Why Vanilla Dog Trainers Stay Broke

Yeah, so I'm going to tell you a story about a vegan client that I had a few years ago. She came to me with a dog that was an absolute nightmare— reactive, pulling on the lead, lunging, and trying to fucking bite everything. She tried every force-free training method under the sun. She spent thousands on trainers who just told her to throw hot dog on the floor and, you know, hope for the best. You've all been there, you know the one. And she was at the end of her tether. So she comes to me and I tell her straight up, hey, we're going to use an e-collar to solve this problem. Now you have to understand, this woman was a strict vegan. She was deeply embedded in the force-free positive community. The idea that an e-collar was horrifying to her, but she was desperate. And again, I'm not saying like just because someone's vegan they won't use tools, but typically there's a bit of a correlation there, right? So she says to me, okay, show me how it works. So I didn't sugarcoat it, I didn't try to make it sound like a magical communication device that just tickles the fucking dog's neck and a tap on the shoulder, and I didn't use soft language. I put the collar on my own arm I let her feel the stim as well, and I explained exactly what it was doing and why it was necessary and how it was going to give her dog the freedom it desperately needed to solve her issue. I was completely authentic about the methods. I didn't try to be the trainer she wanted me to be. I was the trainer that I actually am. And you know what? She bought the package, she did the work, and her dog is now off leash living its best life. Life. Now let me tell you another story. A few months later, I had a client come to me. She was a horse lady, very old school, very traditional. She brings a dog in and she says, look, I don't care about all this positive reinforcement nonsense. Just put a shock collar on the dog and fix it. She wanted me to be heavy-handed, old school compulsion trainer. She wanted me to just crank the collar and fry the dog into submission. And again, I didn't change who I was. I told her, no, that's not how we do things here. We use the e-collar, yes, but we use it fairly. We use it to communicate, not just to fucking punish the dog every time he sees another dog. We built the foundation with food and play first, and then we conditioned the e-collar. I lost that client. She walked away because of— I wasn't the trainer she wanted me to be, and I was completely fine with that. Here's the point I'm trying to make. The dog training industry is saturated with vanilla dog trainers who are terrified of their own shadow. They are so scared of offending someone, so scared of losing a potential client that they water down their message until it means absolutely nothing. They try to be everything to everyone and they use soft language. They hide their tools. They pretend like they don't use corrections. They try to appeal to the force-free crowd, maybe while secretly using prong collars behind closed doors. It's exhausting. It's going to— you're going to mentally lie to yourself for an infinite amount of time, which is going to break you. And it's ultimately terrible for business. Your authenticity is your only real advantage in this market. People aren't buying dog training. They are buying you. They are buying your worldview, your philosophy, your personality, your perspective. If you swear in everyday life, swear in your marketing. If you believe that a dog needs a firm correction to save its life, say it loudly and proudly. If you think most modern dog training is absolute nonsense, Call it out. Yes, you will alienate people. Yes, you will lose potential clients who don't align with your values. But the people that do align with you, they will become fiercely loyal. They will trust you implicitly. They will pay your prices without questioning them because they know exactly who they are dealing with. I literally use swearing as a filter. If someone watches my YouTube videos and gets offended because I dropped a fucking F-bomb, they are not my ideal client. They're not going to be someone I want to work with. They're going to be a nightmare to work with. They're so sensitive of a word then how is that gonna make for a good working relationship when I have to maybe tell them some things they don't want to hear? They might even question every decision I make, and they're going to complain about the process. I guarantee you, by being unapologetically myself, I filter out the headaches before they even book a call. I only attract people who want the truth, who want results. I don't care if I'm a little bit rough around the edges. People aren't looking for choir boys. Unless they're a priest. It didn't say that, but I'm gonna leave it in. Stop trying to be the trainer that you think the market wants you to be. The market doesn't know what it is until you show it to them. If you are a balanced dog trainer, own it. Explain why you use the tools you use. Do not hide them. Don't apologize for them. Frame them as ethical, as necessary, and life-saving. If you are a force-free dog trainer, own that too. Be honest about the limitations. I find it very unlikely you're on this channel, to be honest. Whatever your philosophy is, lean into it hard. The trainers who make the most money, the ones who have the best clients, and the ones who actually enjoy their lives are the ones who refuse to compromise who they actually are. They attract their tribe and they repel everyone else. Stop watering down your message. Stop hiding your personality. Be your authentic self. It is the only competitive advantage that cannot be copied. If you want to learn how to build a brand around your actual personality and attract high-ticket clients who respect you and pay you over and over again, hit the link in the description. Otherwise, I'll see you in the next one.