pet connection

Keeping our eyes open during class has been a difficult feat for those of us enrolled at the Academy for Dog Trainers at the San Francisco SPCA. We’ve spent every waking hour the past five weeks studying dogs, working with dogs and cleaning up after dogs. Our nights are spent dreaming about dogs.

My nine classmates and I, all women ranging from our early 20s to middle age,  are nearing the end of a six-week program that costs $6,500 — you truly appreciate the value once you’re here — and in the end, if you pass, you receive certification in training and counseling.

I arrive at 7 a.m. to begin a long day of studying, and I usually don’t leave the classroom until 8 or 10 at night, heading home to do even more studying or complete an assignment before I can finally fall asleep (which takes no effort –  it’s the staying awake part that’s hard now). This routine is six days a week and many of us work on Sunday, our “day off.”

For the first few weeks I was fine with the strenuous schedule, as I am totally immersed in one of my favorite subjects, dogs, and have the nation’s top experts at my disposal to teach me. By now, though my heart may be grasping onto the knowledge learned that will help me better teach the dogs I love, my body is failing to keep up with where my heart wants to go. Sleep-deprived and worked to exhaustion, I admit to being more than a little bit jealous of the instructor’s dogs who get to lounge around on their cozy blankets during class, stretching as if they’re  in a “doga” class, pausing on occasion to lick themselves in hard-to-reach places,  and then falling back asleep after an exaggerated dog sigh while every student is trying to keep up with the outpouring of knowledge, furiously taking notes and asking questions.

Despite the exhaustion, I have never witnessed nor been part of as much passion and dedication as I now see in my classmates and teachers every day. (The only thing remotely comparable for me is remembering expressions of hope in the future I saw on the faces on Obama’s inauguration day.) There is a special bond shared by people who have given their lives to serving dogs, as witnessed by all of their time, energy and concentration dedicated to the six weeks of expensive, intensive training. We have embarked (no pun intended) on a career to serve dogs and their people with purpose, passion and plan.

Talk about a payoff already. Every day I get to witness my fellow trainers and teachers in class as their eyes sparkle and their lips turn into a smile as they talk about dogs, making me realize that for everyone there, working with dogs is not really work at all, not even a profession, but a calling. Although I wonder whether a more traditional job would be more of a stable career than  dog training — which can be difficult to make money idoing, and also unreliable when it comes to having a dependable income — I could not trade love of what you do and dedication to a purpose with meaning, over having a job that would pay well and every two weeks like clockwork. Not only is dog training about the love and passion for pets, but it’s also about being able to use that passion and love to help four-legged-friends and their pet parents in need.

Above all what the  SFSPCA Academy for Dog Trainers has made me realize is that there is hope for almost all dogs if they receive the right help. I have witnessed my fellow students’ project dogs who seemed to be broken-down emotionally or acting out, and watch them evolve into beautiful, confident dogs once they were just given the right direction by caring trainers who understood their needs. I’ve found these past weeks that the three words “understand their needs” are so important that they bear repeating often and should be the mantra of any pet owner hoping to improve the relationship with a dog and enhance apet’s health, happiness and well-being.

Not only have I witnessed hope in the training and transformation of project dogs, but I’ve also witnessed hope for dogs in the academic world, as our teachers have directed us in the promised direction of science and theory to be better trainers. The book “Excel-Erated Learning: Explaining in Plain English How Dogs Learn and How Best to Teach Them” by Pamela Reid  has been our training dictionary. Although there are thousands of ideas of how best to train, we have been given in concrete terms from studies and other science-tested methods the proven ways to lead our dogs. Even more hope for my conscience is to be able to let go of all of the aversive methods of training that plague our culture, and be able to train in a way that is rewarding and positive, both for the dog and the trainer.

Speaking of rewarding for the trainer, my week of working with my project dog Lloyd has been the all the caffeine I’ve needed to perk me up each day. Lloyd is a dog fit for the movies, as he has the most precious brown eyes that exude a cuteness and depth of playfulness, shrouded in a mass of curly spotted white and brown fur that makes his eyes look like they’re growing long lashes like movie stars with fake ones that are glued on. Lloyd has brought an overflowing joy into the game of learning, as he is a star student who catches on faster than a hungry trout to a wiggling worm. I get the feeling I’m training the movie-star Benjii during each session. Lloyd not only performs all of his learned tricks with ease, but he also has a certain cute quality about the way he does everything that can’t t be trained into a dog –  he naturally has what people might call the “it” factor.

I have one week left. Learning from my teachers and classmates, my textbooks and overflowing binder with dog informationand with the experience of two past shelter project dogs (and with Lloyd  still with me as my guide),  I feel not only as if I’m better-prepared for my final test next week than I ever thought I would be, but I also feel more prepared for my life journey of training dogs.

My knowledge has increased, my training has been honed, and my heart has expanded, making all of the effort and busy work truly feel like I have received back double what I have put in.

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Images by PetConnection BFF Paul Glassner of the SFSPCA (Thanks, Paul!)

Top: Mikkel and Lloyd, the dog with the “It” factor.

Lower: Mikkel and Lloyd, with academy staff instructor Janis Bradley.