Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Heather Tyack. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Heather, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job

The most important lesson I received from my 23 years as a bartender/server, was learning to read humans and their behaviors, and then navigate accordingly. Being a dog trainer has more to do with teaching the humans what to do, and what not to do, more so than the dogs. When I started my business, I continued to bartend. Just like anyone, I needed to prove myself by working hard at my craft and not being so concerned about making money right away. As time went on, I slowly left the bar, and became fully self employed. Proving myself in the dog training world, or “dancing for my supper” as I call it, was a very passionate and at times “over the top” or “too much” experience. Some loved it, and some did not. As more time went by, I drew back my approach from over passionate dog nut, to casual bartender who loves dogs approach. It sounds silly and almost bazaar even to me sometimes, but at the end of the day, it’s been a winning combination. People go where they feel welcome, and people stay where they feel valued.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Heather Tyack, and I am the owner of Everyday K9 in St Petersburg, Florida. I am 45 years old, and a native to St Pete. Growing up we always had multiple dogs, many times over 5 at a time, and always a cat in the mix. I owe much of my natural passion for animals to the experiences and memories from my childhood. In 2006 I started volunteering at a local dog training club, and quickly grew into an instructor position. In 2011, my 1 year old dog, Gates, and I began struggling with dog aggression. From there it has been an 11 year journey of finding answers to heal ourselves , and find a new calm way of existing.

We run group dog training classes in the park, and are very community based. We believe the community helps each team grow and navigate along their own journeys with their dog. We are a mixed group, with our basic teams mingled right in with our more advanced teams. Each team brings value to the community. The dogs that have already learned to relax at class, help the other teams by showing the newbies how it’s done. We all learn by watching others, even dogs. New teams coming into class, will usually have a lot of (mostly hidden) anxiety about their dogs causing a scene or disrupting the other teams. What they aren’t realizing, until they are more invested in classes, is that every team adds value to classes. The barking dogs, the lunging dogs, the scared dogs, the anxious dogs, the aggressive dogs, and even the over excited dogs all bring valuable distractions and lessons to the table. Creating a space where humans are not embarrassed by their dogs, but actually driven to dig deep, get their hands dirty, and find change.

I could have never envisioned the community that has come from the struggles with my own personal dog so many years ago. Along this journey, I have come to realize that the community has not only become a safe place for teams to learn and grow, but it has become a safe place for me to continue to learn and grow as well.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I honestly owe my social media audience and presence to when I started listening to Gary Vaynerchuk in 2016. I dove in head first and started making videos, even though I was super nervous.

The big thing I learned from back then, is that no one is watching and no one really cares, so just go for it. I was timid with my videos, but I continued to push myself and create content. Being obsessed with views and likes was a waste of my energy, and quickly learned to be aware of it, but not measure anything by it. I would be stopped by people I knew telling me they watch all of my videos, even though I had never seen a like or comment from them, ever. That made me more aware of human behavior, and to watch what I do in certain situations personally, and reverse engineer it.

Another big key to building an engaged community is by being engaging. Respond to every comment, respond again when they reply back. All engagement counts, so step to the plate first, and others will follow.

My skills from bartending helped me in this area so much. Humans just want to engage with other humans. That’s it. It’s as simple and as complicated as that. If you are there to constantly engage with people, they will start to take notice of you, and all that you do

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I would say my deepest and most painful lesson would have to be when my dog killed my cat. It took me years to be able to speak of it without completely crumbling into tears, and a few more years to be able to confidently add it to my stories of why we do what we do. In all actuality, this is the first time I’ve spoke of it in a large group. It has changed my perspective in so many ways, and in turn allowed me to help countless humans through the loss of a pet, making the decision to let a pet go, or even through tragedies in their own home. It made me dig deep to find purpose in Humphrey’s (my cat) death, something I honestly never imagined finding purpose in. It was my soul driver to make his death something beautiful, even when it was the most horrific thing I’ve ever experienced. To look in the face of the human who feels relief while talking with me about their beloved animal, tells me I’m on the right path.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.everyk9.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/invites/contact/?i=y7udq647caz9&utm_content=pzw1t2
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/everydayk9training/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC5cHlnCbPn4-jHrvTujLJYA
• Other: https://t.snapchat.com/9enqK1Kz https://www.facebook.com/heather.tyack https://www.facebook.com/Everyday-K9-Real-Dog-Talk-102383352548928/