20 MayHey, we’re featured on CNN!

Today we were featured in the “Passion To Portfolio” in CNN's International Edition! The column is about people who have made career changes. Before we started training dogs, Kate was a full time graphic designer, and I was a journalist for a decade, mostly writing for newspapers and magazines. The print media scene changed a lot during and after the 2008 financial crisis. I didn't feel l was excited enough about journalism to figure out how to continue making a living doing it. As I say in this article, I was at first self-conscious about what my media-world colleagues would think of me leaving journalism to become a dog trainer. But if anyone rolled their eyes or thought less of me, they never let on. In fact, considering the state of the media scene these days, I think many journalists would love to become dog trainers!

Truth be told, I don't actually feel like I ever ceased being a journalist. I think once you're a journalist, you're always a journalist. My byline may not appear as widely as it once did, but that doesn't mean I'm not constantly asking questions, talking to interesting people, digging to find answers, and writing about things that interest me. But that last part is the key: Today, all of this journalism “work” is driven by my love of the world of dogs and animal training, not by the paycheck. Turns out, the passion I feel for this subject and the joy I get from exploring all its corners is way more positively reinforcing to me than a $1 per word ever was. Dog training, and writing about it, are self-reinforcing. The money side of things is as unnecessary as rewarding a dog for wagging his tail or wrestling with his best friend. I'm never not going to do it, because I love it, and that love is the reinforcer. I can't think of any currency more stable than that.