I am a single woman with an 8-year-old Rottweiler-Lab of my own. I have not worked professionally with animals before, but I have a lot of experience and have received compliments about my dog being the most well-trained pet a working dog handler has ever met, so I am confident in my training techniques for everyday training. I choose to train with a calm, yet firm demeanor, using praise (with or without food) rather than an authoritative, emotional demeanor. I believe that a calm demeanor with pets makes them feel safe and secure and provides a more positive outcome and response from the animal. Most of my experience with dogs is with larger breeds, however, I am comfortable with small dogs too.
I have experience with dogs with behavioral issues. I lived with a former partner for three years whose dog was leash-reactive and had zero recall. He required a lot of advocacy on my part when we were out in public around other owners who did not have their dogs under control. He had his issues but was the sweetest boy! I also took care of a dog for 2 years from when she was a puppy until she was two years old. This was a dog that another partner had gotten and then abandoned with me when we split up. She had a lot of food allergies and it took me a year to find the right food for her. I had to administer many oral medications and apply topical medications to lesions from her allergies. She was also quite fearful and anxious about strangers and some other dogs, so I had to put in a lot of care and effort to building trust with her to ensure she felt safe with me and that I had things under control. Aside from all this, she was VERY HYPERACTIVE. She needed extensive exercise to tire out.
For cats and birds, I grew up with both. I have had indoor and outdoor cats. I understand their feeding requirements and how important it is to keep their litter boxes clean. I know that indoor cats need mental stimulation provided by their humans. For birds, my comfortability would be feeding and cleaning their enclosures. I have not clipped wings or anything since I was a teen, so I am not comfortable with that kind of care.
If I were to provide overnight care for pets, your pets would need to be comfortable around my dog, as I would have to have her with me.
I also have experience with children from newborns to 10 years old, as I have a niece and several friends with children. If you are looking for childcare along with pet care, I would be happy to discuss that in more detail and see what your needs are. I love both kids and animals, and my dog is comfortable around children and good around most other animals.
I have not worked professionally with animals before, however I have had my own dog for 8 years and I previously was in relationship for three years with a dog who was a challenge as he was leash aggressive, but also had no recall, so he needed special care to adhere to his anxiety and ensure he felt safe. A former partner of mine also got a puppy and ended up leaving me with her. She was very rambunctious and had a lot of anxiety and food allergies so it took a lot of work to build up enough trust between us in order to mitigate her anxiety and keep her feeling safe and like I had things under control. I was also very dilligent with adhering to her allergies and making sure that she didn't have anything that would make her sick. My dog Phoebe, who is 8 years old and I have had since 10 weeks, I have been told by a friend who is a handler for a working dog that Phoebe is the most well-trained pet she's ever met. I give her some of the credit for being so easy but I take the kudos for the hard work that I put in to training her too!
When it comes to cats I have had cats all my life until 7 years ago when my cat passed away, but I still love them! I understand their dietary needs, respect their boundaries, and know how to properly clean a litter box etc.
Administer oral medication for dogs, Taking care of senior dogs/other animals, Taking care of special needs dogs/other animals, Providing daily exercise for high-energy dogs/other animals, Brushing teeth/fur
