I updated the landing info and made a video for an intro. It's long. 🤷🏻‍♀️

If you are more of a reader, here is the script: I'm a skimmer myself, so all good! Whatever helps you get the info!

Hi

Thanks for checking out my Locals page. We are PAWpundance Dog Training Academy. We are looking for people that are curious, excited polite individuals who want to learn. We like to work with dogs, but you don't have to have one, or a bad one, to learn here!

This is a space for exploration! We are going to talk about very interesting topics! We will use empathy to reframe the situations to show you how two movies can be playing at the same time for you and your pup. We think we might be sweet and loving but they might be perceiving a very different exchange. They see the world differently.

I like to use the example of ET. If we imagine our pups as little aliens that are guest we invited to live in our homes, would we rather be the government trying to manipulate and coerce to our own end? Or do we want to be Elliot, guiding this scared being to understanding with compassion and ultimately setting our pup up for success in a human world? We want to be Elliot right!

And that's what we can help with at PAWpundance!

It's not just training! It's about our relationship.

I was a swing dancer for 20 years before training dogs. I was also a teacher and taught huge rooms of people. I learned so much about teaching from that experience. But I also learned a lot about working with another person through movement. Sometimes our words just break down and we have to learn to read each other in the movements.

That gave me a very unique qualification when I came to dog training. When I learned to work with the dogs, I learned that dogs rely heavily on body movements to communicate. These movements communicate their emotions and feelings. And it's these subtle day to day movements and gestures that help build the bonds between each other and with us. We can unknowingly create a constant hostile environment or choose to build a warm, inviting home for the pups. We can give your the foundational skills and knowledge to build that strong relationship.

We are looking for 100 members. So far, as I'm making this video, we have a team of 20. If you are in the first 100 people, you will be a part of our foundational team and you will have lifelong perks. I will let you be surprised as to how amazing they might be, but as my staff learned, I LOVE positive reinforcement. They won't be $100 bills, those were the good ole' days for my amazing team members, but it will be some fun swag and fun perks.

We are under construction.

In addition to 80+ videos plus explanations of my past trainings that are already available for current subscribers, we are going to launch a podcast soon, Tuesdays with Kate.

We will talk about Behavior Modification for example. It's a few tough subject and it usually presented in a bunch of pieces with overly technical language or skims the surface and ends with call an experienced trainer. So we will break it down.

We will analyze my past trainings. What happened, why, what was the outcome etc. We will also critique the training itself. I have grown as a trainer so I can go back and tell you what I did well and how I can do it better! And we will stay up to date with my current training as I take on more pups so you can follow along and see the progress.

We will also have a Q and A live.

I also want to have a humor section. I want to analyze popular entertainment, movies etc from a dog trainers perspective. Everything for me is about attention. And I think it would be really interesting for you to see what I see in a movie like A Star is Born. Because I saw it and when it got to the end, I was like well duh. Spoiler Alert - It's all about attention. So if that's interesting to you, you will like this community.

If you are bummed out because you are thinking, this sounds amazing! (And we are) They are too far away to come train our dogs. How much do you think it would cost to bring her our here... I can tell you have posted rates already and it's more than you want to pay. Tom Cruise might pay it, but don't worry. We have virtual one-on-one training with PAWpundance. We worked with some of the most exclusive clients in our home town of Houston and we can help you too without a 5-figure check.

There are a lot of virtual trainers out there now, especially after Covid-19.

Quick Joke: What is one thing two dog trainers can agree on? It's that the third dog trainer is doing it wrong. So really every trainer is unique!

And there is no one like PAWpundance. We have an abundance mindset. We also know that its a big subject and it's greater than the sum of the parts. So we stay open minded and learn about as much as we can. We like to hear all sides of a debate and politely learn new things even if in the end we disagree. But no politics at the PAWpundance community page. This is a place of learning. We are about teaching, persuasion, systems, motivation, team dynamics, coaching and personal growth as well as our love for our furry friends. So keep it classy here.

And let's talk about classy. The honest dog pictures are classy.

