Copying is unfortunately something I’ve become used to all of my life. Even back to my school days I can recall many a situation where I was being copied one way or another. When I set up this business many years back a local person copied every single thing on my website! So you could say I’m pretty used to having my ideas and content replicated.
The thing is, in dog training there are going to be similarities, dog training has been happening for years and as trainers we learn from others and replicate the things we have been taught. Any good trainer should be keeping up to date with their knowledge both practically and theoretically so good dog trainers should all tell you the same thing and be doing similar things in their practical training.
I am always referencing the people who I have learnt from when I teach. But what I don’t understand is when other businesses obviously grab recent content and try to replicate it as their own 🤷♀️.
I get it, all businesses need to attract clients but isn’t that better to do on your own merit? Come up with different ideas and think outside the box a little? I know I’d soon get caught out if I was to just regurgitate information I have heard without the backed up learning theory… what if I was to be asked a question and I fumbled and didn’t know the answer? I’d soon look like a fraud! 😆
People buy people, that is a fact. One thing that can’t be replicated is someone’s identity, their uniqueness and how that person makes others feel.
We live in a world full of comparisons and in reality you should only ever be competing with yourself.
Are you a better version of you today than you were yesterday?
Once you get into that mindset of just watching others and trying to do as they do, it is a quick downward spiral to losing your own identity!
There are hundreds of agility trainers, they will all teach you how to get over kit. Some will go into more detail than others depending on why they are teaching, who they are teaching, what experience they have and how current their education is. Just because someone has been doing it years doesn’t mean they have been doing it well or correctly all those years!
You need a balance of experience, education and up to date achievements. Take the grade progression for example, it was a lot easier a few years back to progress to Grade 7 than it is now!
When you are looking at trainers look at what they are doing now, how are their current dogs doing? Have they attended courses recently both theory and practical? What do they teach in their lessons? Can you go and watch before you commit? Are the dogs happy and content when training? Are they encouraging? Can they answer questions? Is the environment a good place for the dogs to learn?
These are all the things that differentiate one trainer from another.
I personally see it as a complement when I see similarities start to pop up or I get told what others are doing. I could get upset but the reality is they like what they see and want some of it themselves! How could that not be a complement?!
Anyway to the person who loves my ideas, thank you 😊. By replicating what I do you will hopefully be able to help more owners and dogs and you will be helping to spread the word about kind and ethical training with the similar content you are putting out to the world.
Me, I’m off to rebrand a few of my courses as I like to be unique, so any similarities will soon be gone 😉. I like to keep things fresh and when I see similarities start to appear I simply create something new!
“Be yourself, everyone else is taken!”
Happy Training!
Katrina 🐾
KB Agility 