A very good dog trainer friend of mine has a saying about dog training. There's only so much you can learn from books and watching the telly but in his words: "What really counts is the number of dogs that you have had through your hands".
He's the best dog trainer I know by far and he's almost always right when it comes to dogs. If he came from Mexico and lived in Los Angeles you would never have heard of Cesar Millan because, believe me, this guy is better than Cesar. (As it is, he comes from Brum and he's not a great fan of the limelight, so the Dog Whisperer is pretty safe for now!)I surprised myself when I counted them up - I've trained over 100 dogs hands-on so far this year, mainly in and around Northamptonshire. Everything from a tiny Maltese Terrier to a huge Rottweiler/Dogue De Bordeaux cross and with just about every problem dog behaviour you can think of, now resolved or on the way to recovery
Don't misunderstand me here, I'm not suggesting that the study of dog behaviour isn't important - In fact I'm studying towards a foundation degree in Canine Behaviour Management myself - but there is absolutely NO substitute for hands-on experience. Trying lots of different things with lots of different dogs and developing a feel for dog training is experience that you simply can't replicate*. As a dog trainer or a dog behaviourist, you can talk to owners until the cows come home (some do!), but there is really nothing like taking the lead for yourself. Literally.
Every week I learn something new and (at the risk of sounding really corny...) I've learnt if from the dogs, so when I had my little count-up and it came to over 100 dogs I was quite pleased with myself. Here's to the NEXT 100 of my furry friends. Will yours be one of them? I can't wait to meet you!
* You can't replicate my experience, it's true, but you CAN hire it! Contact me today!