The beginning...part 2

So I started doing some research on interesting jobs connected to the animal world...and all of a sudden it dawned on me that I want to become a dog trainer! And it was not just some idea, no, I was convinced that this was the right thing to do without having ANY doubts (which is a great feeling to have!). Why? I don't really know except that I very much enjoy spending time with my dogs and that I believe that especially in this part of the world there is a considerable disconnection between humans and dogs or the nature in general. You can be a dog trainer in many different ways, you can train family dogs, police dogs, movie dogs etc. and more importantly you can train them using different kind of methods. You can train dogs in a very technical way or you can try to establish a mental connection and learn their way of communicating. The latter, is what really attracted my attention. I do not want dogs to become littel robots that obey because they want a treat or even out of fear; the most interesting part is how to establish a connection with the dog and how to be able to communicate, how to establish a mutual beneficial relationship. This is when I came across Hans Schlegel who is known as the 'Swiss dog whisperer'. His speciality is to train police dogs worldwide, not using conventional methods but using his own style by working with mental energy, connecting with the dogs mostly without treats or punishment. The more I would read about him, the more I was convinced that this is what I want to learn. So I got in touch with him and after a few phone calls and email exchanges I visited him in Switzerland. What I could see in just two days there, was beyond my expectations...We connected well immediately and I got to assist in a number of training sessions what led me to my final decision: I will be Hans Schlegel's student for 6 months and work with him side by side. This will be a great insight for me and hopefully lead me onto the right path of life...

The beginning...

I am living in Abu Dhabi, doing well, which means: I am in love with my boyfriend, I am my own boss at work, I have a beautiful floating home...at this point there is always a 'but' and I realised that this 'but' is connected to my work life. Altough it is comfortable, I feel bored about what I do and there is a complete lack of enthusiasm. This is when I suddenly realised that at this point of my life I need to find a profession that I truly like, that I am passionate about. Although I have had extremely interesting jobs that would make me travel the world (I had the chance to live & work in England, Mexico, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Ghana, Hungary, Russia, Jamaica, Dubai etc.)meet some of the most interesting people (Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico, Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, Peter Medgyessy, former Prime Minister of Hungary, Mintimer Shaymiyev, President of Tatarstan, Percival J. Patterson, former Prime Minister of Jamaica etc. and many more interesting people without such big names...) have a lot of responsibility and earn a good amount of money, the work itself was never something I would truly identify with. This was acceptable untill now since my jobs offered me so many other advantages and now is the time to find the right path to the job of my dreams...This is when I started thinking about what I really enjoy in life and I realised that looking at my past and looking at the present, I always felt truly connected to nature and animals. When I was a child ( I believe this is when we are most genuine), I always wanted to work in a dog shelter or as a Green Peace activist etc. and those ambitions got lost over time when it came to earn money and discover the world. I started doing some research and the results will be seen in my next blog entry...