I've been training with Dumle for a few years now, and usually we just go from there, with training 3 weekdays every week, competitions and courses every weekend - wow, how it went!
And yet not... Because suddenly we came to a standstill. We were super good at what we already knew, but no more than that. We didn't develop any further.
As the progress in our training faded, so did the motivation to compete. Just as slowly, the motivation to practice disappeared, and finally I decided to pull the plug and take a break from obedience training altogether.
It worked for me, though, because I wasn't really ready to give it up – we both used to be crazy about training and competing, and that's how it should be again!
However, it was easier said than done, and I didn't know where to start.
I often film our training, and I therefore decided to watch a lot of the training videos, from when we started training to today.
It was truly an eye-opener.
I was suddenly reminded that even though I felt like Dumle and I weren't making any progress in our training at the moment, we have come a long way after all!
Just 2 years ago, our biggest challenge was that Dumle always ran as soon as she got off the leash. I had almost completely forgotten about it, because we never use a leash when we train anymore. So I've become so used to her always being by my side that now, just 2 years later, I take it for granted.
By studying the videos, however, I also realized that I still use exactly the same routines and body language in my training as I did when she was a flighty and impatient young dog. The focus was therefore on getting her down to speed, and everything happened slowly and calmly.
Back then it was a great method for us too, but now – two years later – the same method has ended up lulling us both to sleep!
I therefore immediately started changing our routines, and not least my body language, and made sure to have it filmed so that I could see afterwards what worked and what didn't. It's a long process that I'm still working on, because it's really hard to change routines that you never really realized you were using.
In addition, it was also a bit too much to let Dumle "give up" her energy again, as the fear that she would suddenly run away again quickly arose.
But she's not a flighty teenager anymore, and on the contrary, she's now blossoming more during training than she has in a long time. Seeing how she's bursting with energy is absolutely contagious, and has given our training a much-needed boost, it's so wonderful!
Training should be fun for both parties, and if it isn't - then I would definitely encourage you to evaluate and possibly film your training methods to make sure that it still suits both dog and owner!
Behind the scenes of this week's blogger:
My name is Line, I am 23 years old and I have two beautiful dogs - Saga: a 5-year-old Tibetan Spaniel, and Dumle: a 4-year-old Labrador.
I love collaborating and developing with my dogs, and we therefore regularly try out all sorts of different disciplines within dog sports. Our biggest passion, however, is rally, where we can often be found on the competition track.
Dog training
I've been training with Dumle for a few years now, and usually we just go from there, with training 3 weekdays every week, competitions and courses every weekend - wow, how it went!
And yet not... Because suddenly we came to a standstill. We were super good at what we already knew, but no more than that. We didn't develop any further.
As the progress in our training faded, so did the motivation to compete. Just as slowly, the motivation to practice disappeared, and finally I decided to pull the plug and take a break from obedience training altogether.
It worked for me, though, because I wasn't really ready to give it up – we both used to be crazy about training and competing, and that's how it should be again!
However, it was easier said than done, and I didn't know where to start.
I often film our training, and I therefore decided to watch a lot of the training videos, from when we started training to today.
It was truly an eye-opener.
I was suddenly reminded that even though I felt like Dumle and I weren't making any progress in our training at the moment, we have come a long way after all!
Just 2 years ago, our biggest challenge was that Dumle always ran as soon as she got off the leash. I had almost completely forgotten about it, because we never use a leash when we train anymore. So I've become so used to her always being by my side that now, just 2 years later, I take it for granted.
By studying the videos, however, I also realized that I still use exactly the same routines and body language in my training as I did when she was a flighty and impatient young dog. The focus was therefore on getting her down to speed, and everything happened slowly and calmly.
Back then it was a great method for us too, but now – two years later – the same method has ended up lulling us both to sleep!
I therefore immediately started changing our routines, and not least my body language, and made sure to have it filmed so that I could see afterwards what worked and what didn't. It's a long process that I'm still working on, because it's really hard to change routines that you never really realized you were using.
In addition, it was also a bit too much to let Dumle "give up" her energy again, as the fear that she would suddenly run away again quickly arose.
But she's not a flighty teenager anymore, and on the contrary, she's now blossoming more during training than she has in a long time. Seeing how she's bursting with energy is absolutely contagious, and has given our training a much-needed boost, it's so wonderful!
Training should be fun for both parties, and if it isn't - then I would definitely encourage you to evaluate and possibly film your training methods to make sure that it still suits both dog and owner!
Behind the scenes of this week's blogger:
My name is Line, I am 23 years old and I have two beautiful dogs - Saga: a 5-year-old Tibetan Spaniel, and Dumle: a 4-year-old Labrador.
I love collaborating and developing with my dogs, and we therefore regularly try out all sorts of different disciplines within dog sports. Our biggest passion, however, is rally, where we can often be found on the competition track.