Happy Birthday Turid

Turid's zest for life is contageous

August 15th, apart from being the Indian Independence day, is special to me for another reason. It's also Turid's birthday. Her grit, determination, energy and intelligence have been a huge inspiration to me. Having trained more than 60,000 dogs in her life and taught in more than 25 countries across the world her experience is mind blowing. And yet she spends extraordinary amounts of time learning new things, sharpening her brain and observing dogs to pick up something new. If she has absolutely nothing to do, I find her solving puzzles.

Turid with her dog McKenzie

It's very interesting to watch a dog around her. The dog is instantly drawn to her. She says nothing. She does nothing. Yet she exudes a calmness that reassures the dog and the dog seems to find the one person in the room who seems to get him. Really get him. He goes right up to her and seems to exchange a few quick brief notes with her. None of the showmanship we often come to expect of dog trainers.

A true advocate of dogs, she does not hesitate to speak up for them, even if it means saying hard hitting truths. She expects humans to be adults who can handle the truth. She knows who she is batting for and there is not a doubt in one's mind about that for a single moment. But if one is willing to put aside ones own ego and listen to what she has to say, she is an encyclopedia on the subject. I have been learning from her for a few years now and yet every time I sit down to listen to there is something new I learn, not just because her knowledge is so vast, also because it is so rapidly expanding all the time.

It's hard to be in a profession that is in it's infancy. This is particularly true of the profession in India. So I often have to reach out to her directly for mentorship. Not once have I not got the help I need. She has the unique ability to look past the help I seek and actually give me the help I need. She has rarely helped me directly on any of my cases. She always insists that I think for myself and get to the solution myself. But she has a way of boosting my confidence, helping me find my resource pool and draw strength from it.

It's not just the dogs, but the profession as a whole that has gained a lot from someone like her. Her knowledge combined with her ability to mentor is an asset to professionals across the world. Read more about her life and her work here and feel inspired!

Turid watches as McKenzie explores