Monday, September 14, 2015

Dog training life lessons from the yoga mat.

I think life is full of lessons for us to learn. Most of them are subtle lessons that are easy to overlook or miss if you're not open to them. I actually had one of those lessons this week. Or, maybe it was more of a reminder than a real lesson. But I'll get to that lesson in a moment after a little bit of backstory.

Earlier this winter, I had seen my doctor and she suggested that I do some sort of physical activity every day. This was when I was just starting my self improvement journey and I was having some problems with getting some emotions under control. She felt that moving around would help with that. I dabbled with yoga with a couple of DVD's I had kicking around and playing around with the wii fit we had gotten years ago. Spring came and then I got busy with agility and going more outside. I had dropped the yoga stuff until this July and I really understood the idea of self care better. I found GaiamTV online, set up my subscription to it, and uncovered my yoga mat. I started out with doing a yoga practice a couple of times a week. Then that morphed into 4 - 5 times a week. Now the yoga practice has become the first thing in the morning ritual that I do at least 6 days a week now.

from bradleypjohnson

I have never been a flexible person...I was never a little girl who could do a handstand or a split. So, doing yoga has been a slow going progression of me being able to do different poses. Slowly over these weeks of my morning practice, I have noticed that I have gotten stronger in plank position and I can drop myself into chaturanga position to upward dog with control instead of plopping my stomach onto the floor. I can move from one pose to another without feeling like I'm going to fall on my head. I don't shake as much and I can do forward folds deeper without my hamstrings screaming in agony. Every day I step on to that yoga mat, I am 1% better than I was yesterday. So, let's get back to that lesson I started with.

"Keep looking for ways to keep improving that 1% each day."

There is a parallel between learning yoga and dog training (especially performance sports.) When you're starting out in yoga, most likely your body will not let you bust out some crazy advanced stuff like flying pigeon pose right out of the gate. Trust me, after 2 months of yoga, there are things I can do better...but there's a lot that I still struggle with at the beginner and low intermediate level. It's going to take me a long time for my body to be able to master the intermediate and advanced levels of yoga. And you know what, I'm okay with that because that is something I cannot control. That's not on my ego's time frame, that's on my body's time frame. So, for the mean time, I will just keep looking for ways to improve that 1% each day. (Just for clarity's sake....this blog post explains what I mean by the word "ego.")

Looking at dog training through this same lens...our ego's put a lot of dog training results on a time frame. You hear it all the time."I want to get ______ titles on my dog this year." "By the time my dog is ____ years old, they will have their _______ titles." "This dog will be my (OMG title) dog!" I will even admit that I have been guilty of letting my ego run rampant with prophecies of greatness Lars. Who's time frame is it really?? It's not really yours at all....it's really your dog's time frame. There's plenty of things in dog training that we cannot rush as trainers. If you do rush somethings, your performance will fall apart in the ring. I've seen that happen to people too and then they get angry at their dog they rushed instead of admitting they didn't take the time the dog really needed to be solid. It's those people who want to be at advanced levels of stuff before their dog's skill sets are ready to do it. My agility journey with Ocean has been very different this time around....especially this year. I celebrate being 1% better than we were yesterday or last week, or the last trial. Rottweilers tend to be a slow to mentally mature breed and being an intact boy doesn't help his cause. Sure, there are dogs who are younger than Ocean working in Masters level agility. But....their time frame is different than Ocean's time frame that is currently being controlled by his level of mental maturity. I have zero control of that....there's nothing I can do to make him mentally grow up faster. All I can do is keep training, keep building experience and mileage, and keep trialing and NQ'ing with him. But, everyday we get a little bit better just like me with my yoga poses. Instead of getting frustrated with what poses I can't do....I celebrate what I can do that I couldn't do 2 weeks ago. 
 
My journey with dogs is becoming very much like this. Instead of getting all bent out of shape about what we can't do....I celebrate what we did better, especially if it was something that we struggled with before. I would like to challenge everyone who is training their dogs (and this includes pet dog people too working on basic manners or tricks or whatever) to celebrate that 1% improvement you see every time you train your dogs....let go of your ego driven time frames because they will bring you as much disappointment as you think they will bring you happiness.



Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Now I have my task packs....where do I find stuff to do (Part 1)

I decided to make a small series of blog posts that talk about how and where to find things to work on for the various cards that make up the task packs. I get asked "How will I know what to train?" a bunch from people who are thinking about purchasing tasks or that are new to their Train 'Em Tasks task packs. This is probably the second most popular question Train 'Em Tasks gets asked after "Are there any description exercises on the back of the cards?" I'm going to share my resources I pull my training plans from when I pull my own task cards from their grab bags. I'll also share where to find these resources for your own library of training resources.

