Once again, the pages in my book are turning. I am no longer working for paws4people, although I still fully support their efforts and believe their standards are some of the highest in the industry; with their dogs, staff, volunteers, and clients being top-notch. I became overwhelmed committing myself to too much, and refusing to ask for help, which is not the way to go; as I am learning over and over again. I am still learning to work on those things, but I can now see things going downhill and catch them a little faster.
In the meantime, I took some time for myself; to really evaluate and decide what I wanted from my life. I've always had an immense love for animals growing up, specifically dogs and horses. Animals make me happy. They're one of the few consistent things that kept me on life's path when I didn't want to continue. I've been through a lot and I can honestly say that my dogs have saved my life on multiple occasions. I think we can all relate to that in some way or another. A dog loves you unconditionally. There is never a time that you walk through the door and they are unhappy to see you. They don't get caught up in drama. You are their world. That's what keeps me going.
SO in the meantime here are my biggest changes:
- I got a Golden Retriever puppy. Her name is EMERSON and she is everything you could ever want in a dog. Her personality speaks for itself. She's the most gorgeous petite Golden girl in the world. She's just over a year old right now and we are finally really starting to click, where she knows what I need without any words or commands. Sometimes she knows what I need before I even know I need something. EMMY will be the foundation of my breeding program. I couldn't have picked a better dog. I've entered her into her first dog shows for Labor Day weekend and I know she will turn it on for the judges! The girl loves to be the center of attention. Her favorite "off duty" things to do are to go read with children in a classroom, visit an assisted living facility, and anything that has to do with water!
- EMERSON was the inspiration behind beginning my own business. Emerson & Co. Dog Training! It's doing pretty well, and while I made a few mistakes in the beginning, I am figuring out the business world. Sometimes you have to stumble so you don't fall. Everyone has been nothing but supportive in my endeavors.
- After not really doing much Athletic Training, I am working part-time at a local high school. I enjoy it; and being part-time, I don't have to worry about the high burnout rate in the profession. It gives me a break from the chaos, and an excuse to be outdoors (ask me if I still like that part around November ha!).
- I have been working very closely with a local Lab rescue group and love it. While I LOVE genetics and breeding; I do have a soft spot for rescue dogs, especially those waggy Labbys! For those of you who don't know, my old girl, PRESLEY, is a lab/bully breed mix. I got her after my freshman year of college and from that summer forward, she has been my constant companion. Sometimes I have the opportunity to keep a pregnant mama pulled from the shelter and assist in her whelping and raising the puppies (my favorite!!!!), sometimes I foster dogs that need a little bit of behavior modification, sometimes I go and visit foster families and help them with any behavioral challenges, sometimes I pick up the dogs from the shelter, and finally, sometimes I just get to foster a puppy or two until they get a real foster! Working with Peak Lab Rescue has helped me improve myself as a trainer in so many different ways. While I have spent a lot of time training dogs, they had all mostly been in training essentially from the day they were born. The rescue dogs sometimes have serious issues that require very specific "make or break" training. I love being able to use my abilities to change the life of a dog, a foster, and ultimately their forever home!
- I've successfully placed quite a few dogs with my new company. I'm extremely proud of all of them and am grateful for all they taught me. They are making big differences out in the lives of many individuals, and there is no feeling in the world like knowing you played a part in that. One is finishing his training to become a mobility assistance dog for a wonderful young man. One is training to respond when his little boy has seizures, and is already alerting to them! One is working as a facility dog in a school specifically for children in the foster care system. Another is in training to become a psychiatric service dog, giving a budding young lady a chance to attend her college classes. One is a skilled companion, providing emotional support and companionship to her handler. I could go on for a while, but I'm so proud of all these dogs, and hopefully the start they got at Em & Co. is playing a small part in the success they're having.
