Starting a Dog Blog

Okay, I'm doing it... starting a blog. Unfortunately, I'm starting it with a bit... okay, more than a bit... of frustration. I wrote my first post (yay!), then went to view it and it had old text I had written and my new text was gone. So my first post... gone! Breathe. Is it too early for a glass of wine?

Let me see if I can start this again and with better success.  Rather than write my first post all over again, I think I'll just start with some background information about myself and how I came to be a dog trainer.

We've always had dogs and cats in my family and my love of furry, four-legged friends started at an early age. We had a Black Lab when I was a toddler that unfortunately, my parents had to give away. Boy, do I wish I could go back in time to give them advice about that situation. Our 2nd dog was a sweet, but accident prone Irish Setter who was hit by a car. So far, my parents don't sound like ideal pet owners... but they did improve! It was our next dog that really made an impact in my life.

We got Penny, a Golden Retriever/Lab mix, when I was five. She was such a wonderful dog, a beloved member of our family, and we all mourned her loss when we had to put her sleep at age 14 1/2. To this day, I am a huge lover of Retrievers. I always thought my first dog would be a Golden, but it was a Black Lab puppy that came into my life and stole my heart. More about that later.

I remember, at some point in my early adulthood, thinking how great it would be to be a dog trainer. As a dog trainer, I could balance having a family and still find a way to work with animals. I took a different path for awhile, but it's funny how things work out. After volunteering for three years with a dog rescue organization, I was invited to work for the founder who had his own dog training/boarding business. I worked for many years both with the rescue organization and as a dog trainer and manager for the dog training/boarding business.

Eventually, I had two kids and decided that staying home with them was the most important thing to me. But of course, there was my dream, looming right in front of me... I could stay home with my kids and still train dogs! So I started my own dog training business - 3 Dog Training.

And now, I've started this. The blog was actually my husband's idea. Wait until I make him read all my posts. He may regret it! I'm already full of so many ideas and information about dogs that I'm happy to pass on. Now to find the time...