This is a day from my training diaries, at one point i thought maybe we had turned a corner and i had better write stuff down or i would forget how bad Sparkie really is, but it’s ok as loveable as he is he is still an adventure every-time we train. I recently had a very successful day at classes where he played with every one shared treats and actually didn’t bark, Now that is something worth writing in my diary.
Training is always an adventure……
Oh my goodness
The worst training day ever!!
I mean to say here I am boasting about my clever puppies and I can’t even get him to look at me today, let alone actually work for food.
What is it that I am doing wrong? Do we all just have bad days where nothing goes right? Is it the environment in which we are working? What can I do to fix it?
Well to start I have put my dogs away and poured myself a drink. It’s no point pushing a dog that doesn’t want to work, is it.
I have tried competition, let him watch someone else get his treats and play his games.
I have tried resting him and bringing him back giving him a second chance, so I have to assume that he is over stimulated and he is getting bored with what we are doing.
At what point do I take responsibility for the difficulties in the training.
Too often we think it is the dogs fault and believe me right now I want to blame the dog but the reality is it’s up to me to control the environment, to keep him motivated and interested and to help him to stay focused.
It is my job to communicate with him in a way that he understands and to treat him with the respect and the courtesy he deserves as a dog.
Today though I am totally frustrated, today I am wanting to yell at him and give him away to someone else.
So today I am going to do the opposite,
I am going to enjoy that drink that I poured.
I am going to think about what I can do to change the environment.
I am going to work on being more interesting than everything that is around us, and tomorrow! tomorrow I am going to start again and do some fun things for me and him and back it up to somewhere a bit simple, like easy quiet sits and easy please god quiet belly rubs and game playing, show him that I am actually fun, and remind myself that he is a beautiful puppy needing love and attention and bond building relationships.
We all lead busy and stressful lives and even when you work in the animal industry it is sometimes hard to spend your time with your own dogs helping them to be everything you want them to be, but work hard to leave frustration behind, yes, I am telling myself this too, if it is too hard stop and start fresh tomorrow. Training should be a fun game for you and your dog.
Remember that success is determined by you.
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