I Don't Want To Make Money Off My Friends...

Are you someone who grew up during the hippie days, and you still feel guilty about making money off your friends?

Did you ever worry about being perceived as exploiting others, just to make money?

Many women tell me that when they've started to imagine making good money and having some of the things they've always wanted, like their own garden and time to work in it, or a housekeeper, or regular facials or spa vacations, they're ashamed because they're taking from their kids or the family house account.

I thought of you as I read this the other day:

"The market for something to believe in is infinite."

"We are here to find meaning. We are here to help other people do the same. Everything else is secondary." - Hugh Macleod.

Do you agree with that? If yes, read on.

If you have decided you've got to get after it and earn some income, but these old ideas are still in your head, ask yourself:

1. Has your product made a difference in your life?

2. Do you think it has added new meaning to your life?

3. Do you think there might be others who might like to know about it, in case it does for them what it's done for you - improve the quality of your life?

4. Assuming you have to do SOMETHING to make a living, is it better to do something where you're helping make a difference in another person's life, and helping someone else find meaning in their life (again)?

Or would you really prefer to stand behind some counter at Macy's?

5. Is it a good thing to earn a living by offering others a product that added meaning and change to your life?

Did you say "Yes!"?

Me too. But remember, only SOME people will respond. Jesus didn't get everyone either. Neither did the Buddha. Everyone doesn't play tennis, either.

But if you want a game of tennis, who will you ask for, hmm? Someone who...

For those you CAN touch with your product, someone else who might be looking for the kind of fix you got, well, how much longer will you keep them waiting?

"To do good, you have to do well." Anonymous

Kim Klaver is Harvard & Stanford educated. Her 20 years experience in network marketing have resulted in a popular blog, http://KimKlaverBlogs.com, a podcast, http://YourGreatThing.com and a giant resource site, http://BananaMarketing.com.

So You Want A Career In Dog Training

If you have an affinity for dogs and are able to work with folks with dogs, a career in dog training can be a wonderful, fulfilling and tremendously rewarding profession for you.

General skills such as good communications and social relations are important in a professional career in dog training as most of your time will be spent educating owners how to train their dogs.

To be a successful dog trainer, you must be "competent." If your dog training experience and skills are picked up from books, then you will encounter problems correcting and solving dog behavior problems. Not only will your clients be complaining and unsatisfied with your service, your will find it hard trying to rebuild your reputation within the neighborhood where you base your dog training business.

However, if you are truly passionately and committed to carve out career in dog training, then you will need to become a capable, knowledgeable and proficient dog trainer who understands different canine behavior and how to train to breed with the right techniques.

A career in dog training can begin in two ways:

PROFESSIONAL DOG TRAINING SCHOOLS

Professional dog training schools are a good way to begin as they provide courses necessary to coach the students in the shortest amount of time the skills needed to become a professional dog trainer.

You will need to check with your local pet stores or veterinary hospitals for reference and recommendations.

A credible training course fees can start from $3,000 all the way up to $18,000 for more advanced training programs.

APPRENTICESHIP

However if you have a budget, you can chose to start out as an apprentice by volunteering with the local dog shelters, rescue groups or guide dogs training centers.

Your training experience will be dictated by the center where you volunteered. In some centers, your apprenticeship training will be subjected to the variety of dogs coming in. In others, you might be given a dog to guide and train with till it pass out as a certified guide or service dog.

The only drawback for apprenticeship programs is that you must prepare to labor long hours, performing routine tasks before you will get an opportunity to work with dogs.

Be ready to spend a minimum average of 3 years with the apprenticeship center before you will qualify as a professional dog trainer or instructor.

Word of Advice:

Avoid any mail or internet courses that claim that you can become a skilled dog trainer.

While inexpensive, these correspondence courses at most can only offer you basic information on a career in dog training and elementary levels of dog trainer skills. Just imagine who would be there to supervise or correct you when you make a mistake.

TRAINING PROGRAMS:

There are many dog training programs and the basic subjects cover solving basic dog behavioral problems and obedience training.

Aside from the basics, to become a qualified and professional trainer, you will also need to learn:

- the history and background of every dog breed,
- how to communicate effectively with different breeds,
- how to solve complex behavioral problems such as phobias and aggression,
- basic to advanced dog tricks and commands,
- how to prepare and train dogs for different competitions, as well as,
- proper dog hygiene, nutrition and grooming so that you can counsel and present training advice to your clients to bring up healthy, well groomed and well behaved dogs.

COMPENASTION OF A PROFESSIONAL DOG TRAINER

You can begin your professional career in dog training handling dogs full or part time. An average working week of a dog trainer is about 30 - 35 hours and that can include evenings, weekends and holidays. As a start, you can look forward to earn $50 per lesson and gradually to $200 per session once you become more experienced. Most full time dog trainers can earn between $30,000 to $100,000 annually.

To get ahead financially as a dog trainer, you will have to start establishing a client base who will recommend your service to their friends. Start with your local vets, groomers, pet sitters and pet stores by asking them to refer clients to you. Most of the successful dog trainers build on their business from referrals of satisfied customers.