I do have a fairly vast library of training references - books, DVD's, magazines, agility course maps from trials, seminar notes, and websites that I regularly pull ideas from that will match the task cards I pull myself. I have never, ever intended the task cards to replace working with an instructor or attending a class for the various things the task card packs are based on. I do understand that there are areas of the world where training facilities, classes, and instructors are hours away from my customers. I live in New England and I'm very fortunate I have numerous dog training facilities/instructors within an hour to an hour and a half drive. I tend to forget that isn't the case for everyone. But, that being said, the task cards aren't going to help anyone who has no idea what the exercise is on the task card. They are not meant to teach the exercise...just help you choose what to work on that day. Eventually, I will be producing products that offer basic exercise descriptions much like the Rally Prep Packs for the various dog training avenues we have products for. (I can hear the cheers from Task Nation over that news. **grin**)

The first reference book for Task Cards I'm going to chat about is for Competitive Obedience...mostly because it was sitting right here next to my laptop. I have two other Competitive Obedience books I'll discuss over the next week or two. The Art of Proofing  by Adele Yunck is one of my go to books for coming up for new ways to change up my obedience training routine with Lars. Yunck is also the co-author of one of the other books I'm going to be talking about soon. I'll quote the back of the book:



"Many exhibitors skip the crucial step of proofing when preparing to show their dogs in obedience trials. During proofing, you expose your dog to more and more difficult distractions to teach him to maintain his concentration and complete the obedience exercises. This book will help you explore proofing, whether by training by yourself, with a helper, or in a group. Author Adele Yunck draws on her extensive teaching and trialing background as she explores this fascinating subject."

This is a book that I wouldn't really use for a dog that is just learning competitive obedience exercises. Proofing is meant to test a dog's understanding on an exercise. Proofing a dog who doesn't have a good sense of the what you are asking of it isn't that fair. It's fair to ask a dog it's understanding when it is no longer learning but practicing what you've taught it. Proofing, when done correctly, builds confidence instead of destroying it. This is why I tend to do a lot of proofing exercises with Lars in obedience and Ocean gets more in the way of games in new things he's learning. I'm testing if Lars truly knows his job and I'm building his confidence for when things may go weird in the obedience show environment. It's not fair for me to ask Ocean to work through a hard distraction when he is just learning the game. I'll destroy Ocean's trust in me and his confidence in obedience if I push too hard, too fast.






One other little caveat about this book...Yunck does discuss the use of verbal and physical corrections with proofing. The idea of corrections has become a taboo to some dog trainers. My view on corrections is when used appropriately and fairly, they are an invaluable way to communicate information to the dog. Yunck does discuss how she uses corrections fairly in the book and I feel that it does a great job of explaining the correct and fair way to use corrections (verbal and physical.) If the idea of using corrections in your dog training makes you uncomfortable, please do not discount this book. You can still find this book incredibly helpful for ideas to challenge you and your dog in your training.




What I really like about this little book is that she has it all broken down by each competitive obedience exercise from Novice to Utility. So, if you pull any Train 'Em Tasks competitive obedience task card...this book has you covered with a slew of different things to add to your training. The first part of the book, Yunck discusses basic proofing concepts...things like timing proofs, if your dog anticipates, proofing attention, adding people, and other things like that. She has suggestions for proofing exercises when you're training alone at home, if you're training with a friend, or if your training with a group of people. Yunck makes it easy to tell what proof is appropriate by using a graphic of 1, 2 or 3 people. For example, a proof you can do yourself - use large stuffed toys either on the ground or in chairs for your Figure 8 Exercise. (Believe me, this book is LOADED with single person proofs you can do yourself.) A type of proof you can do with a friend - have someone repeat "Finish!" to make sure your dog waits for YOUR command rather than moving on the judge's command. A sample of one of the group proofs - have several people  clap and cheer after your dog responds to each of your utility signals as this will mimic the happy and astounded crowd of non obedience people watching your run.



Along with the proofing for each exercises and their various pieces, Yunck also has a small overview of what the exercise is and what is expected of you in the obedience ring when doing those exercises. I like this information for people who may be new to the sport itself or who have never gone to Open or Utility before. She helps take away some of the mystery of what the ring procedure is for each exercise. It also helps so people can practice the exercises in a way they will happen in the ring as well.

If competitive obedience is the game you want to play with your dogs...this book is a must have in my opinion. I pull my task cards in the morning and then I thumb through this book looking for things to try as proofs. Lars gets bored with obedience exercises if they are done the same way every time we do them in the backyard. He's a dog who likes to think and use his brain...using this book accomplishes that. Some of the proofs, he sails through with flying colors. Other proofs, he really has to think about the job at hand and sometimes he does falter and gets something wrong. But faltering is honestly a good thing because then we get to work on something and build both my knowledge and his confidence and knowledge.

So....where to get this wonderful little reference book?? Click on the links below and it will take you to the different merchants who carry it. :)

Dogwise




Max 200


Amazon