Here's the back story:
I officially opened for business in the Fall. My first client I saw twice and never heard from again (I think he got rid of/re-homed his dog). My second client I saw once, tried to send her an email, had it bounce back, called her to confirm her address, and never heard back from her. I have had several phone calls, a couple of people who spoke to multiple times, and no appointments made (or in one instance, kept).
I have one official new client. She is set on keeping me as her & her dog's trainer. He has high, high, high aspirations for her dog. M is wheelchair-bound, she has Spastic Cerebral Palsy, is losing her vision and has good but limited function of her hands. Her dog is a young Cocker named Hope who barely knows sit, has a limited attention span, a few bad manners, and an adoring mother. M wants hope to excel in obedience and eventually become her service dog. This is an exciting challenge for me, but I'm worried that I'm not a competent/experienced enough trainer to tackle everything.
I can do basic obedience.
I can curb bad manners.
I can teach targeting and recall.
But.
But I'm afraid that I'm not ready to try and teach a dog to "find mama's prescription" or "open the bottom drawer."
I'm having a hard enough time figuring out how to create a curriculum for M and Hope to follow, and how to get the information across - handouts are out as M would have a hard time reading it. (Note to self - ask M if she can read Braille; possibly have mom transcribe information.) I just don't know where exactly to start.
