Tuesday, November 20, 2012
On Teachers, Trust, and Training
Some thoughts from my day off today...
I have the best teachers. They really work hard to ensure I have the support I need to succeed and the toughness to make sure I do my homework. Plus they're people to look up to. I see the success they have with their dogs and beyond that I see the great partnership and bond they have with them and I say to myself "I want that".
In obedience training or even life in general, trust is a huge thing. Izzie must trust me to not step on her, she must trust me to ensure her that the scary judge that's following us isn't trying to hurt her, and she must trust me to absolutely know what I'm doing so she can do what I want her to. If I question myself even a bit the connection is broken and she hesitates. In agility I need to run balls out but know what I'm doing. When I do, it's magical and we have great success. When I don't, we fail. I don't like to fail myself and I really don't like to fail my dog. I trust her to do what I ask and all she wants in return is to be able to trust me to guide her confidently. I'm working on it Iz, I promise.
I tend to call myself a lazy perfectionist in training (and life). I like perfection, I crave perfection, but often I don't have the drive to work for it. I do make excuses time to time and I can be a bit of a pill because I'm so competitive, but Sarah and Amanda are always there to call me on it and tell me to smarten up (and even if I snark back sometimes they still keep me around). I'm learning to be a better trainer and my dog reflects that. The one excuse you'll never hear me use is her breed. I did get a little angry at someone on Facebook because they blamed a problem we have on her breed. My dog's breed is not an excuse for my lack of skill as a trainer or my laziness. It bothers me that there are people in my breed, a large percentage of people actually, that will use the dog's breed as an excuse. That doesn't fly here.
Anyway, we continue to have fun working toward our goals whether we achieve them or not. Because really, isn't that the whole point of these games?
“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” - Greg Anderson
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I agree that using a dog's breed should never be an excuse for training (or lack of training). BUT, there is a big difference between that and realizing your dog's limitations. Accepting your dog for who s/he is, and working with that, is a big part of the training puzzle/process. Not all dogs are created equal and that is what is so wonderful about them.
ReplyDeleteI know and accept that my dog will never have the fastest times in agility. He is 100 pounds and no matter how much we practice or how good my training skills are, he will never beat the dogs that are smaller, lighter and more agile (which is pretty much every other agility dog). That doesn't mean he can't be successful, it just means we define our own success in a way that may be different than others.
I know and accept that my dog will never have obedience scores like the Goldens do. Although he has the skills and precision to get high scores, I have a dog who has seemingly inherited a strong watch dog instinct from his farm dog heritage, which maHeather Feighner16 have a dog that is sensitive to pressure and my emotions. This means my training and trialling is much different than those who have dogs that are naturally handler focused and have the "what can I do to please you" attitude. Obedience is a work in progress for us, but I don't need Qs or high in class scores to be successful. I find successes in the little things along the way that others may think is insignificant, but to me, means a lot.
I am not a competitive person - I care very little about the actual ribbons or prizes and I don't care at all about "beating" another competitor. I do care about doing the best that I can and about setting and reaching my personal goals. Most of all, I really care about being fair to my dogs and finding the joy in just being together, no matter what that is.
Ditto to what Kim said. (by the way Kim- awesome! you should blog that...)
ReplyDeleteCompetitiveness can be a good thing- but you need to remember who you are competing against...yourself. Do the best you can, train Izzie to be the best she can. Not anyone else. Judging success to someone elses standards will never make you feel good. And Judging success to the size of your ribbon will certainly end up only frustrating you and lead to dissapointment.
I have a wall full of pretty ribbons. Big ones, small ones, camoflaughed ones, ones with pretty sparkly things on them. I would give them all back to have my dog healthy. Even my ATCHC. I am a fairly competitive person, I like my dogs to do well in competitions. But more importantly I love the training- the steps it took to get that perfect score, that clean run. Having a goal (like an ATCHC, or any title) is really just to help point you in the right direction and to keep you trying and moving forward. More importantly you need to enjoy every moment, relish every time she is next to you in the ring. Make the best out of every situation.
I am glad that you seem to be learning about these things as you get more and more into the game. Even though Sarah and I nag at you, and don't put up with crap we still do support you. Izzie is a great dog- the bestest Pug ever. And we see that there is room for improvement for you. Or we wouldn't try so hard. But yes, you can be a pill. It's a good thing your dog is so cute, and you make good cookies.
So keep thinking about this, dig deep for some attitude change, and hug your pug. She deserves it. ;)