Since starting with rover I can now change this to "I have a dog now" I'm still unable to board dogs at my house, but I can tell you about how I care for my Samwise. I got him on feb 11th. about 1.5 months ago, for the first half month we did 0 training and I have only had 4 real training sessions ranging from 5-15 minutes. In the last month he has learned over 22 commands, heels well and has good recall off leash, even when other dogs are nearby. He was nervous and had been neglected, abused and abandoned. He's a sweetheart, has gained some good weight and is very curious and well socialized. His worst habit is wanting to greet animals within 6 or so feet of us now. But he doesn't make a fuss about not being allowed to. He was terrified when we got him, peeing on the floor whenever he heard a raised voice, there was sudden movement or he was reached for, he doesn't do that anymore. Due to his fear of raised voices I taught him what the right behavior was for a couple of weeks and then began to use light toned verbal correction for what was wrong (so he knows the word no not just the tone used) before redirecting to a wanted thing (like chewing) I also used deep shouts for dangerous things, 1 because he NEEDED to have a very negative association with them (power cords, chewing metal, trying to stick his head in the oven) and 2 because i don't want him afraid of anything, especially me, so it just wouldn't do for him to be afraid of shouting. Even with my scariest voice he got the same correction for everything. Showed him what was bad via holding it up or pointing, saying it's bad, and then walked him to (no pulling or force) or gave him the right thing for the situation, as soon as he interacted with the right thing he got praise. because I never scared, dragged, forced, manhandled or hurt him he lost his fear of yelling after 4-5 incidents (he was only really scared of the first two) and I incorporated louder and or deeper tones into general training and praise in increments as I went, and won't touch the most dangerous things anymore. (how can you really be afraid of shouting if you are given a chew toy for it right?) Now he knows that my shout is for serious things, so he runs right to me to see what is going on, tail up and wagging, ears perked, no fear just alert for further instructions. He knows i won't hurt him, but he knows that tone is important, it will keep him safe if for example an off leash aggressive dog runs at him, or he encounters a wild animal. He's still got some things that make him nervous, like tarps and boxes but that's going away fast with some time and love. I am working hard to raise his self confidence and make him fearless. It's not the sort of training I use on my training clients, but most clients don't expect to, or know how to maintain training for a dog being able to off-leash heel somewhere like, say... the las vegas strip, or have their dog stumble over a rattlesnake and need it to hold perfectly still so the animal doesn't strike. but I like having a tone that is basically a "deafcon 4 all men to their stations" as he goes hiking and herping (reptile hunting) with me and off leashes where it's safe and allowed he needs to know when something is wander over and when it means run over and be ready for anything. In clients homes I'm careful of their animals and possessions, I double check doors, I double check feeding instructions, I use my own leash usually which has a bungee section in case of pulling so it doesn't hurt them, and has a locking clasp to ensure nothing can happen, and I try to do my best to give them good company and care in their owners place. Sometimes this means staying longer which is fine. Sometimes, like day one with some shy cat's it means doing the basics trying to let the animal get my scent and leaving to reduce stress. That worked just last week with a kitty who HATED me being there, I only stayed about 15 minutes to handle his care. Day 2 he was all over me. I've also had senior pets or pups who couldn't make it until the appointment time and I either used the owners products to thoroughly clean and sanitize, or I use the pet friendly ones I keep in my car. I also keep snakes, as they don't take up much space, they aren't the same but they are an example of my level of care and love for all species. I did months of research and ensured they each had the exact environment they would best thrive in, I keep up on all their needs and have conditioned one of them to work with children and the public. Snakes are like any animal, respect their boundaries, consider how they perceive my actions towards them, and ensure they know I'm a safe place of comfort. If I can train a snake, I can work with any dog.