Reply #17: Of course I misunderstand

[Coyote_Bandit]

If I had all the answers I would not have asked the question.

We have an aging population which might suggest an increasing need for various types of companion and assistance dogs. And I am not just talking about seeing eye guide dogs here - there are also dogs trained to work with the deaf, some diabetics, those with seizure disorders and various mobility problems as well as those with challenges such as agorophobia and autism. And we have an increasingly violent and more heavily policed country which might suggest an increasing demand for protection dogs and scent detection, tracking and rescue dogs - as well as police dogs. Among these are the dogs that can help recover lost children or alzheimer's patients who wander away from their home or care facility. They can locate cadavers and even things like termites and mold. There are about 60 million American dogs right now - many of whom are latchkey miscreants who are neglected and could benefit, along with their owners, from some basic training. Seems reasonable to me to expect increased need and demand for highly trained dogs.

Maybe right now there are only a few jobs at a few places that do specialized training. But I am not at all convinced that is true. Dog training is one of the vocational skills taught to some prisoners - and it is a prize assignment that often benefits a prisoner at parole hearings. There are numerous schools that offer specialized training. Maybe there are only a few established elitist programs, but that does not mean that I can't learn how to do the training - and I am talking about practical skills - and then go out and open my own shop. At least you have not stated any reason why that cannot be done. That, at least, is somewhat encouraging.

Please do tell me what a self employed vet tech does in a small town in a rural area. There are only two vets in this particular area - one treats prmarily livestock and the other treats mostly small domestic pets and offers boarding and grooming services. Both serve a large geographic area (multiple counties) because, well, the area is sparsely populated and th folks who live there are not exactly rolling in dough. They don't call the vet unless they think their prize cow is really going to die despite all the remedies from the local farmer's co-op. Sad to say but I would wager that you would be more successful running a rendering service that picks up the dead animals. And vet school in my 40's? Oh please. How many years would it take just to finish all the leveling classes to even submit the application? My own experience with higher education suggests that its value is highly overrated. And this idea is nothing short of financial suicide. At least the idea of dog training has some slight remote possibility of coming to fruition.