I stand for the least intrusive, most positive ethos in animal training promoted by dr. Susan Friedman and will continue to learn and improve the methods I use.

I approached the subject of using prong collars with curiosity, without judgment. I listened and I understood. I can relate to people using them in their situation. And that’s how I was able to take the collar off. Not by judgment but by understanding.

Animal training can be a way of improving lives of everyone involved. It's not always easy and not everybody sees it in that way but when you take your time to learn, it can be an incredibly fulfilling job for anyone who loves animals.

While on Peggy Hogan’s clinic with amazing, educated horses she reminded me of a very important distinction. It’s not what we do that makes the behaviour happen. Consequences drive behaviour.

It's ok to have a feeling of not being good enough. Let it be, accept it and most importantly LET IT GO. Find something positive in your life, something that you are grateful for like a dog wagging his tail or asking to be petted. And then you can see the previous situation in a different light. Expecting too much from myself isn't fair. Letting myself learn will be.

Pursuing what you truly want to pursue can be scary. But we all can break that fear and go together to achieve more. Armed with knowledge and kindness we can make a change in this world. Let's act now.

Training animals is far bigger term than many people think. It’s about empowering them and giving them a choice. It’s more like educating them. The question is, will we make that effort to educate ourselves? And it's not about judging one another and fighting with each other on who is right. As long as we continue to educate ourselves and let others do the same, we can massively improve the welfare of all the animals we interact with.

My trip to Seattle in July showed me that people’s kindness is extraordinary! By reaching out to people online I had the opportunity to learn from them and with them! Speakers gave me many ideas on how to improve my training skills and ultimately help more people and animals under their care. Here are some key points I learnt.

I’m learning from every dog that I interact with! All dogs have different set of behaviours and different preferences. What works for one, might not work for the second one at all. Sometimes you need to be very creative to solve a training puzzle (not problem!) Animals are my greatest teachers! That’s why I decided to pet-sit. And why not combine it with travelling and seeing incredible places?

Knowing what you want to do is a first great step but following it is a milestone.

I decided to go on a travelling journey. But I’m not going to stop learning and growing as a pet professional. I’m going to do some petsits and learn from every animal that I meet on my way.

Zoo animal trainers do extraordinary things with animals they care for. They are able to train voluntary blood draws, coming back to enclosure after being freed and many other husbandry behaviours. If they can do that with wild animals, I’m sure we can do that with companion animals too.