Therefore, a career in dog training can be the most fun, enriching and satisfying profession if you truly cherish dogs and adore helping folks.

James Lee is a proud member of the Dog Training Classroom team (http://www.dogtrainingclassroom.com). For more information on starting a career in dog training, visit: http://www.dogtrainingclassroom.com/career-in-dog-training.html.

Traditional Dog Training Revealed

Traditional dog training was initially developed to train war dogs. It was very useful during World War I. This training technique was embraced by civilian trainers after World War II, and quickly became the standard way to train dogs.

It seems that Colonel Konrad Most was the founder of this technique and, therefore, he is acknowledged as the father of modern dog training.

However, the main supporter of the technique was William R. Koehler. His book "The Koehler Method of Dog Training" could be the all-time best selling publication in the field.

Modern scientific principles of learning were not used to develop traditional training, so it is an empirical technique. Nevertheless, it seems that Konrad Most already understood the principles of operant conditioning on 1910, several years before those principles were published. So, this technique can be explained by operant conditioning principles.

Negative reinforcement and punishment are the main teaching ways of traditional training.

Negative reinforcement is the process that strengthens a behavior because an unpleasant situation is stopped or avoided as a consequence of that particular behavior. For instance, pushing on your dog's shoulders will provoke an unpleasant situation for him. If the pressure over his shoulders disappears when he lies down, he will be more likely to do the same in the future, just to avoid that unpleasant sensation. Thus, your dog will be learning to lie down through negative reinforcement.

Punishment, on the other hand, is an unpleasant consequence of a particular behavior. Although punishment could weaken a behavior, it is not a guarantee that this will happen. Besides, punishments usually have undesired collateral effects.

An example of punishment would be if you hit your dog or yell at him because he climbed on the armchair. As a consequence you may get your dog off of the armchair, but there is no guarantee that he won't climb again. Some possible undesired consequences could be that your dog bites you, he gets scared each time you appear or he gets phobia to armchairs.

Choke chains, prong collars and shock (electric) collars are common tools in traditional training and all its variants. Also, this kind of training is usually targeted to dog obedience exercises, disregarding behavioral problems.

Advocates of this technique often argue that traditional training provides reliable results which can't be obtained with other techniques. They also claim that training collars (choke, prong and shock) are harmless because dogs have a high threshold of pain.

Detractors of traditional dog training argue that both the technique and the tools are cruel and violent. They also claim that the technique can cause dangerous collateral effects, such as fear biting and damages to the dog's trachea.

Rodrigo Trigosso is a biologist and professional dog trainer. His website http://www.dog-training-tutorial.com provides great info on canine training and behavior.

The Yorkshire Terrier Is A Little Dog With A Big Attitude

Do you like a dog with attitude? Then a Yorkshire Terrier may just be the dog for you. Yorkies are sweet little dogs that love to cuddle, yet they think they are big and bad and will take on a German Shepherd without blinking an eye.

The Yorkshire Terrier is classified in the Toy group by the American Kennel Club. The AKC requires the Yorkie to be less than seven pounds but there is no minimum weight limit. Some Yorkshire Terriers can weigh as little as one pound, but in order to breed dogs this tiny, health is often sacrificed, so it is not a popular option.

Yorkies have beautiful long flowing coats of hair and they seem to glide across the floor, as their long hair hides their tiny feet. Yorkies can have silver or black hair with tan accents on the heads and legs. Yorkies are black and tan when first born.

Yorkies make excellent apartment dogs since they are small and thrive well with apartment life. The Yorkshire Terrier adapts well to outdoor living also, as they are inquisitive and love to explore. It is a good idea to make sure your fence has no holes or gaps or your Yorkie will find a way through. If you keep your Yorkie inside most of the time it is very important to his mental and physical health to get plenty of exercise.

Yorkies are very sociable and love being the center of attention. They enjoy an active family life; however, the Yorkshire Terrier is not a good choice for families with small children. The Yorkie is good natured and will endure poking and squeezing to the point where a small child can easily injure such a delicate dog.

Yorkies are small but can still develop big behavioral problems if not properly trained. Obedience classes are very important, in fact it could save your Yorkies life some day if he ever gets lose and runs towards traffic.

Yorkshire Terriers are a healthy breed and dont normally develop serious health conditions. They do show a tendency towards hernias, hypoglycemia, and dental problems.

Yorkies are small eaters so it wont be expensive to feed them. However, be careful not to spoil them with soft foods as Yorkies need dry food to keep their teeth healthy. You should also brush his teeth several times a week starting when he is a puppy so he gets used to it.

Most Yorkshire Terriers will require grooming at least three times a week to keep their lovely long hair from matting.

So if you are looking for a little dog with a lot of spunk, then look no further than a Yorkshire Terrier.

George Adams is a staff writer at http://www.pets-digest.com and is an occasional contributor to several other websites, including http://www.recreation-digest.com..