Seriously, though, this is the story of my journey to become/work as a Physical Therapist Assistant, my various adventures, and the journey of my dog, Buster, in obedience class, agility and finally becoming a certified therapy dog.
I'm Grace. I graduated from a Physical Therapist Assistant program in North Carolina in Dec. 2015. I also have a BA in Classical Civilizations. I enjoy baking (my favorite baking blog), reading and being active with Buster.
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| Grace & Buster |
Buster is my dog. I adopted him in Sept. 2013. He lived with a family in an apartment until they got evicted. They moved out and left him. The maintenance men eventually found him and took care of him for a couple of weeks before calling a vet. The vet, a friend of mine, took her into her clinic and he stayed in the kennel for a month before she mentioned him to me when I was talking about wanting a dog. She showed me his pictures, I visited him the next week and adopted him.
What kind of dog is Buster? I have no knowledge of his life before me, so I used a Wisdom Panel DNA kit to find out what breeds Buster is. He is 25% Boxer, 25% Jindo, 12.5% Samoyed, and a mix of some other breeds, probably including Collie (which would explain that tail!).
How old is Buster? I don't know Buster's real birthday, but I made his birthday the day I got him: Sept 21. I approximate his year of birth 2011.
Where do you train Buster? For obedience, I chose Dulcey Trimble Training at Petsmart due to her many certifications and education. You can retake any class at any time for free at Petsmart. For agility, I chose Ashley at Dog Gone Fun. My only complaint is that the agility classes are outside and are subject to weather conditions.
Can you help me train my dog? No, I am an amateur dog trainer at best. Buster is very food motivated, smart, and eager to please me which made him very easy to train. I recommend you research trainers in your area that use positive reinforcement techniques or use YouTube. I do not recommend Cesar Millan. Research shows dogs follow the friendliest dog, not the "alpha". You do not need to establish dominance or fear to train your dog. The best way to get your dog to do what you want is to have a strong, trusting bond with him/her.
Any more questions? Comment below.
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