Having goals is a human concept and it is important that we as caregivers and athletes remember to keep that in perspective! We walk away with a good dog no matter what the results. And often times, as we reflect on our experiences with our dogs I think we will find that we don't always get the lessons that we thought we would get.
Stay tuned! Our episode wtih Jessica Pulliam drops in two days!
Positive mindsets are important. Even as a positive reinforcement trainer, I can easily get stuck in self-punishment mode and beat myself up. Positive thinking takes practice.
One way I like to do this is reflect after EACH training session on 3 good things. These could be things the dogs did well and things I did well. So, I challenge you, what are 3 good things from YOUR last training session?
*In the next episode join me for a more in-depth look at how we can keep ourselves on track with training plans to keep making progress even when we are feeling a lack of motivation. Episode airs 3/24/21.
In the upcoming episode with Brad and Sarah Kassing, one of the things we dive into is choosing and developing dogs for competitive sprint racing and what it takes for that dog to make it at the elite level.
*Episode airs 3/10/21 on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Podbean.
That's the hard part about reactivity, it is reinforcing! When your dog barks and lunges, what happens to the trigger eventually? It goes away!
Part of our plan with reactive dogs is to eliminate opportunities for our dogs to practice this behavior to ensure that it doesn't get reinforced!
Learn more about how we prevent this from happening and how to resolve it in our next episode that comes out this Wednesday!
A sneak peek into our next episode! We have part 2 of our Reactive Dogs in Dog-Powered Sports.
In this episode, we will continue the conversation about reactive dogs in dog-powered sports. We discuss the difference between engage/disengage games and "on by" and how to handle distractions and triggers you encounter on the trail. We help you identify features of reactive dog-friendly trails and know when you should muzzle.
Reactive Dogs in Dog-Powered Sports
Is your dog being disobedient? Or are they just struggling to understand what we want in a specific context?
Dog-powered sports are great outlets for our reactive dogs. But, as owners and trainers, we need to understand what drives this behavior so we can work through our training plans successfully and run with our dogs safely!
In our first few episodes, we will have not one, but TWO episodes to help you understand and work through this behavior. Do you run with a dog who has lots of emotions and gets excited easily? Drop a photo of your running partner in the comments!
