Dog Training & Pet Services

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. With training, I deal mostly with puppies. Dog walking I mostly have full time dogs (4-5 days a week) because both parents have to work. I take them out in the middle of the day for "play group" walks to "get their wiggles out"

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Make sure that you check references and insurance.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. I would like to know if the person is liceneced and insured. I cannot be insured if you take out more that 6 dogs at once. I have seen alot of dog walkers that do. Also i would like to be able to check someones training creditentials.

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. For dog training, they should know that behaviors they want to work on. For dog walking or pet sitting, breed of dog, current on shots, up to date on flea preventives, does the dog have any allergies, does dog dog have any dog or food aggression. Those are some of the basic questions that I would ask on a telephone interview.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. Because I specialize in puppies and I am licenced and insured. I also work a lot with childern and help them get over their fear of dogs.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I love that when other people have to work in an office, I get to work outdoors with dogs. I love that I can make my own hours. And I love that I can help people enrich their contections with their dogs. And make a dogs life better.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. What do I charge? It depends on the service they whant.
Where do you take the dogs? Usually to a dog park,
How long does the training take? I usually recommend a 3-6 week program for training puppies. It may take longer for certain issues.
How long are the dogs out for? Usually 45min-1 hour

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. One of my favorite stories is about a dog that would not stop barking when the doorbell would ring. I actaully trained a dog "put a sock in it" and the dog would go pick up a stuffed toy and sit until the owner gave the release command of "Ok" It took a long time but it was really rewarding when he got it.

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. I would love for my customers to know that I am a "reward based" trainer and i never use adversives. It does take a little longer in regards to behavior issues, but it lasts longer and you dont get the "pop-out" behaviors.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. Its a long story. When I was in college, I got a job at an emergencey animal hospital so I could go to school in the day time and work at the hospital at night. I started as a receptionist, then I got trained in the back as a vet tech. I earned my degree in phycology with a minor in child development. I started teaching preschool, then i decided to go back to my really passion--animals. Then one day, we were taking blood from a cancer patient and she decided that she really didnt want her blood taking and bit my thumb. I wasnt able to be a vet tech any more, so I enrolled in SFSPCA dog training academy and then open "The Red Leash" I love making my own hours and working with dogs in a non stressful atmosphere.

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. I had a client that had a dog-agressive dog, It was so bad that the families couldnt get together with their dogs because her dog would attack the other one (bear in mind that her dog was attacked when she as 9 weeks old) so she wasnt really agressive, more defensive. So I woked with her on private walks. anytime another dog would be on the trail i would treat her (so be thought that seeing another dog meant treats. Then I introduced her to my dog ( a 6 year old lab) and began walking them together. a few weeks later I worked with her and her sister's dog for a few weeks getting them so they could be together when the families together. it worked great and now they have sleepovers!

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. yes. the SFSPCA has yearly conferences so does APDT

Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?

A. Well, in the era of "The Dog Whisper" alot of people think that dogs can be trained using adverse techniques (I.e. makeing a dog choose between the lesser of two evils) I hope that in the decades to come that more people will discover how all dogs can be trained with positive reforcement. Dogs do what works. Its that simple. And dog dont learn right from wrong, they learn safe from dangerous. With all the studies done on the behavior of dogs, we can learn so much from them.

Q. Describe your most recent project, what it involved, how much it cost, and how long it took.

A. Right now I am working with a ~4 year rescued rottweiler. I evaluated the dog and he seem to be doing great in his new home. We are working on 3-4 things. (Counter surfing, potty training-learning to use a dog door-, food aggression, and leash pulling. With owners that do the home work, I think that we can finish his training in 3 sessions( 3 week/1 hour sessions).
I usually charge 125.00/session, but this client is a friend so she got a 25.00 discount and since the dog is a rescue, i gave her an addional %20 discount so the total is 240.00 for the 3 weeks. And if we decide that in 3 weeks we need to work more or if other behaviors come out( since he is a rescue we dont know what behaviors may come up later) but I always tell my clients that if something comes up in the future, we can do a free consulation and I can give some tips to dal with it

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. Its really not that complicated
Training: 125.00/hr (20% discount for rescures)
Dog walks: 1-3 days/week 20.00/walk
4-5 days/week 15.00/walk
Pet sitting 40.00/night for 1 dog
60.00/night for 2 dogs
for a cat, 10.00/visit to your home ( I cant have cats in my house, my son is allergic.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. I would tell them to get into some kind of dog training class (SFSPCA or MCHS do offer some classes as well as Dogtec offers dog walking classes and helps you set up your business. I would suggest getting insured and becoming a member of APDT.

Q. Write your own question and answer it.

A. Who were the people who inspired you to become a better dog trainer? It was Jean Donaldson(my instrutor at the SFSPCA dog training academy) She taught me that you and teach any dog to do almost anything.
The other is Karen Pryor. She is the woman how developed clicker training with dogs. She discovered that you could train dolphins using a click then reward system. Since you cant treat a dolphin right at the same time that it does the right behavior, you use a clicker to let the dolphin know that a treat is coming. Very impressive ladies.