Part 4 Of How My Knowledge of Dog Training saved my life.

That donut was delicious and they got my refresher just right I am definitely feeling reinforced right now.

Ok so back to the story, I now had a safe landing to just do my job and go home. All while helping my friend build her dream business which was an awesome bonus. It gave me the lady balls to finally apply to Karen Pryor Academy. I got through the application process and took a chance on myself again. It did not come without immense fear, but it had always been a dream to do that program. And if I could almost run a half marathon than maybe I could actually do this.

I had spent years going the the Clicker expos and listening to all the greats. The people that accomplish great and amazing things using these skills and a clicker, that’s what has always amazed me about positive reinforcement. Nothing is impossible, Karen Pryor and all the other amazing trainers that surrounded and learned from her have proved that time and time again.

So I told myself if Karen could figure all this out from bare bones theories, and Ken can change migratory patterns of elephants then there is no reason I cannot make it through this course. So I paid my tuition, more money than I had ever invested in myself, and I got ready to give it my all.

I was never successful in school, I did not know how to learn or retain information. I didn’t know how to recall information once I acquired it. So I was terrified to enter into this program having spent our hard earned money on me. I kept telling myself I love learning at Expo, that this will be a more private version of that and I love learning like that.

I took notes on EVERYTHING and saved every single pdf. I still felt like I was not absorbing the information like I should be able to but I was giving it my all. A using whatever learning tools I could find.

A HUGE Shout out goes to Rowan for getting us through this…seriously the dog deserves a medal and maybe a weight belt for carrying this team. I dedicated so much time getting through the schooling that I did not save as much time for the training exercises. I swear this dog understood this and said “It’s ok Mom, I have us.” He totally did too.

I am forever grateful for my KPA Instructor, Emma Parsons. She was the perfect instructor for me to get through this course, she held me to a high standard while never treating me like I was stupid or less than. She celebrated us, she supported us and it gave me the courage to keep trying to get it right, I did not want to fail her.

Two weeks before I was set to go to my first in person workshop, shit hits the fan between my best friend & boss, and the property owner. This story is not mine to share so details will be withheld but this was my friends Pheonix Moment. Her old life had to crumble for her new life to rebuild from the ashes. I am happy to write she has absolutely risen from the ashes and is thriving. Unfortunately her rock bottom got messy while we worked at that property and her and the property owner had a falling out. With her gone She left me in charge. My best friend left me, to finish what she started to create at dog nirvana, and I did not want it.

I broke again. I was now in a role I did not want, for no extra pay, while trying to give KPA my all. But being the people pleaser that I was I said ok and threw my all into my new role and juggled everything else.

Due to a document I was told to sign in order to receive a final paycheck I cannot talk about the experiences I had there in my new managerial role. So this part of my story will need to lie dormant.

What I can say is I am incredibly proud of many of the things my team and I accomplished there during my time. We became experts at pairing playgroups to avoid conflict and strife between dogs having a nearly perfect safety record, we successfully managed behaviorally challenged dogs without incident in a busy boarding environment, we created systems and programs to enrich and manage the stress of dogs in a boarding environment with great success, most importantly though we learned a lot. Then when it was time to go, it was time to go.

But back to KPA, I did my best to work through my program, I gave it dedication like I had never given before. To my surprise it was working, I was getting my work done, I was making progress with Rowan’s training and I was not giving up. I was feeling good, stressed but excited and accomplished. I was in the home stretch when the episodes started.

Well Soldier, do you have another page in ya? Have I lost you yet or driven you mad with anticipation to the point yet to be made? If you have made it this far and don’t have another one in you, its ok. Sometimes making it part of the way is part of the journey. If I have peaked your curiousity enough to keep reading then by all means, meet me at the next page.