I still can’t believe I’m writing this! To serve dog trainers is beyond my wildest dreams, but it was in my heart for a while, and came to the surface in April this year. 

Thankyou for reading this and I hope it gives you some insight into how passionate I am about helping you, as a force free dog trainer, make an impact on dogs and their families. 

My big why for the shift in my website design business 

It’s a highly documented thing that if you are passionate about something, you are going to want to stick at it and do it every day. 

I am one of those people who, after leaving primary school teaching (hated it) can’t bring myself to do things I am not passionate about anymore. 

(I felt like my body was attending school all those years and I was somewhere else. Poor for mental health – I am so so much happier now thank goodness) 

Not niched originally 

So in April I was doing some online training, learning how to create Squarespace websites, and I also purchased training on creating a profitable design business in the same bundle, which turned out to be an awesome business decision. 

The expert leading the training explained that people who go for niching down to helping people they are passionate about tend to be more successful than if you are trying to market to everyone. 

One group that came back to me and tugged on the heart strings were dog trainers. 

Why? 

Since I adopted Sasha, our gorgeous and very fearful Romanian rescue in Feb 2021 it has been an emotional learning journey. 

It exposed so many gaps in my knowledge and areas where I was so old-fashioned in my approach. 

I learned mainly from one trainer in Lancashire, who had me in tears when she told me that, in her expert opinion, Sasha wasn’t a vicious dog. She was so scared, and she had big feelings and reactions. 

It was what I had hoped for all along, and this confirmation gave me the confidence to try some of the techniques she described. 

A big move to Malta

The techniques all worked well, and then we made a huge change: we moved from the UK to Malta. 

Along with new smells, sights, aeroplanes, and being transported in a scary cage, Sasha had to deal with millions of things. 

Like cramped pavements and lots of people in small spaces. 

One day, she nipped a scared man on the leg who, ironically, walked very close to her. 

This was when I knew I needed more help. I was becoming more aware of kind, positive techniques, but I wasn’t sure where to start. 

Turning point and action to help Sasha – my unwitting entry into force free training online

I originally found Zak George, who taught a ‘look at me’ technique to a collie very similar to Sasha. It seemed to help her deal with the fear and break her fixations on things or her urge to chase. 

(She was scared of every moving thing and would chase it – from mopeds to children)

Over time, I think I did alright because she calmed down with the consistency, but I wanted her to be able to do more and step outside her fears. 

More and more things 

It led me to try more and more things from following people online. But at this point, I wasn’t aware of force-free training as a thing. I guess most of what I was doing was force-free, but I have learned and changed a few more things since. 

Market research 

Going back to April – one of the things the expert designer suggested was to have market research calls with my new niche. So I contacted three dog trainers and these conversations turned out to be pivotal for not only my business but my relationship with Sasha. 

They explained their frustrations about balanced trainers and aversive methods

Wow, this was mind-blowing. Eddy was particularly helpful with this. She explained the difference between force-free and balanced trainers and how to check what a dog trainer is or isn’t. She even gave me a list of dog trainers to follow to understand their mission and values. 

I was inspired to niched down to force-free dog trainers 

At this point, I further refined my niche as I was sickened by some of the aversive methods I found that these ‘balanced trainers’ were using. 

On the other hand, I was deeply inspired by the force-free trainers, who were nonjudgmental and shared many tips freely. 

There is so much still to do 

With my growing understanding of your niche and how you train, came a deeper understanding of what you need your website and tech to do. 

But I’m still learning, and it’s fabulous, I have to say. You are teaching me so much, and I wake up each day excited to serve you.