Sunday, November 15, 2015

Emotions

You can not ask your dog to control his emotions, if you can not control your own.

Train hard. Play harder.
Shannon

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Taking a break....

I love to train my dog and I love to show. I work hard to pull good scores with my dog and impress judges with my “non-traditional” breed. Personally, I feel that if you train all the time, showing your dog a few times a year, your methods are not proven to hold up long term.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that money issues come into play, time away from family or work...all of these things influence how often people show their dog. Maybe you are working through an issue and do not want to show until you think the problem is fixed. Whatever the reason, it is still your right not to show your dog.

But, everyone needs a break sometimes and Gunner is telling me he needs one. While he’s had a good year, he’s not having fun right now. I’ve changed a lot of training requirements with him this year and I think it has affected his overall love for the game. So, I’m stepping back for a couple of months and reassessing what I expect from him. Fortunately, I decided not to enter the Classic this year and, honestly, at this point I’d eat my entry fee and stay home if I had entered. As well as he worked at that particular show last year, he could not handle the environment for stays; and it is not worth causing my dog undue stress to compete at a dog show. 

We have had some unbelievable highs this year, including numerous High in Trial and High Combined awards (earning both awards at our National breed specialty), as well as taking over the top OTCH spot in AKC history for the English Springer Spaniel breed.  This little dog has done everything I have asked from him and we still have more goals I would like to achieve.

I have no doubt that Gunner and I will come out next year ready for another competition year, but until then, I need to decide what is best for my dog. I need to decide what method of training will work best for HIS temperament. I need to decide what I am willing to sacrifice to maintain the attitude and desire I like to see from him in the obedience ring. We, as owners and trainers, know our dogs the best...but sometimes we just need to slow down and listen to them. 

Train hard. Play harder. 
Shannon