I'm so STOKED!!!

[gibbrishclown]

I just got word back that I passed my dog training certification final and in the next few weeks my certificate will come... I'M A CERTIFIED DOG TRAINER!!! Yaaayhoo!!

[adizziedoll]

Congrats!! Im sure you worked hard!

[qiksilver]

congratulations

[SarahMB]

That is awesome! Congrats!!!!

[Jay_Bunny]

Congrats! That sounds like fun.

[ZEKESMOM]

Congrats

[gibbrishclown]

thanks y'all dogs are my first love and getting this certification has been interesting LOL... but it's over and now I'm certified! Yay!

[Blu Mongoose]

Congrats!! I have trained dogs for years, mostly for rehoming dogs with behavioral problems. VERY rewarding work. I know you will love it!!!

[Entropy]

I agree with Blu, dog traning is very rewarding though sometimes bittersweet. Congrats on your certs.

[gibbrishclown]

I love working with rescues! I don't have any real experience (which is why I got the certification, honestly) so I get a lot of what I do have from the foster dogs I work with.

Today I worked with a dog (Dudi~ a little 35 mutt thing) for about 4 hours at an adoption event... she's a real trip and her foster mom is really easily wooed by her (honestly she can make me a little weak too LOL she's good at her manipulation!) we're still trying to learn what all will trigger her to act out, but today we worked on coexisting with cats because she's very interested in cats and not in the nicest way. I offered my pet cat and my foster cat to her to sniff and she just straight snapped at both of them. No warning and it doesn't even look aggressive when she does it, she just bites it's like a nip but more, so hard to describe- weird. She also snapped at the rescue coordinator when she tried to manipulate her body into a down.... straight at the face.

I had her over to my house before the adoptathon to meet my dogs because she'd had some issues trying to dominate dogs and she seemed to get in more than her share of dog fights with others at adoption events. I have a full blooded "game bred" pit who's 5, Proof... she is my soul mate and she kinda takes the role of #2 in my pack (I know it's wrong, but it works for us) She's just awesome... I also have 2 pit mixes, a mother and daughter Corona is almost 3 and Cristal is almost 4- I took them from my ex. Also here was my sister's 6 month old pit pup, Pig and our childhood pet Ginger, the 13 year old beagle... mom and dad are traveling. Anyway the foster came over and met the whole pack on a leash and did okay but there was a little drama at first with Dudi growling and kinda roughing up the little puppy (who's bigger than Dudi by at least 10 pounds LOL) but I tell you it was beautiful by the end of the hour to see them relaxing together and just being dogs. After my house it was off to the adoptathon to sit next to my foster cat and work on just coexisting for a couple hours. It was hard on her, but she did manage rather well...

The best part was empowering her foster... she was starting to freak out and overprotect the dog all the time and be nurturing at the wrong times, but seeing her behave today boosted her confidence and I think she's going to help make the dog better at other events... I think she was sending the wrong message down the leash by accident... she has big dogs a great dane and a rottxshepherd mix so this little 35 pound thing makes her nervous and overly maternal I think... it's kinda cute really

And above that, my momma cat from a litter I fostered starting in September may have found her little girl! A little girl came in today wanting a yellow cat, like Cheetos, to be her buddy and play with her... she kept telling her parents that she loved Cheetos, so I'm really hoping Mama girl is going home finally... she's gained so much weight because my other foster is a 5 month old failure to thrive and she keeps eating his food... which is high in everything... anyway... I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Ms. Cheetos has a new family and they'll be able to get all that weight off her and get her healthy... I love that cat, and she deserves to be someone's baby... sorry about the ramble... I get kind of a buzz from adoption events and from seeing "problem" dogs being successful and improving! Some people have cars or computers or drama and stuff... I've got pets