Stories To Inspire: Dog Mentalist And Traces of Childhood

1.Dear Ryan, during our cooperation with you and your website we’ve realized that you are a dog mentalist: is it a profession, passion, interest, hobby? What can you tell about its purpose, importance, value?

I would say all of the above. I have been fortunate enough to make a business of what I am most interested in and passionate about. More than ever now, dogs have become an important part of our society and culture. Where I fit in is to help clients better understand and communicate clearly with their dogs in a way that the dog can understand. Bridging the communication gap between human and dog and enriching the relationship through a holistic approach is the goal.

2.When did you realize that training dogs is your mission, that it is a job of your life and dream?

Dog training started out as a hobby of mine as a young boy rescuing and training dogs in my local neighbourhood. Now I am proud to say that I have been able to transform those early skills into a profession that I love.

3.Could you remember one of the most difficult cases of dog training? How do you understand dog’s emotions and worries?

One of the most difficult cases was probably one of my first training calls. It involved a dachshund who would bark and nip at people the entire time company would come over to their home. When I arrived, the dog was barking so loudly that I could not hear the owners talking. The owners and I had to yell over the barking dog to talk with each other. The barking was so loud I couldn’t even hear my own thoughts, I found myself completely disoriented. All the training that I had been through, never prepared me for a situation like this. The only thing that I could think of and say was, “Can you put a leash on him?” They went and got a leash and put it on him and instantly the barking stopped. They were amazed and couldn’t believe that he wasn’t barking anymore, I was just as surprised, but quickly understood why the barking had stopped. The little dachshund had a strong positive emotional connection with the leash. Putting the leash on changed the dog’s mind and emotional state. Dog’s express their emotions and worries through all kinds of behaviours, the key is in understanding what emotional state the dog is in at that moment and how to elicit change. I always tell my clients that unless you provide your dog with a pathway to release his energy, he will find his own pathway, and you might not like it. Pent up energy, miscommunication, and unresolved emotions is the cause of most K9 behavioural problems.

4. Do you think that a dog of any breed can be trained by a man?

Yes, absolutely! Though the breed of a dog can play a role in the training, it does not limit the capability of training the dog.

5. Have you created a website since you started the job of dog mentalist or it was created later?

Yes, the first website that I created was when I started the business. I recently created a new website for my business off of the WordPress platform which made my website easier to update and edit plus give it a more intuitive mobile presence.

6. How could you describe the role of your website in your work? We would like also to know what you value the most in our Video Gallery plugin?

My website is my main source of advertising and driving traffic to the work that I do. It is also an opportunity for people to get an insight as to what I offer, who I am, and how I can add value to their situation. I chose the Huge-IT Video Gallery plugin as I like the aesthetics and the end users experience from it.

7. It is interesting to know if, in your opinion, there are some traits of a characteristic which human beings can learn from dogs?

Dogs don’t live in the past or the future, they live fully in the immediate moment. This is one of the qualities that human beings can learn from dogs, how to live our lives fully in the moment.