Advice needed from other dog trainers :)
Hi everyone! I’m an aspiring dog trainer, and I am currently really struggling to find community, but the biggest struggle lately is definitely imposter syndrome.
I am pretty confident in my past experience; i’ve volunteered and fostered rescue dogs for over a decade, worked in boarding kennels under a trainer i very much looked up to, and the pet food industry. I have done online courses and seminars, and continued learning is/will always be a priority for me. My family also bred dogs for leader dog programs, so I’ve been around or heavily involved in dogs pretty much my whole life.
I guess I’m just having a hard time taking the leap and starting to take clients. I want to always provide the absolute best to dogs and their owners and know I need to stop getting in my own head, but I can’t stop convincing myself that I have no clue what I’m doing and i’ll just embarrass myself or fail clients.
What have you done to help with imposter syndrome? I’m sure it’s something that never fully goes away, but any words of wisdom would be so appreciated. I’m feeling pretty alone in the dog community at the moment 😅