Heartbeat of living with dogs

Heartbeat of living with dogs by Kay Laurence | May 6, 2019 "Experts”. “Specialists”. Are we? It really doesn’t describe us, but “Geeks”, yeah, that’s more of a comfy fleece. “People who have a passion”. “People who talk about it even when they are not doing it, have a hunger to learn more and more …” Yep, I’m a Training Geek. I would prefer to be a teacher-for-dogs, or engineer-of-learning Geek. Training, even within the positive sphere, still implies an agenda of “dog will do....” and forming to a trainer’s ideal rather than “be the best who-ever-you-are going to be”. I like to regard a teacher of dogs as someone who meets dogs in their world and teaches them how to be their best whilst living alongside us in our world. This means we need to explore dogs, how they learn, how they function to become who they are, and equally have all the skills at our finger tips to assist that process. This is where the heartbeat is dog-centric. It is upstream of most training passions or dog sports, where the passion is often the centre of the training universe. It is not about a protocol, a brand, a method, nor is it an organisation with fixed views and rules. Dogs are very good at learning how to be dogs. Where they need help, and our geek-ness, is with integration to our expectations and being able to live alongside us without compromising themselves, or being a lesser dog than who they can be. I do not think their demands are too high, I do not think they need to roll in fox-poo to be their best selves, and if that need does become their priority then I will teach them that having a wash is a small, but tolerable price to pay. Equally we are teaching people that they can live with this dog by enjoying the connection that the dog is seeking. We were having a conversation just the other day about training a youngster for sports. Most dogs are more than happy to fit in with our passions and life style and find great pleasure in seeing us being our best selves. Whether that is walking the Pembroke Coastal Path, hanging out with friends at a café or leaping over bit of planks. But there are dogs that are not part of the “most” pack and can find our passions a step to far to be able to enjoy or adapt to. One of our skills, and key considerations, is knowing when to acknowledge their struggle, and although having access to many training protocols that could make that struggle less, need to respect that that training, or psycho-fix-it, is one step beyond. Knowing the difference when your dog is just adapting to please us, “fitting in”; as opposed to feeling comfortable an

d able to be themselves – feeling they belong with our lifestyle. Our lifestyle is very often our sport and passion which from a dog’s view point is most of the time they spend with us. We need to raise these questions. It brings to light more than just a depth of training methods but asks the questions we may not know how to answer. Moving away from the recipes to train or fix a dog to “fit-in” with our self-serving choices is part of change. Do we need to walk the dog every day alongside traffic? Have we alternatives available, have we the time and energy to find other solutions? Are we creating more problems by our expectations and peer pressures rather than taking a step back and trying to listen to what the dog is actually saying. Our contract and loyalty should be with the dog we have chosen to share our lives with, not the passing strangers who toss out the judgemental faces or the well-intentioned advisers riding their first waves of knowledge. Your dog is not going to lie or pretend, they can only be honest. Our relationship does require us to listen with honesty and not assumptions, bias and disappointed dreams. Sometimes we need to take off the coat-of-our-hopes when our dog is not going to be one of the pack of “most” and just celebrate who they are. They will be very good at being who they are. Explore COURSES All courses learn well learn it once Key Reading You did everything right but …. But it still hasn’t worked out, even after 6 years? Yeah, it can be disappointing, but at times even the “perfect” protocol, applied with accuracy can undo itself and we go around in the circle again. Read More Learning is not for spectators Are you an Active Learner? Or: Are you getting your money’s worth for online courses? It would not matter what subject we are talking about:... Read More Ear Myths There is a myth surrounding Border Collies that ear shape, coat colour or texture, and even eye colour are indicators of that dog’s personality,... Read More A View to a Kill? We often hear the claim that the Border Collie is exhibiting predatory behaviour on sheep. But are they really seeking to kill? Read More The Need to Correct an Error When learning is littered with costly mistakes we will carry anxiety and avoidance. Errors are feedback. There should be no fear of error just opportunities to learn. Read More What Words Conceal The language across all kinds of media paints a picture of dogs and our relationships with them. Read More Do We Want Impulse Control? Teaching your Collie “impulse control” is the wrong way of thinking about their urges, and cer

tainly an unhelpful way of dealing with them. Read More Collies : Masters at Laser Focus When we ask the dog to Be Collie and use all their inherited instincts, part of that package is the exclusion of stimulus irrelevant to that intense predatory focus. Read More Since the Dawn of Dog Training The old joke reminds us that the only thing dog trainers can agree on is that their training method in the best one. It becomes increasingly difficult to know which method is “right” and whether it will suit the dog, the situation and trainer’s skills. Read More Back to Basics? The word “basic” is often derided as synonymous with “shallow,” but in its origins it is the very opposite: foundational, profound, supportive. Read More Top Training Living well through movement “The purpose of learning is to get more or better rewards” W. Shultz Can we assume that the more we learn the more rewards we can enjoy? Often these... Read More What We Get Right About Dogs We can learn from remarkable people who have worked with remarkable dogs: training and learning are not the same thing at all. Read More Herding Games For All Dogs? The wrong herding game is like trying to make a tennis player succeed at football Read More Teaching People: more than rewards and reinforcers Familiarisation with the behaviourists’ models of reinforcement, punishment, shaping, extinction, can prevent us from looking outside the windows for either dogs or people … Read More Cognitive Approach for the Dogs Training is something done TO the dog. Learning that is something done FOR the dogs. Read More Location is Their Cue We begin teaching the dog to go to a target, such as a mat or platform and in this process our focus is on the outcome – the dog can place feet on the object or settle down. But at the same time this learning is happening the dog is also noting the location: where this is happening in this room, in the house, relative to the food-machine (you). Read More Cue Seeking is Connection Connection is very individual and to be authentic we have to observe, slow down, understand our dogs and meet them where they are. Read More Back to Basics? The word “basic” is often derided as synonymous with “shallow,” but in its origins it is the very opposite: foundational, profound, supportive. Read More Do you see what I see Doing better is the reward from doing the work. This work needs to be the right work at the right time with the right intent done in the right way. Read More What’s Cooking? A Warning About Recipes Recipes for “training” dogs are so prevalent in how we live with and talk about the

m that their existence often goes unquestioned. Read More 1 Comment Janine on 14th August 2020 at 11:38 pm I have adapted to my dogs and learnt along the way . My first dog, a Norwegian Buhund just wanted to be part of my life and would do anything I asked of him but in his own steady way. I took on a rescue collie to continue agility and she just couldn’t see the point so we took long walks together . Then I got my agility dog , who had joint problems and led me into gundog work and heelwork to music. My next collie just wanted to work as a sheepdog and I have ended up with a small amount of land and some Hebridean sheep . Then came my Flyball collie as I could no longer keep up at agility so I run a Flyball team as well. Work and life got in the way and I am back to a dog that does a bit of this and that and is introducing me to canine fitness and conditioning. Each dog has shown a preference for one thing or another and has widened my knowledge and experience. The kelpie is the easiest girl in the world , takes life as it comes and chills out with me , asks for nothing but a cuddle . Love them all Reply Submit a Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment * Name * Email * Website Submit Comment Δ