for us. So if we have a routine that we create, we can take that routine everywhere, no matter the environment. And that's kind of the whole point of like dog training is we teach a routine, we teach a routine, we teach a set of skills that we can take around anything. We can take around other dogs, we can take around people, we can go to coffee shops, like right, you're setting the tone for how you want your day to go and no matter the environment, we can change it. But let's say we do move or we're going through a transition, like our dogs are going to take some time to adjust. But if we have that well-established routine, even if it's just hitting a couple points each day, like going for a hike or getting your workout in or eating two healthy, full meals, then you can always fall back on that routine, even in times when there is a lot of change or there is a lot of stress.
Meg:So for me that kind of routine is coffee. Coffee in the morning is honestly part of my routine and even if it's not like the epitome of health because I'm putting sugar and milk in it like some people might say that that's not healthy it's not like the epitome of health because I'm, you know, putting sugar and milk in it, like you know some people might say that that's not healthy it's still a moment for me to kind of like check in with myself. So I like to do some coffee and I like to do a walk or a hike in the morning. And so in times like now when I'm going through this big transition, me and my dog still do our routine, we still go for our walk in the morning or our hike in the morning and we get outside in the morning before we start to take on the day, and as I'm making my new routine and kind of my new way of life because this is a big shift for me like I went from having a lot of dogs at my house and training a lot of dogs and doing lessons all the time to now I'm kind of taking a step back from that and I do find myself getting back into it, maybe just in a different way hosting more seminars and group classes and things like that and just having, instead of having, just like, dogs at my house 24 seven.
Meg:But I kind of lost my train of thought. Where was I going with this? Oh, yes, so I'm going through like this big shift right now and my goal is that I only work online four hours a day, which to some people they're like what that's so much. But I am a workaholic and I can work all day long. I love to work. I'm literally I'm a dog. I'm no better than a dog. So whether that's working online on my computer or training dogs, like I love to work.
Meg:But my goal is to shift a little bit so that I can integrate those habits that I want to be sustainable for myself, like for me it's getting my morning walk in, taking some time to just sit and like drink my coffee. It sounds so silly, but even just like those 10 to 15 minutes where I'm sitting and drinking my coffee, either on my porch or in my van or at the coffee shop, is like very important for me. That's kind of like my me time and my check-in time and like it's my start to my day and then getting outside and going for a walk and then I can jump into work. I've found that, you know, before I've just immediately woken up and like jumped into work and now my nervous system is kind of like cranked all the time. Like I just wake up and I'm hit with a wall of anxiety because, honestly, when you're running a dog training business, like it is a lot of anxiety because you have people's animals, you have people checking in with you all the time. You have to check in on the dogs, like you got to make sure that like everybody is okay all the time. So I would just wake up and be like anxiety okay, let's get going time to start the day and just get into action.
Meg:But I really want to focus on, you know shifting my nervous system away from that like flight response that I'm kind of getting every single morning, and like jumping straight into work, versus like, hey, take care of yourself first, take care of your dogs first. Like enjoy your dogs, do your routine and then you can get to work. Like work is always going to be there, make sure that you're healthy and you know taking care of yourself in the meantime. So that was really like the whole point of the retreat is creating this like sustainable routine that people could implement back at home. So having those little like checkpoints that you can be like, okay, I got my coffee, I did my walk with your dog. Like take your dogs in that routine too. Then whenever you're in a transition period like I am now you can fall back into that routine and it makes things a little bit feel a little bit safer for you and your dog. But I do find that a lot of people have no routine, even if you're not doing the same thing every day, like they don't have anything that's consistent. They, you know, just kind of work out sporadically or go for walks sporadically or do training sessions sporadically. But routine is really valuable and it creates this sense of like safety and we know what to expect and we can kind of like settle into our day when we have those established kind of checkpoints throughout the day. So if that's not something that you already do with your dog, I would definitely recommend and join me on our morning walks.
Meg:We go for a walk every single morning with the dogs, whether it's for a hike or just like a walk. So right now we're actually camped in Primal Canine. Shout out Mike for letting us stay here. I'm literally recording this episode from like his garage space sitting in my van. I love Mike and Aaron. They're literally the kindest, most wonderful people and they let me and Toma crash at the facility until we figure out our next steps and Toma's kind of in the process of building out his van more Like we really just had to like leave and our goal was to have his van built out before we left, but he had to clean up a whole house so we didn't really get to that. So, yeah, we're in. We're in primal right now. So when we go walking dogs, obviously we're not going for like hikes around here, we're just, you know, walking around like the downtown Gilroy area and so whether it's, you know, a hike in the forest and we're camping in our vans out there or we're in a more urban area, like I always make sure that we get that walk in for myself and for my dogs, and it's also just a great way to like bond and do some sort of routine together.
