We were lucky to catch up with Kate Bannon recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kate, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.
Back in 2015, I was working as a production Assistant to the art department on a pilot episode of a an “Urban Cowboy” series. The days were long and many of my tasks were menial but I was thrilled to be networking, learning about the industry and working towards my Hollywood dreams. It came to abrupt end when the series didn’t get picked up. I looked for more work in film but the jobs were few and far between in Austin. I knew I needed a full time job to get by but felt lost about what to do next, so I turned to Craigslist.
Browsing through an unfiltered job search, I came across an add for Karma Dog Training looking to hire dog trainers. I had no professional experience but always felt a special connection with dogs, so I applied. To my surprise, I passed my interviews and they hired me on to assist in Puppy Kindergarten classes! One of the more experienced instructors took me under her wing and invited me to her private sessions and even came to my first few to teach me not only how to train dogs but also how to train people to train their dogs. And the rest is history!
At the time of this transition, I felt like I had given up the dream but now I realize I’m right where I belong. My personality is much better suited to working with animals (and animal people) rather than the competitive and cutthroat industry I thought I wanted.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Kate Bannon and I am Paz Veterinary’s “Puppy Whisperer”. I’ve introduced puppy pawty socialization classes and puppy kindergarten training to the practice over the last few years with great success. I am solely responsible for all planning, coordinating and instructing these classes and have essentially created a brand within a brand.
Puppies are my passion as I strive to set new dog owners up for success by teaching how to best care for their little ones. Anyone who has raised a puppy, knows there is an huge oxymoron when it comes to early socialization. Puppies are prone to life-threatening diseases until they are fully vaccinated around 16 weeks old which also coincides with a very short socialization window where pups are more open and accepting to new people, places, animals, objects, etc. Without these essential positive experiences early on, dogs are much more likely to develop serious behavioral issues or anxiety which can result in exhaustive and expensive behavioral training and potentially rehoming.
My goal is to provide these early experiences and to educate owners in how to best communicate and understand their dog in order to create a lifetime bond. Just as we need to teach dogs our expectations, we need to take the time to learn their needs. Puppies can also be challenging; they can test your patience and there are a lot of gray areas in dog training. What works for one dog might not work for every dog. I think it’s important to get to know each pet and owner and make an individual plan that works best for them. I also aim to make my classes fun! I’m a super goofy person, so I try to bring this into class by planning exercises that are fun, interactive and practical so that they can be incorporated into everyday life. I don’t want anyone to feel like training with their dog is a chore.
Above all, I believe in compassion. Taking the time to see the world through another species’ viewpoint makes me different from other dog trainers. We need to teach our dogs the life skills to keep them safe but also our expectations of them in the world (and in our home) so that we can all get along. Aversive training methods such as prong or shock collars may work by scaring your dog into submission, but at what cost? Causing pain or stress to an animal will only hurt your relationship and ultimately ruin their confidence and trust in humans. Positive reinforcement requires a lot of patience and may even take a bit longer, but our time with our pets is so brief. It’s a shame that people are made to feel guilty about showing their dogs basic acts of kindness like giving an occasional tablescrap or cuddling on the couch. For all the joy dogs bring to us, they deserve the simple things that make their lives so much more enjoyable.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
I believe the most important factor to my field of work is having strong interpersonal skills. Although I instruct dog training classes, it’s ultimately the people that I’m teaching (and the people who pay for classes!) Many decide to work with animals because they don’t like dealing with people. These trainers may possess the same knowledge and skill, but they simply aren’t likable. Teaching a dog training class means being able to tolerate and manage complete chaos with a cool, calm and collected attitude. Having patience for humans and pets alike is key here. Although anyone can improve their “people skills” or mask their lack of, if you have any kind of disdain or intolerance for people and all the antics that come along with them, it will eventually show. I truly do care about every pet parent striving to learn and it makes my day to hear that even a piece of my advice helped. I believe people recognize this and want to return the favor by spreading the word. This alone has definitely helped my program succeed in the oversaturated market of dog training in Austin!
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
My approach to managing people is the same to animals, with kindness! I believe it’s important to cultivate healthy relationships and to build trust within them. I encourage my team members to come to me with suggestions and innovations that could help improve productivity. After all, multiple brains are better than one! Just as much as leaders need to be calm and confident, they need to possess the emotional intelligence to know when to show empathy and humility. Everyone has their own issues and lives outside of work and everyone makes mistakes. Developing relationships at work and occasionally sharing my own past shortcomings, makes my team more comfortable coming to me with theirs knowing that I will do what I can to help and come from a place of understanding. It’s much easier to solve a problem before it escalates if you know about it!
Many people advise against hiring friends or befriending employees but I believe it’s possible to form friendships at work and still maintain a professional relationship with mutual respect. The most important thing here is knowing what’s acceptable to share. Just like an anxious owner creates a dog with anxiety, the same can go for humans. If a team leader gets visibly frustrated/ doubtful or complains about the business, they rest of the employees will adopt the same feelings. It’s taken years of practice to find the perfect balance between friend and supervisor but it’s worth it because having people you can share a laugh with makes the workplace so much more enjoyable.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pazvet.com/
- Instagram: @puppyprepschoolatx
Image Credits
Nicole Kayani