Deciding what career to pursue after finishing highschool might be one of the most challenging, and in some cases defining decisions in early adulthood. The norm is going to College and pursue a career in the corporate world or becoming a professional in medicine, law, or engineering. For entrepreneurial souls, that is not always the best path. However, even after 10 or 15 years in a corporation, with school debts, a mortgage, and maybe kids, leaving the 9 to 5 universe to chase our dreams will be challenging but not impossible. 

Joining me is Erika Gonzalez, Founder of From Dusk Till Dog, Podcast Host, Certified Dog Trainer, and Behaviour Consultant. She has a BS in Science in Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication from West Virginia University and had some experience in the corporate world working as Content Coordinator and Acquisitions Editor. While working full time, Erika graduated with honors in CATCH Canine Trainers Academy, also becoming Mentor Trainer of the Institution. She is a Certified Canine Enrichment Technician, a Fear Free Certified Training Professional, and Licensed Pet Dog Ambassador Instructor and Assessor of The Pet Professional Guild. 

In this episode, we had a fantastic conversation about Erika's passion, training dogs. She spoke about leaving her corporate job to pursue her passion, why she made it, and the lessons she took from it. Erika explained what makes her different from the rest of the dog trainers, kindly sharing a few pro-tips on how to teach our dogs properly. We talked about how the pandemic affected Erika's business, the advantages of positive reinforcement to train our dogs, the issues caused by the dog training industry being unregulated, and much more. 

Some Questions I Ask:

• I believe it's essential for people to know the certifications you have. Could you talk a bit about that? (7:22)
• How you're different than other trainers who don't use a science-based approach? (13:49)
• How has COVID impacted your business? (30:53)
• You touched on Patreon; I don't know much about it. Could you share a bit of it? (35:13)
• If you were to share with someone how to get into your industry or just get into something they're passionate about, what steps could they take? (47:57)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Going from the best dog mom to the best dog trainer (4:27)
• What is the importance of being a certified dog trainer (8:14)
• Nurturing, guiding, and rewarding training bring best results in the long term (17:41)
• Dogs' brain capacity is more significant than most people think (21:03)
• Making appointments with ourselves to give us permission to rest (46:53)

Resources:

• From Dusk Till Dog Website
• From Dusk Till Dog TikTok
• From Dusk Till Dog Instagram
• From Dusk Till Dog Facebook
• From Dusk Till Dog Patreon
• From Dusk Till Dog YouTube
• From Dusk Till Dog Twitter
• From Dusk Till Dog Pinterest
• The Dog Training Audio Experience Podcast

Connect with Erika:

• LinkedIn

Let's Connect!

• LinkedIn
• Instagram 
• Twitter
• MPC Builders - Website
• MPC Builders - Facebook

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