Meg:So back to the retreat. We, you know, come back, eat our breakfast everybody gets some downtime and then in the afternoon was when we really did our work. So after everybody kind of like ate and settled in a little bit, we would do either like a kind of brainstorming session we would talk about our goals I have a few activities for like creating a really clear goal for yourself. That we did with everybody and really just bounce ideas off of each other. And then two or three of the days towards the end, we did something called Power Hour, which I definitely recommend if you have not like integrated this into your day or your like weekly routine is we took an hour to just focus on shit that needs to get done, honestly, and so everybody was kind of like in different places in their business. So they were focusing on, you know, like creating their CRM or, you know, coming up with services and prices for their programs. But we all just sat around on our laptops for an hour and I set a timer and we just worked like we just got stuff done.
Meg:Because I think, too, like we can sit around all day and we can talk goals and ideas, but it doesn't really matter unless you take action. I find that a lot of people have a lot of ideas, or a lot of people want to sit there and talk about dog training theory and they're like, oh well, this and this and this, and honestly, I don't care. Like I don't care to just sit around and talk about dog training theory, like let's train dogs, like the dogs will tell us what works and what doesn't. There's no use in sitting here and arguing about it. Let's just see. Let's put these things into action. So, while brainstorming and talking about what we want to do is very important, I really wanted to emphasize the importance of just doing it. Let's just get started, let's just take the first step.
Meg:A lot of people struggle with that, not just in their businesses, but in training their dogs. They get hung up on watching all of these videos and focusing so much on like, oh well, I want to do this method or this method because of these reasons and I've done all of this research and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and it's like, okay, well, have you done anything? Have you tried it? Like let's just try stuff and see what works with the dog. And I'm going to call Tomo out because he does this too. Like he is such a a a dog training like hobbyist in that like he could talk to me all day long about like dog training theory and about like all of this stuff.
Meg:And if you know me, you know that like that's not who I am all at all. Like I honestly do not like talking about dog training, I just like implementing it. You know, and I have trained a lot of dogs I feel like people don't understand like the sheer quantity of dogs that I've trained. But I lend that to the fact that I don't sit around and talk about theory all the time. It's like I'm too busy actually training the dogs to either sit and argue on the internet or come up with theories about dog training. It's like eventually you just have to do it and you're going to learn by doing it. So I definitely threw Toma in the deep end and I was like we got a lot of dogs we got to take care of.
Meg:The more dogs you meet, the more dogs you're exposed to, the more perspective you have on behavioral issues. So the best thing that you can do as a trainer or as an owner is to just do the things. Just do it and see what works. No-transcript leash pressure. And then you might find that when leash pressure goes on your dog, your dog won't take food. All right, so your approach to use, you know, counter conditioning in your reactivity training is not going to work because your dog won't take food with, you know, added leash pressure. So now we need to work through teaching your dog that leash pressure equals food. Do you kind of get where I'm coming at that? Like you know, you don't really know how the dog is going to react to the training until you take that first step.
Meg:And then, when you take that first step, it's like, oh, okay, I need to do this thing. Instead, I need to work on this. So there's no point in kind of getting hung up in all of the little details and you know, correctly, planning everything from A to Z of, okay, if the dog does this, then we're going to do this and this and this and this. It's just like you got to take action eventually, and with all of the dog trainers out there that are in the process of starting their dog training businesses, you can sit around all day and talk about ideas all you want, but eventually you just got to make something happen. You got to take that first step. You got to file your LLC. You got to start walking dogs. You have to do something, I tell people. The universe rewards people who take action on what they want. So just start taking action. Don't get so hung up in the perfectionism or in your training methods or, you know, having everything set up perfectly before you take action. You're going to learn as you go and, in my opinion, I think that's the best way to learn.
Meg:So we integrated this power hour into our day and then we did some sort of education for everybody. So, whether that was, you know, talking about our goals and how we want our lifestyle to look like, or the type of dogs we want to train, or you know, whether we want to do board and trains or daily trainings or lessons or group classes, like we talked about all of that. Kaylani did a presentation on her CRM. We also did a little presentation on websites and how I design websites. We did a presentation on social media and the value of social media in dog training and our businesses. We did some sort of educational section in our day.
