July marks the fourth year of Taylor’s Pawsitive Training and it has honestly been an absolute rollercoaster of a journey to get to celebrate having my own business for four years!
So, I thought instead of the normal dog blog to have a blog about what it is like to run a dog training business and why I do it.
Most people plan when they set out on starting their own business, but for me it happened a little bit by accident. It all happened around a family emergency and needing to be at home more and finding the constraints of a full-time job hard to balance. I have always worked with dogs and had been a professional trainer for over seven years. I had just passed both my IMDT trainer and behaviour assessments and felt it was time to spread my wings and stand on my own two feet and give my own business a go.
Now I am not going to lie, it has been incredibly hard work and initially I had a part time role as a dog walker whilst I built up my client base. My first year went really well and was running regular classes, workshops, one to one lesson and doing the dog walking.
Then Covid hit and it hit really hard, as none of the normal services were able to run during lockdown. Everyone was talking about pivoting the business to be online. This was so alien to me and I did really struggle with online offerings as I am such a practical teacher and it just was not the same. There were many thoughts to if the business would survive, and after taking the leap this was a little daunting. Thankfully the dog walking came back into flow and slowly but surely the training started to build back up again. After a couple of months, I decided to solely focus on the training business.
Again, it has been a bit of a ride especially with the cost of living shooting up!
I have been so lucky that I have an incredible support system behind me and have helped guide me when I needed help. For this I am so thankful and am appreciative to all the people who have helped me on my way. Running a business definitely takes a community to make it work!
Working as a dog trainer is certainly an intriguing role and when I tell people what I do they are always really fascinated about it. I often get “I have a dog at home that does xyz what can I do?”
I have always known I wanted to work with dogs and fell into training after having a difficult dog as our first family pet. Once we started doing classes with her I became obsessed and ever since push myself to learn more and explore everything I can about dogs and why they do what they do and how behaviour can be changed and modified. This year alone I have started a degree, participated in becoming an ACE trainer and attended training courses, as think it important to be open to learning new things.
The best aspect of the role is meeting lots of varieties of dogs and helping their owners reach their training goals with them. I love watching partnerships grow and flourish together. I often get excited greetings from many of the furry clients I work with which I absolutely love. My biggest ‘why’ for what I do, is getting a message from an owner delighted with their dog’s behaviour and promoting their relationship together.
I am so proud to have been able to navigate the business through what can only be the most difficult climate, and come out the other side of it!
I have learned so much over my four years in business and look forward too many more!
I will certainly be celebrating Taylor’s Pawsitive Trainings fourth birthday and look forward to helping with many more dogs and their owners with their training journey!
If you would like help with your dog, please do not hesitate to ask any questions and see how I can help you.
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