Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hey, all,
I'm from MA originally, but my boyfriend and I are living in NYC right now. I sort of agreed to move to the suburbs of NYC next year so my boyfriend can keep working in the city as a dog trainer, but before that, I thought we were going to move to Maine! I still haven't given up hope of moving back to New England.
Anyway I was wondering if there is a need for dog trainers in NH, and what cities/towns might be the best place to think about that. Most NE people keep telling me that there is little market for it. I think that certain people are always very willing to have their dogs trained, though.
I think my boyfriend would love to train herding dogs (he has two border collies that live with his parents right now until we get out of the city), but yes, they usually are only trained by their owners. He also is very interested in protection dogs, but the market for them is in the west, mostly, and it's a very tricky field.
Anyway, does anyone else happen to know anything about the market for training in NH?
You know, I used to love watching the Dog Whisperer! And I think he has some really good insights. But then I read an article on illegal immigrants (shhhh... that topic again!) where he freely admitted that he had come in illegally. I just can't watch with the same feelings anymore. Sure, he's married and that gives him residential rights, but... it's the attitude I just can't agree with. What a shame that he felt following the rules didn't apply to him just because he didn't feel like jumping through all the crazy, expensive hoops other immigrants do to be here legally.
You know, I used to love watching the Dog Whisperer! And I think he has some really good insights. But then I read an article on illegal immigrants (shhhh... that topic again!) where he freely admitted that he had come in illegally. I just can't watch with the same feelings anymore. Sure, he's married and that gives him residential rights, but... it's the attitude I just can't agree with. What a shame that he felt following the rules didn't apply to him just because he didn't feel like jumping through all the crazy, expensive hoops other immigrants do to be here legally.
Wanna, I used to watch it all the time, too, but I could never seem to get his techniques to work for me. Then I found this show on Animal Planet called It's Me or the Dog that is very similar but the 'star' Victoria uses techniques that are fitting in for us much better. Maybe you can check it out and see what you think..?.. Most of the shows are in Britain, but alas, their dogs seem to behave just like mine!
I've seen the listings for it, but I've never had a chance to watch it. Actually, a friend of mine got a Rotty puppy - who was very... exuberant shall we say? She was also a fan of Cesar's but she couldn't get the techniques to work for her. She found another method that has you basically mimicing dog behavior to get it into their thick puppy skulls what they're supposed to do (or not do). It did help, but she felt kind of foolish down on her hands and knees 'ordering' Ulle to calm down. Apparently the techniques that Cesar uses often don't work with alpha dogs (except perhaps only with him), no matter how much alpha you assert yourself.
I think Ulle is 3 now, he's very sweet and it's funny to watch his typical adolescent behaviors.
I have to say that I personally am not a big fan of watching dog training shows, then trying it at home. While it may be perfectly fine for many non-alpha dogs, you can get into real trouble if you suddenly try to assert yourself as "the fearless leader" to a dog who's been running the show for months (or years).
Question to the OP, what kind of training would you plan to offer? One local success story is Gail Fisher at the All Dog's Gym in Manchester. Going back a decade or maybe two, I used to take classes for the breed and obedience rings at the leased warehouse space at the Manchester airport. Now she has an amazing full service kennel, incorporating boarding, grooming, training, day care, you name it!
Find a niche and fill it. You mentioned protection--would that include full schutzhund training? I don't know if there are any training clubs in the area, but it's worth looking into. As long as it's not just the macho "I got an attack dog" mentality that we hear of (or used to hear of back when I was in the dog game...) Good luck with your decision--let us know!!
Well, I think we will end up staying in the NY/CT area for a few years more, but ultimately I hope to end up in Northern MA, or NH, or Maine, so thanks for the advice so far.
My boyfriend is currently head trainer at a place that does retail, day care, boarding, grooming, walks, training, even has a resident vet, etc, yeah, so we are familiar with that kind of thing.
Right now he does private lessons, mostly obedience, and also with certain tricks. Right now he is teaching one dog how to crawl. He is interested in learning how to do/teach agility training, but that's the kind of thing that takes years and you have to be a successful competitor for people to want to learn from you, so I doubt that'll happen. He also knows that if he started his own place, he is interested in offering group puppy classes. He is interested in protection training, but again that is very specialized and takes years. There is little market for it here outside of the midwest, and people pay up to $20,000 or more for a good trained dog.
WannaComeHome -- Cesar has also said that though yes, he is illegal, he has paid back all of the years of taxes and fines that he had not paid for being illegal. I'd say that's pretty admirable and a lot more than other illegals do, yes?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) where he freely admitted that he had come in illegally. I just can't watch with the same feelings anymore. Sure, he's married and that gives him residential rights, but... it's the attitude I just can't agree with. What a shame that he felt following the rules didn't apply to him just because he didn't feel like jumping through all the crazy, expensive hoops other immigrants do to be here legally.
You might want to try this...
She was also a fan of Cesar's but she couldn't get the techniques to work for her. She found another method that has you basically mimicing dog behavior to get it into their thick puppy skulls what they're supposed to do (or not do). It did help, but she felt kind of foolish down on her hands and knees 'ordering' Ulle to calm down. Apparently the techniques that Cesar uses often don't work with alpha dogs (except perhaps only with him), no matter how much alpha you assert yourself. 