Meg:Now you know I'm going to relate this to dog training. For our dogs, using their brains every day is really important, right? So like, let's do that physical activity first thing in the morning, let's get them outside. We're hitting more on that like natural instinct with our dog. We need to meet their physical needs first before we can do a lot of learning. Meet their physical needs first before we can do a lot of learning. So then we can get our healthy food in to nourish and fuel ourselves. We can take some time to do something that we're confident in, do something that you know your dog is good at, and then we can also take some time to teach something new. Let's get those wheels turning in our dog and in ourselves. Let's focus on something new, learning something new, practicing a new skill. I think that's really valuable in our mental health, kind of pushing ourselves mentally. So we can push ourselves physically, but we also need that counter of that mental push and learning something new, and dogs need that as well. It keeps them mentally sharp. So I like to do that in the afternoon, when we have more of a clear mind, because we've already met our physical needs. Now we're going to kind of teach our mental needs.
Meg:So you know, bouncing ideas off of each other and speaking on different topics. One of my favorite activities that we did is I set up the podcast equipment and I had two bowls. I had a bowl with people's names and then I had a bowl with a topic. So I had everybody write down a topic that was general enough that we could all speak on, and so then I would draw two names and I would draw a topic and I would set them up with the podcast equipment and we would podcast. I'm going to go through all of the videos and that's probably what I'm going to have next week's episode be, because they got into some really awesome conversations around topics that you guys would love, like socialization or neutrality in dog training or the overpopulation issue.
Meg:It was literally kind of like a podcast debate in a sense, but I really just wanted to get people to get their wheels turning, to talk in a way that they're not used to talking in right. We had a microphone and a camera set up like that can be a little bit intimidating, but also so is, you know, talking in front of a group of people or, you know, talking to a client in their home about their dog, like that sort of situation is something that we can practice and rehearse so that we feel more comfortable. But it was a new experience for a lot of the people and it was a great like mental exercise for everybody. So once we, you know, kind of gotten into late afternoon, we had our mental work done, we had our physical work done, we had our designated downtime.
Meg:Then dinner was really important to me. Again, we're trying to eat like whole foods, with balance. You know, like I'm not making like super, super healthy meals, but we would integrate, you know, veggies and fruits and meat and all of the things that we need to fuel ourselves over, you know, over the course of the five days while we were out there and also sit down as a group. I think that was one of the most fulfilling and rewarding things for me, and I didn't really have a childhood where we would all as a family sit down and have dinner all the time. We definitely would, but our dinners were more casual. We would usually like sit in front of the tv and you know, my dad was out of town a lot growing up, so it was really just me and my mom and my brother. And so getting everybody together for dinner was so special for me because I had never really like had that sort of family routine. And I think the girls can also speak on this that that was like their favorite part because it really brought us all together.
Meg:Like throughout the day we were doing things together, but we would also kind of, you know, go off in groups or people would go and do their own thing. But dinner was the one time where we would all come together at the same time, sit together and have one big conversation as a family. And if you don't already do this, I highly recommend it. And even if you don't have family, even if you don't have family, you can find friends or you know groups of people around you that would do something like this with you. So in college we would all get together on like one day of the week and either cook or go out to eat. Just do something with me and my friends. And it was really special to me with me and my friends and it was really special to me and it kind of like shifted over the years like friend groups and roommates and who I would do this with, but we would all either get together and cook or just hang out like once a week, even if we couldn't do it multiple times a week, and it was really special to me and it was a nice little routine and check-in with everybody and like family.
Meg:Being social is very important for our mental health and for our dogs as well, and you know, maybe your dogs are your family. But just getting together and like spending time, a designated time each day, together is very special and it's an opportunity to establish those connections and build bonds that are just so, so important to our well-being. So that's what kind of wrapped up. You know our day at the retreat is. We would all have dinner together, whoever didn't cook would clean and we would just settle in at night and either like hang out and talk or everybody would go to bed pretty early because we had a fulfilling day. So by the end of our day, like we kind of hit all of those boxes for everybody and you know the day was ready to be done. We did some work, we did some work. We did some physical work, we did some mental work, we took some downtime, we ate healthy foods and by the end it was time to, you know, go to bed and kind of recharge for the next day.
Meg:But I do think that there is so much value in creating sustainable schedules and routines for you and your dog, no matter what your goal is, no matter what your lifestyle is or where you're at in your life. Having these little checkpoints for ourselves throughout the day are so, so necessary for our overall well-being. And I'm especially feeling that like very hard right now because I'm making such a big shift in my business and in my life. Like I we're living out of the vans, you know, and like I love living out of my van so much. Like this is exactly what I want, me and Toma, like Toma had a van before we met and it just kind of like was so perfect because we want similar lifestyles and we want to travel and go live in the forest and be bums and train dogs and help people. So it worked out very nicely that I found somebody that I can do it with.