What is not ok? I will be on other social media sites and other people would probably be scrolling and smiling happily. Whilst I am scrolling, mortified looking at some of the photos and videos that people have posted. It's horrific when I run it through the empathy machine for pups. I just see their faces and in their eyes. I see them dressed in halloween costumes in stressful poses. I wonder how long did it take to get that shot? How long did that dog have to stand like that? And all the dog wants is the hot dog that we don't see off-camera.

So here's the deal, the dopamine hit we get from social media can be as powerful as drugs and alcohol. If this is just about an addiction and getting a fix, please go back to your social media. You are welcome there already. Your fake, posed, coerced, staged pictures have a place there.

PAWpundance is a place for genuine interactions. When you see your fluffy pup sleeping on the bed, tongue hanging out and looking silly, take that picture! The lighting may be horrible and your place may be a messy but it will look real and we will love it even more. Why? Because we will all know that in that moment, the love you had was so great, you had to grab your phone and snap a quick photo and share it with us. Your cup flowth over. We can all understand that and then we say, "ah" and hit like. It's genuine. And if that's what you got, bring it here!

When Hollywood was abusive to animals to get a performance from them, an oversight committee was created and each time an animal is used in a movie for entertainment someone is being sure the animal is not abused.

Who is making sure these "pets" on social media aren't being used and abused for addiction purposes? I would like to see that conversation.

It's not an easy one but we get to choose the type of community that we are building and I would like to keep that out. For the dogs health, for our relationships with them and for ourselves, let's make this a healthy place for us and our attention is more important.

Which brings me to advertisement, we researched it. We could do it. But all it would do would give you a fancier product in the beginning. But we are just starting right, everyone from the beginning will laugh and joke about, "Remember when it was just in Katie's office in front of her white board? So crazy to think back then to how nice it is now..." So we give up a little bit of production value right now, so that we can keep control of the content and not interrupt your attention with an ad.

For example:

If I'm training and I am working with a dog that is doing great but I turn my attention away to answer my phone, I just punished the pup.

If I worked really hard on marketing and such to bring in a new member and I have them watching a lovely video to help them and they are fully engaged. The worse thing I can do, is punish them with an ad in the middle or join a mailing list to get spammed. So we will be very careful about our attention.

So what are you going to get when you become a member? Access to an ad-free community. You can see blogs and video about training. And you can see posts of dog pictures and see the questions others have asked to the community.

When you become a subscriber, you will get access to all the content, podcasts and live trainings. You will be able to ask your own questions and post pictures. If you are in the first 100, you will get a PAWpundant foundational membership and will forever have special access and receive certain perks. We kept it to the minimum that Locals would let us ask. So this is mainly just to support the technology at Locals who are host us. When I train with a client directly, I work with packages and (to work locally, in my building) I charge between $5,000-$10,000 dollars, so we are not asking for this amount, it's just a couple bucks a month to have access to see what the heck we did for 10k!

We will unlock premium access after we reach 100 members. You will be able to message me directly and even be able to train with me via virtual training. This will also include PAWpundance "swag" and a lanyard. And this will be 15k. Just kidding, it's going to be much less! It will be more like $25/month.

If you are thinking, "YES!" How do I begin?

So easy. If you are here, hopefully you already LOVE Locals and you're already logged in. If not, Locals makes the process very simple.

Then try us out. I have a code Puppy100 that will allow you to try us an give it a test drive. I know you will love this platform and we are going have a blast!

We were always a magnet for the best people, we had the nicest clients and loved each person we worked with. We couldn't believe how fortunate we were to work with such lovely people and we know that the same caliber of people have found their way here and will sign up. This is going to be a supportive neighborhood of interesting people that love their pets. We are going to help each other and engage in interesting topics to help each other learn and grow. You will feel comfortable posting your thoughts and opinions here because it is going to be a respectful group of people. It's not open to the public, so no troll that just want to take their day out on us! We are going to have some fun!

I look forward with excitement to meet you all and to watch the group grow! Thanks for coming out to support us! We will keep this going for you. This is your town, welcome's home. Until I see you next time, Have a PAWpundant Day.