+top trainer of animal actors (SVU, Sex and the City, Disney, the list goes on!) +have fun with your dog learning cool new tricks +http://subscribe.dogpotentialunleashed.com/ + https://linktr.ee/dogpotentialunleashed
ARE WE THERE YET?
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ARE WE THERE YET? SPOILER ALERT - The answer is always no. I'm not a big 'no' person. I much prefer to look at what's right than what's wrong. When I'm training dogs, rehearsing and repeating things I want more of will always give me more bang for my buck than trying to figure out ways to thwart them while they are being wrong. Avoid the yuck. But when it comes to destinations, that's a bit of a different story. There can be a sense when raising a puppy that it's a finite thing. That one day the puppy is 'raised', the job is done, the product is finished and ready for consumption as it were. Similarly, with an adult dog, training for one competitive endeavor or another, we sometimes feel as though there is an end to it, a point when we and they will know all the things. Life with dogs is a joyful expedition into uncharted territories. Phases roll into each other, new developments, changes, excitement. Is there a single day when you can mark 'TODAY MY PUPPY IS HOUSEBROKEN' or 'TODAY MY DOG CAN PERFORM DOG WALKS FLAWLESSLY'? There is a continuum. One day you stop thinking about whether she's going to have an accident, or whether she will run across the dog walk correctly. And maybe a day or a week, a month, or a year later, there will be a time when she makes a mistake again. Maybe ten years. Maybe never. You are traveling together. The scenery sometimes changes dramatically. Sometimes it stays the same for a long time. If you're an experienced traveler, if you've shared your life with a few of these remarkable animals before, then you might have packed your mental and emotional suitcase with a bit more expertise than a first timer. But you will still have surprises. Goals are important, they give structure to the trip. But allow time for the scenic by-ways, the hiccups and oops moments. The memories will be in those moments, in the road your were on together, long after the destination has been reached. |
DOG POTENTIAL UNLEASHED
+top trainer of animal actors (SVU, Sex and the City, Disney, the list goes on!) +have fun with your dog learning cool new tricks +http://subscribe.dogpotentialunleashed.com/ + https://linktr.ee/dogpotentialunleashed
(if you follow me on Facebook, you've already read some of this. In addition to my regular newsletter material, I will also be sharing the a series about my young service dog Know Me, including how I came to have a service dog, the dogs that came before him, how he came into my life, and bits about his training. This is episode 1) There are a lot of different steps involved in partnering with a service dog, but the very first place you’ve got to put your feet is into the world of disability....
We come to training with so many preconceived notions, so many beliefs that we are not even aware are of, ways of doing that have become second nature, things that ‘everyone knows’ or ‘common sense’ or ‘science’, things that are buried deep in the way we move and think and hold our hands, our treats, our toys and leashes. Our language around dogs speaks to our times, or our sport, or our beliefs. Commands or cues? Rewards or reinforcers? We recognize each other and ourselves by what kind of...
Retirement is a peculiar thing. Humans, even those who thought they were not all that fond of the job they did, sometimes find themselves at loose ends when they no longer have that singular thing they did each day. Work is something that can give us a sense of purpose in the world. a very young See Ya, just starting her service dog journey See Ya is almost ten years old and still working. This is longer than many service dogs stay in their jobs, I’m sure there are people who think it is...