Torn....

So I've been self-employed for about 4 years now. Being self-employed is hard! I don't know what I was thinking, that I'd just hang out a shingle and, Whammo!! I'd make money but it hasn't been that easy.

One of my first clients was a deaf dog. It was the dog of my friends sister in law. When she called up she said "When you get here, he will bite you" and I said "Well can you put him on a leash?" She did but I took one step too close and got bit on the kneecap, twice. I still took him on as a client and in retrospect I probably shouldn't have.

I've lived and learned, and now am more selective about what I take on. I no longer take on things that are beyond my capabilities. I have a fabulous circle of experienced people and if a dog is too aggressive for me I refer he or she on.

That being said I still struggle with taking on clients I know from experience are destined to fail merely to pay my bills. Case in point, I got a call tonight from a woman who wanted her ten year old to go through a private training program by himself. She wanted nothing to do with the training and wanted the dog to only obey her son. What? Why? Huh? So if the kid is in school you may not want to.....call the dog?! So you won't be present during the lessons? No she said coughing a nasty smokers hack.

I KNOW this won't work. I've done it before with a twelve year old girl. She lived in a freaking mansion in Medina and I couldn't resist. The dog didn't get trained and I felt bad. So she had to call me back and I agonized for about ten minutes. What to do? What to do?

Sorry all my nice people I refer to, but she is your problem now.