It’s early July, and that can only mean one thing here at the Main Campus of the School for Dog Trainers – a new batch of students has arrived to study our Master Dog Trainer program.
Last week, Class 80 started on their 24-week journey towards graduation from the Master Dog Trainer program. During their studies, they will study all aspects of dog training, encompassing both classroom theory and hands-on experience with a range of different dogs.
Students attending our programs come from all corners of the United States, but one student in Class 80 has traveled…a little further. And by a little further, we mean approximately 8,000 miles – which is the distance from Cape Town in South Africa to our Main Campus location in Harmony, North Carolina.`
The student who made that journey is Megan Johnson. As the latest recipient of our International Scholarship, Megan earned a spot in our Master Dog Trainer program, and will spend these upcoming months immersed in the world of dog training. We caught up with Megan for an interview just before she traveled across to North Carolina, in order to find out about her reaction to the Scholarship award; her background with dogs; and the part of the program she is looking forward to most!
Congratulations on being awarded the Scholarship, Megan! Can you sum up your feelings when you found out about the award?
The initial excitement levels for me were a bit all over the show because I was very cautious about getting my hopes up, since I could see that there were lots of other very good applicants. So when I actually watched the video announcing me as the winner, I was in complete shock and had to re-watch it a couple of times before it actually sunk in that it was really my name being read aloud!
Please tell us a little bit about any dogs you/your family have owned who have made a difference to you growing up, and also tell us about the dog(s) you currently own.
I’ve always been surrounded by lots of dogs and pets growing up, so I quite naturally started teaching them tricks and things from an early age.
The first dog I owned was a Miniature Dachshund called Sergeant. He was very sweet and I loved him to bits, but he also had a lot of barking problems when out on walks, so that was one of the hardest challenges with him and taught me a lot of patience.
We currently have three dogs in our house – two of them belong to my siblings, and the youngest one belongs to me. The two older dogs are a Labrador (Katie) and a Basset Hound (Ellie). My boy (Jaguar) is a rescue who is almost three years old. He is a medium-sized, black, cross breed, I’m not sure what he is crossed with, but he is very fast, smart, and agile, so it can be a bit tough to keep him well-behaved – but he has matured a lot in the past year.
We’ve had Scholarship winners from across the globe, but you are the first recipient from South Africa. Could you paint a picture of the place you live for our readers?
South Africa is an absolutely stunning country and I’m fortunate enough to stay in Cape Town, which is a beautiful blend of mountains, beaches, and so many diverse cultures all in one place. Table Mountain is obviously one of the big landmarks in Cape Town, and I love going for hikes and trail runs on its slopes as often as I can, which of course my dog loves to join me on.
How did you find out about the International Scholarship, and what motivated you to apply?
Since finishing school I’d been looking for opportunities to further my knowledge in dog training, but unfortunately almost all of the programs in South Africa have quite a narrow outlook on training and aren’t open to multiple ways or methods to work with dogs which I was really hoping to learn. So I started looking overseas for other options and opportunities, and I found the School for Dog Trainers website. I was so amazed at what they had to offer and especially loved their hands-on approach to dog training, so when I found out that they had an International Scholarship opportunity available, I was very keen to try my luck and apply.
Is there a particular section of the Master Dog Trainer program you are looking forward to?
I’m really keen to learn all the different aspects of the working dog world. My previous experience has all mainly been around puppies and basic obedience, so all the task trained dogs is going to be new to me. I am especially excited to learn how to train service dogs since I love it when dogs are able to really assist and impact people’s lives in such a clear way!
Can you tell our readers about your future career plans after you graduate from the School?
I’m not a hundred percent sure yet what the plan is when I come back home, but my aim will definitely be to spread the new training that I’ve received and try to help the other trainers and dog owners here as much as I can. I would also love to start up my own business and will probably continue working and growing the group of private clients that I have. I might also potentially start my own board and train program since that’s something that’s very foreign here, but I’ll hopefully have the skills to do it after completing the training at the Main Campus.
Have you ever visited the United States? Are you excited about coming here for the Scholarship?
I have actually been to the States before, but that was back in 2016 for a friend’s wedding in Maine. I’m very excited to be here again and can’t wait for all the new learning I’m going to be doing! The States is such a big place so I’m also very excited to be going to North Carolina and to get to experience a different part of America.