- I got a German Shepherd puppy. She's fantastic. I never knew I could like another breed as much as the retrievers. She's taught me so much through the process of training her. She's 10 months old right now. My hopes for KONA were originally for her to become a service dog, however she is a little bit too high energy and very driven. Once I realized this, I have now made it another enduring journey to learn how to train search and rescue, and potentially other scent work with her. KO's loyalty and love for me has made working with her really fun!
- I also purchased two stunning quality Golden Retriever boys, who are very promising in becoming fantastic service dogs. They come from health tested lines with proven temperaments, which is important to me given my past career and current interest in genetics and puppy development. They are both easy dogs; always ready to please and always offering their love. They just turned 6 months old and I have pending placements on each of them. NASH will be staying here with me for the time being and working on his training. Once he is trained, he will be living with my intern, who lost her mother at a young age and has some residual symptoms from this traumatic event. He will help her in many different ways, but be trained as a full multiple-type service dog for demos. Stay tuned to see him learning! NASH's breeder, Love Bridge Goldens, was gracious enough to allow me to have full AKC registration on him. He is also entered in the puppy classes of the dog show Labor Day weekend! I'm extremely excited that we will be able to pass on his fabulous genetics and work towards producing quality and successful service dogs!! He won't be old enough for EMERSON's first litter, but once he has his clearances, I do plan on studding him out, hopefully in return for puppies we can train in our program. (TMI? Sorry.) EASLEY is currently in training for a young lady who has a need for multiple tasks trained. He's doing great at learning the specific tasks and stimuli, so everyone cross your fingers that the stars align and he will be going to change a life in Minnesota! The plan is for him to work on psychiatric, alerts, and some mobility (picking up dropped items, etc) right now, and then once he is 12-18 months old and we have clearance from the orthopedic specialist, we will train him in some tasks that will require bearing his girl's weight. He just turned 6 months and also just crossed the 50 lb mark. EASLEY may end up weighing as much as his girl!
- And, now, to catch up on the most recent big event: the two week countdown is on until I get my new puppy, LAIKEN! She has been very much planned for and long awaited. You see, her dad is FINLEY's brother. While I have FIN, my amazing girl, paws4people has her only daughter and she has been spayed. This means she's done having puppies and her lineage will be continued through their service dog program. I have kept in contact with her breeder (where most of the p4p lines originate) and a couple of years ago she got a smaller female, planning to breed her to OB. Finally the time came when HOPE was old enough and passed all her clearances. LAIKEN comes from a litter of 11 (!) with 8 girls and 3 boys. One of those lovely 8 will be my sweet girl. I think I have it narrowed down to 3, but I won't know for sure until I visit with them. Hopefully I will have a solid connection with one that will never make me question if I got the right puppy or not! Either way, I know the whole litter is going to be all-around fabulous. They've been receiving early neurological stimulation, sensory enrichment, problem solving and confidence building activities; and most importantly, getting lots of love and handling! When I saw "LAIKEN" while I was looking through names, I knew that was it. Her litter is the "Pure Michigan" litter, and her breeder asks that each of their registered names relates to Michigan, where she was born and is being raised right now. I researched A LOT about Michigan and made a list of possible registered names and call names that went with them. Her registered name will be "Eberly's Where Your Adventure Awaits". Michigan is also known as "the great lake state". LAIKEN means "from the lake", but also means "precious treasure" in African. So fitting.
- Last thing, is that I now have a kitten named CHEETO. He's a cute little 5 lb orange tabby who is about 5 months old. And while I'm (not so) secretly falling in love with him, his primary "job" is to help desensitize the dogs to cats. This backfired a little on me, as CHEE thinks he's a dog. Who would've thought my first employee would be a kitty?!
It's super late and I don't have it in me to go through a year's worth of pictures for this post, so sorry about the lack of imaging and for so many words. I promise from now on updates will be much shorter, and will definitely include pictures (because we all know that I am the picture queen) and videos! - Emerson & Co. does have our own YouTube Channel; so you can check that out!
No comments:
Post a Comment