Planning a new puppy for Christmas? Remember the owners manual.
Article/ Doggy Tips by: Katrina Boyd
Dogtech® New South Wales –Northern beaches group training
Christmas Puppies
Well, it’s that time of year, and for a lot of households the discussion on whether to get a new addition to the family has come around again.
Will it be this year a new puppy arrives in the Christmas stocking for the family to enjoy?
Firstly, it is important that you pick the right dog for you and your family; for example, if you work long hours and live in a small apartment, I wouldn’t recommend a high energy dog such as a Jack Russell. Do some research into which breed suits your environment and family set-up.
Remember the Owners manual–attend Puppy Pre-school
Okay, so you have your new puppy. The first thing you should do is enroll into Puppy Pre-school. There are many reasons why puppy school is important: Did you know that your puppy’s imprinting age is between 8 and 16 weeks? This is where your puppy learns what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour. I recommend a lot of off-leash play at puppy school which allows the puppies to teach each other how to play in a polite and socially acceptable way.
Crucial period: If you miss this crucial period in your puppies development, you cannot get it back. Not socializing your puppy may lead to a very confused, insecure dog that will end up with behavioural problems later in life–and as the saying goes, ‘ an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’.
Avoid the most common mistake
One mistake we see often is when people who already have a dog get a second or third dog and do not take the new puppy to Puppy school. The new puppy will play extremely well with the family dogs, but is nervous and anti-social with ‘strange’ dogs in the park or walking by the home.
Dogtech Puppy Pre-schools
At Dogtech, our focus is on helping you manage your puppy by sharing our positive motivation, rewards based training methods with you in a fun & interesting manner. We only use gentle methods to ensure a well balanced, happy pup.
Vaccination requirements: Your puppy will only need her/his first vaccination to attend our Dogtech Puppy school; We ensure that all vaccination papers are sighted prior to commencement of the class, for everyone’s protection.
Home puppy setup
Another way to ensure a well behaved dog is to get all the right information first–such as how to treat your puppy at home. Many Dogtech Trainers offer a special In-home puppy set-up service . The Dogtech Specialist will visit you in your home whilst your puppy is between 8 and 16 weeks of age and share with you the things you need to know to get the best start in life for you and your new puppy. By completing Puppy School and the In-home puppy set-up course, you will be sure to have the correct information to ensure a happy, secure little puppy.
Owners manual:
Remember, it is important to ensure proper and correct maintenance, not only in the early stages of your dogs life, but also for the 13, 14, or 15 years you will have your dog.
When you buy a new car you follow the servicing requirements in the Owners Manual don’t you? And why do you follow those requirements? To ensure it continues to run well and perform for you day in and day out, correct?
It’s the same with a dog–you must train your dog in the same fashion as you service your car--regularly. Without you, the new leader of the pack, guiding him/her through life with love, discipline, training, and obedience–you are likely to end up with a dog that doesn’t function the way you dreamed.
Be a happy Owner–Not part of the problem!
Each year around 300,000 dogs are put down in Australia–many because their owners simply weren’t prepared and couldn’t cope with minor issues that became major problems with their dog.
Most of these tragedies are avoidable by prospective doggy owners taking the time to research the best type of dog for their situation–and ensuring they get the Owners manual by attending a good training course to learn the basics off living & communicating with our ‘best friends’.
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Women Discover Dogtech Business Opportunity
Women Discover Dogtech Business Opportunity– *flexible hours *financial security *rewarding lifestyle
Article by: Glynna Reynolds Date: 7 December 2009
A growing number of women are discovering the advantages of becoming a franchise operator of Dogtech International, one of Australia’s premier franchise companies in the booming pet services sector.
I recently interviewed Steven Hall, General Manager for Marketing & Business Development of Dogtech International to discover why women find Dogtech such an attractive business opportunity.
GR: Steven, why would a smart woman want to consider a Dogtech franchise over the security of a traditional 9 to 5 job, or one of the many other franchise business opportunities available for that matter?
SH: Well Glynna, it really depends on the woman, her life situation, her financial objectives–and of course how she feels about teaching/helping others–plus very importantly, how she feels about animals–especially dogs.
GR: Obviously, but what is the main attraction?
SH: For most women it is the combination of flexible schedule, professional status, personal rewards, and the income potential.
For instance, women with children find it very convenient for them to start their work day after they get the kids off to school, and finish up any outside field work before they pick the kids up from school in the afternoon.
After they get the kids home and settled, they can take care of any paperwork and follow-up phone and website inquiries from home.
GR: So Dogtech is a home based business?
SH: Most of our franchisees operate from home. It not only saves money by not needing to rent expensive commercial space, it may also provide a tax deduction–however, we advise operators to check with their accountant on business tax matters.
GR: So women can work from home and work around children’s school. What about women with no kids, women with partners, and weekends?
SH: Again it depends, but most Dogtech operators do work a few hours on Saturday morning conducting very profitable Puppy schools or Group adolescent classes.
