The dog whisperer

The dog whisperer

Soonthara Satjawatcharaphong gave up a career as an architect to teach people how to understand their dogs

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE
The dog whisperer

Soonthara Satjawatcharaphong, owner of Jojo House Dog Master, has always had a passion for drawing and dogs. Soonthara, or Joey, studied architecture at Assumption University and earned a master's degree in real estate at Thammasat University. Having been in the field of design for three years, her work covered a wide range of projects that included homes, offices and coffee houses, to name a few.

Soonthara Satjawatcharaphong, owner of Jojo House Dog Master.

While still enjoying architecture, Soonthara decided to leave the profession to become a full-time dog trainer, solely because she could not stand methods used in training her dogs.

Soonthara has been offering dog-training courses to people who want to understand the canines better.

Why go from architect to dog trainer?

When I graduated, I was enthusiastic to design. Working as a freelance architect, I designed homes, offices, coffee house, business cards and even did product packaging. I met lots of people, good and bad.

However, dealing with annoying people and cheating contractors discouraged me. At the same time, I did not appreciate our dog trainer's style, which was very rigid. The worst was that I could not accept his meanness to my dogs. I've had dogs my entire life and I'm confident that I have the potential to transfer my skills in dog training to pet owners. It was time that I began to take dog training seriously.

I am self-taught and my clients are very satisfied. I teach them to train their dogs, which helps them bond, as well.

How difficult was it to quit your job as an architect?

It was a big decision for me, as being an architect was my childhood dream. However, since I am a dog lover I wanted to understand the canine language. When I was a child, I often imitated their barking and spoke to my dogs, even confided in them. I've never thought about a career in dog training, but it's destiny. I still draw and design as a hobby.

How has your architectural knowledge helped in your present occupation?

Architecture is one of those art fields where design coincides and connect with people's lives in different periods. It taught me to view things in three dimensions, using imagination, freedom, out-of-the-box thinking, self-discipline and creativity. I have used all my past knowledge to design my dog-training centre, the website, Facebook page, business cards and gifts for customers.

Where did you learn about dog training?

I am self-taught, from my personal experiences, beliefs and attitude. It is all gained from the childhood observation of my dogs, I learned their body language, talked to them and read books about training them. Body language in animals is easier to decipher than humans.

What advice do you have for dog owners?

I've always told clients that the first thing is to understand the animal's body language, and match their lifestyles with a particular breed of dog. Don't buy a dog because it's a fashion statement.

There is no handbook for training dogs. We teach the dogs from our heart, and understand and learn their ways. What we want from them, we need to learn from them first.

Dogs are not just dogs, they are like humans — they need love.

What has been your biggest challenge in the last 13 years?

Exercising psychology with dogs and people is most challenging. It allows me to learn the thoughts of dogs and owners to solve unexpected problems.

What are the major differences in being an architect and a dog trainer?

From the outside both are totally different, but if you look down deep, either architect or dog trainer, you must love the job, have inspiration to do it and know what to work for. Both share the same goal, which is making the client happy.

Both careers require ideology, responsibility and ethics. Both jobs are dynamic, challenging, boundless and never-ending. In the sense of architecture, it is the science and art that connects the human mind. In the sense of dog training, the dogs teach us to balance life being with nature.

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