Help but don't judge please

ohreally

brokennotbent wrote: »

I can't rely on dog walking to pay the bills and in this area it def wont

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=55862685&postcount=3

northerntwo1

ohreally wrote: »

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=55862685&postcount=3

I don't think they are looking at employment more remaining on benefits with a home of their choice and career in only a field they want.

brokennotbent

Woah, not round here for that price....tbh most dogs round here don't get out as much as they should, whether the owners work or not.
Thank you for the obligatory troll post.
Currently filling out an application for Guide Dogs.

tomtontom

You're not taking on board what people are saying broken, or at least you're being very selective in what you want to hear/ read. I completely understand your fondness of animals, your two dogs in particular, but you can't live your life through them - because it's not really a life, and because they won't be around forever. Have you looked at support services in your area, perhaps you could contact MIND?

BigAunty

brokennotbent wrote: »

given that at my age I have no job hx, employer refs etc, they can use that as the reason instead.

What exactly is a 'degree in dogs'?

Many people who lack employment references and have a patchy CV and/or physical or mental illness become self employed or undertake voluntary work to boost their employment prospects. Both have been suggested to you.

If you go down the professional dog walking or mobile dog grooming route, word of mouth goes a long way so once you have your first client, you can ask them to provide a reference to future clients who are enquiring about your services or post a testimonial from them on your website, put up ads in local windows, papers Gumtree etc - marketing your services.

Possession of a DBS or disclosure certificate that confirms that are free of criminal convictions and liability insurance, for example, also flags up a degree of professionalism.

There are forums where dog professionals provide a lot of positive advice on how to set up and grow this type of business.

The housing forum will also provide an insight into why many landlords are reluctant to take on benefit claimants and pet owners as tenants and how to reduce the risk of getting turned down on these grounds.

Hopefully you are getting professional treatment for your condition. You see your physique as the main reason why you cannot secure any employment or set up a business and then there's the obvious knock to your confidence as a barrier.

Hopefully, you can address and resolve your medical problems which will facilitate your dream to get an income from your passion and become independent from your family.

Good luck.

brokennotbent

OK so now I'm getting politely insulted here aswell - I know I have no life tom, glad you understand my "fondness", thank you some, not others, and yes being defensive and signing off - talk among yourselves about me, you won't be the only ones.

merlin68

Op is in support group, they need to get permission from dwp before doing anything.

BigAunty

brokennotbent wrote: »

OK so now I'm getting politely insulted here aswell... thank you some, not others, and yes being defensive and signing off .

In context, and I appreciate you are a newby on this forum and you put up a big flag against being judged and outlined how fragile you feel, you have received generally constructive and minimally judgemental posts on this forum.

If there are any posts that breach forum etiquette and rules, then do report them to the forum administrators.

It's the nature of a forum for posters to give multiple points of view, and as such, just the arms and legs that grow from it naturally, mean challenges to the vision of the OP can take place. It probably feels v. personal to you because it is directed at you but it happens to nearly all posts. I'm not sure I'm explaining it that well but hope I am giving you a different perspective to one where you feel you have to withdraw because you are under attack.

It is a shame that you feel we have not been sufficiently compassionate but I still believe that this thread contains positive advice and contains the seed steps towards an action plan to achieve your goal - there are definitely gems in there, real practical stuff to consider and research. Good luck again.

If you are having an emotional crisis then consider the Samaritans. They offer a sympathetic and non-judgemental support service which can let you get the distress off your chest.

Sorry if I offended you.

tberry6686

Have you considered looking at showing/breeding kennels (not puppy farms) ? Many of them are live in and so would sort out your accomodation issue while gaining experience for the future. Major drawback is they don't pay very well.

Caroline_a

Sadly very few employed positions within the Animal Care environment pay well. They do also tend to be very hard physically - think lots of cleaning and shovelling! For employed positions, people are wanting basic staff who will do all the labouring work for the most part. OP, would you be fit enough for this?

When I worked in the Animal Care occupational area, I used to interview a great many people, mostly school leavers, who wanted to work with dogs. One of my initial questions was 'how do you feel about shovelling up !!!!?' Harsh, but most of the positions for entry level were all about that. I would say that if there were 50 who started, only 5 would be left at the end of 6 months - it's not an easy world to be in, and additionally, it's one thing cleaning up after your own dog, but quite another thing to clean up after multiple other people's dogs!

So many youngsters had a lovely impression of how wonderful it would be, patting all these lovely dogs, playing with them, bit of grooming, bit of training. The reality is that in summer it's very hot and smelly, winter is freezing and smelly and always hard work.

This is not a criticism of your vocational choice, OP, just a little bit of how it really is. I would try to volunteer for a few months, maybe in a rescue centre, and see if it's what you really want.