Meg:But you guys know if you've been listening to the podcast for a while, or have you know, listened to all of the episodes. I did this last year, like I took, you know, two and a half months off, three months off drove out to the West Coast, traveled around and I loved it Like it was when I was the most happiest. And I don't want to like get too deep into this, but when you know, prior to me leaving, I would say, for Costa Rica, I was not not in a good place at all. I again have been so far past the point of burnout. If you're in the dog training industry, like you know, but if you're not like, you're in the dog training industry, like you know. But if you're not like, you're probably like why is this girl always bitching about being tired and burnt out? It's just a 24-7 job and you don't ever get days off, like there are literally no days off, because you're taking care of animals, and I know the horse people out there feel the same way. The zoo people out there feel the same way. The zoo people out there feel the same way Like animal care and animal husbandry is a beast of its own because the animals don't know when it's holidays.
Meg:You know, like they don't, they don't know those things and then you know you got to take care of them every day, no matter what, and things come up. They're living animals. Animals, you know, get sick, like they get splitters in their feet and things happen. There's always something and as a just regular human being it gets very, very exhausting to never be able to mentally check out. So when I went to Costa Rica I had a full mental breakdown. And also I need to clarify something, because when I was talking about mushrooms I was like everybody probably just thinks that I just like came to Costa Rica and like tripped shrooms and was like, oh, you know, I have this like clarity on life, but I actually like have not done that in like a very long time and I did not take mushrooms at all when I was in Costa Rica.
Meg:Like Costa Rica was a very like sobering trip for me and just kind of like sitting with my thoughts a lot of the time because I went from being like go, go, go, go, go and like training a million dogs and having a million go-home sessions and then doing the seminar and all of this stuff, to like going out into Costa Rica and the jungle where, like I didn't have any of that. I didn't have dogs to take care of and I didn't have Toma and, like I, I was with my stepsister but, like you know, she doesn't live the dog trainer life, so she is definitely more chill than I am. So when I got there I was like kind of cracked out a little bit, like just off of being in that like flight or fight state of mind. So it was a very like sobering trip for me and I was not in a good place. And if you've ever struggled with like mental health issues or depression, I don't really like to say that I have, uh, depression anymore. I think that I've done a lot of work to like work through that and I now focus on like taking care of myself so that I don't get to that place mentally.
Meg:But prior to Costa Rica, like I was getting there, you know, like you get to the point where you're like not eating as much and you're not taking care of yourself. I wasn't like working out consistently, which is something that's like very important to me. I wasn't even like spending that much time with my own dogs because we were so busy with like client dogs and they always come first and it's like then I felt bad that I wasn't, you know, able to like do things with my dogs as much, because, like I'm serious, we would literally leave the house for like five minutes. I would like go to the field down the road and I would get like a client that's like on the way to pick up a dog and I'm like, ok, I'll be right there, you know. So I have to like run back home and, like you, just can't leave the house. You're basically on like house arrest when you're doing that much boarding and like training and I just like I was not in a good place.
Meg:I was to the place where I basically was like, is this going to be like this forever? Like you know, when you get to a bad place mentally and you're like, oh, this is it, like you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, like that's when I know that I'm in like a bad place where I'm like I don't think I'm ever going to laugh again, like it sounds absolutely insane, but like when you're in it that's literally how it feels is you're like, wow, I am so just unwell that I don't think I'm ever gonna meet another friend again. I'm never gonna like laugh again or have fun again. Like that's what it feels like, like it's not a fun place to be in at all. Um, and that was really where I was at and like the logical part of my brain was, like you're almost done, you're gonna have a break soon, like it's gonna get better, you're gonna be okay, like you're gonna have friends. And also I've been through this before. Like I kind of my friend, clayton Matthews he's in Austin.
Meg:I was in that place when I before I went to go visit him and um Wensley, and like I was in the place where like I'm never gonna laugh again, I'm never gonna have friends. Like you know, when you laugh so hard that like you can't control it and your like stomach hurts. Like I genuinely believed that I would never feel that way again. I was like, oh, that's sad. You know that kind of sucks. But then I like went out to visit Clayton in Wednesday and I was laughing so hard and I was like oh, wow, like look at that.