Sometimes they also get involved in a weekend Doggy Day event for a few hours, but remember, they are not tied to an office 9 to 5 on weekdays.
Women with no children obviously have more time available to devote to the business if they choose–and time equals money, so they have the option of generating more income–or pursuing their other interests if they prefer.
As far as women with partners goes, most Dogtech franchisees have partners–but the advantages of a Dogtech lifestyle for couples could be the subject of another entire article!
GR: OK, we will stick with the advantages for women this time. Won’t women miss the social aspects of going to an office or central workplace and being with their workmates every day?
SH: Most of our Dogtech franchisees, both women and men, tell us that one of the things they don’t miss about traditional employment is all the petty office politics, complaining, and bullying that apparently goes on in many workplaces these days. They don’t call it the 9 to 5 GRIND for no reason!
GR: Yes, but what about job satisfaction? Some bosses and workmates give encouragement & emotional rewards for a job well done.
SH: Virtually all of our franchisees–again women and men– tell us the best part of the business is the wonderful feeling they get from helping a stressed-out, frantic dog owner who is being driven crazy by a once adorable dog– that is chewing, barking, jumping, biting, digging–any one of a large number of common doggy problems–learn to communicate effectively with their pet.
The satisfaction of seeing both owner and dog learn their proper roles in the ‘pack’ and gain the ability to live together harmoniously is a rewarding feeling most operators’ value more fully than the money.
GR: Which brings us to the money. Many women I know feel more secure in a regular job. How does Dogtech provide the financial security most women are after?
SH: Glynna, I think we are all looking for financial security, but how much security is there in most traditional jobs these days? During our current Global Financial Crises many people have either lost their jobs or have suffered a reduction in hours–resulting in loss of income and financial security.
Also, these days many firms only want to hire casuals or independent contractors–not much security in that.
By contrast, owning a Dogtech Franchise means you own your business with an exclusive area. As you build up the business you are not only increasing your revenue, but also increasing the value of the business should you ever want to sell it–say because of sickness, retirement–or maybe you just want to move overseas.
The important thing is, like your home, you are developing equity in your business–you are really only renting a job.
That said, going into business is not for everyone. It is important you are comfortable with the business concept and confident of your ability to both learn the business, and develop the discipline to work for yourself successfully. If you are going to be your own boss, you want to be a good one!
GR: I would think many women would be nervous about being in business all by themselves.
SH: That’s another reason both women and men choose Dogtech–our training & support. We have a simple, proven system that allows operators to be in business for themselves, but not by themselves.
We provide the training & support to help our Franchisees set-up their Marketing & Administration Systems, plus learn the secrets of how to train dogs using our exclusive Whisper Wise Training method–including puppies, adolescent dogs, and dogs with behavioural issues.
The Program is simple, provided you are willing to learn and apply a few new ideas.
GR: It all sounds so good I’m thinking of giving up my writing career!. If I was interested, how should I proceed?
SH: Glynna, with your background, you would be an excellent candidate for a Dogtech franchise. That said, we have women and men from all walks of life who have gotten fed up with the rat race and changed their lives using Dogtech as the vehicle. Still others were doing volunteer work within the doggy community and discovered that with Dogtech they could pursue their interest in helping people & pets–and earn a great income in the process.
The way to proceed is really simple:
First, you want to visit the Dogtech International website–www.dogtech.com.au to familiarise yourself with what we do–our Services & Products.
Then read about our Founder, John Richardson, author of the best selling books, ‘The Dog Whisperer’ and ‘Whispers of Wisdom’, to gain an understanding of our philosophy, experience, and credentials.
After that, I recommend you read the Profiles of our Australian Franchise operators. You will most likely find several you can relate to–we have great people from all walks of life. Pay attention to the Testimonials from very grateful clients. These will help you understand the importance of the work we do.
Lastly, if you like what you learn, go to the franchise business opportunity section and complete the Franchise Information request.
When we receive your completed form, we will send you a Dogtech Business opportunity pack so you will have enough information to determine if you want to go to the next level, which will be a confidential discussion with Dogtech Founder, John Richardson.
It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3:
Once you have spoken with John, you will have a fair idea if Dogtech is for you or not.
GR: OK, –now this is really the final question: A business costs money, how much is a Dogtech franchise and do you provide any finance?
SH: Important questions, Glynna. The franchise fee depends on the type of franchise and the area. It does require some capital to get into business, but with Dogtech it is modest compared to other franchises with comparable profit potential.
We can assist applicants on how and where to find a business loan or line of credit, plus we offer In-house finance to approved purchasers (TAP).
The most important things are to determine if the business is right for you, and you are right for the business. If both of those things are right, the money will most likely be available.
GR: Sounds like you have thought of everything. Thank you for your time today, I can see why more women are discovering Dogtech.
SH: You’re welcome Glynna. I will watch for your Information request form!