Meg:Like I met new friends and I was able to like feel this way again and like I tell him like yeah, that that was like really good for me, like I really needed that, and I kind of think like people come into our lives when we need them most and that was one of those moments for me and I hope that's what the retreat was for everybody else, like it seems kind of like woo-woo, but I do think that we were all meant to come into each other's lives when we did in these own individual ways and I was not in a good place in Costa Rica, but I was genuinely so, so happy and so fulfilled and literally just so full of love at at the retreat, and it's because of everybody there. I know that I'm the one who put it on and kind of like brought everybody together, but it was just as much for me as it was for everybody else and that wasn't my intention. I wasn't like, oh, I'm gonna bring all these people together because, like I need it, like I I wanted to do it for them, but what I got out of it was honestly far more than I think. Like they got out of it like if if y'all are listening to this like you did so much for me, like genuinely, um, so I'm so.
Meg:But I think this kind of gets back to, like the importance of community, and this is why I have this podcast and why I post on social media and put together these shadow programs in these retreats is because, like I just want us to be a community. I want us to support each other, because that's a huge factor of you know, the burnout and even even struggling with your own dog, like feeling so isolated and alone. Like I have a community for that, you know. Like I have our online community and people message me all the time and it's the same messages, like we're all kind of going through the same stuff, whether you're in the process of training your dog or starting your business, and it's important to know that you're not alone. You do have other people that are going through the same things that you can come together with, and that's why I create all of this.
Meg:I want this industry to be a safe space for everybody. I want it to be a space where we can learn from each other, where we can grow, where we can overcome mistakes or talk about the things that maybe we're not so proud of or the things that we want to improve on and be better with. Like, that's all I want from any of this, and really that's what I got with this retreat, so I'll, you know, go ahead and wrap it up there a little bit. But just to give you guys some like a little bit of foreshadowing, me and Shane Murray are planning a retreat, so we're going to come together and I'm going to focus on, you know, that lifestyle, that routine side of things, and Shane you know Shane, he's going to talk about all of the dog training stuff and you know, show you guys, like intro to bite work and how we can establish relationships with our dogs. But look out for that at the beginning of next year, in 2025.
Meg:Shane and I are putting together a retreat for you know, whether you're a dog trainer or just a hobbyist, like we just want to bring people together and you know that's what dogs do going to bring people together. And you know that's what dogs do they freaking bring us together and I'm so grateful for them. Like I am grateful for this in industry and I'm grateful for all of the opportunities that I've had and it's it's all because of dogs. Like I literally I'm going to cry. I literally owe my life to my dogs and your guys' dogs and all of you for being here and listening to this because of dogs. So the least that we could do for our dogs and after all they give us is give them the best lives that they can and create a routine that emphasizes their mental health and their physical health and our mental health and community and just making a better space for dogs and people. So we're going to announce that here very soon. If you're a continued listener of the podcast, you know that I'm gonna give you guys the exclusive, like first access, because I share everything in this podcast.
Meg:But kind of plans for me is to host more gatherings and retreats and seminars for all of you, whether you're a dog trainer or a passionate owner and want to learn more, want to help your dog become better. We're going to be hosting a lot of things, especially starting in next year. I'm also trying to get Mike to do something with me. So if you guys want me to do something with Primal Canine, let me know. That will give me a little more leverage to convince Mike to do something with me. I've considered just putting it together like putting a seminar together and being like Mike you need to block off your calendar this day, like you're hosting a seminar with me.
Meg:But if you want to join our online community I haven't like hyped this up very much recently, but we've got our online community, which, again, is a community. So whether you're trying to train your dog or grow your business is a great place to meet like-minded people that are going through the same thing. You don't want to feel like you're going through it alone, so come and join us in our online training community. It's $30 a month, no contract, no obligation. You can cancel at any time and I'm going to be a lot more active in there, hosting lives and stuff now that I'm back from all of my travels and the retreat and stuff like that. So if you want to work with me, that's kind of the main space for you to get in contact with me and, of course, stay tuned for all of the awesome things that we've got going on in the next year. I'm super pumped.
Meg:As for now, I will be traveling around California.
Meg:Me and Toma are going to go.
Meg:Look at this Airstream I might be the proud owner of, like, my first, my first home. I kind of joke that my van is my first home because it really is and, honestly, the payments are like a house payment, like let's be real, these Sprinter vans are no joke, but anyways, I am so, so, so incredibly grateful for each and every one of you that listen to me blab on about dogs every week. So thank you so much for being here. If you haven't and I never like pander for reviews but go and leave me a review if you like the podcast like you know, review, subscribe, do all the podcasty things and I really appreciate it. I accidentally went through one time and read like the bad reviews on my podcast and I had a mental breakdown. So if you like the podcast and you want to leave me a review and like, boost my ego a little bit, that would be really great. But thank you all so much for being here. As always, you're the best and I'll see you next week. I'm listening to you.