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MARCH 2008 TIP OF THE MONTH
Which Training Method to Use, the Real Secret Right Way
I wish I had just a quarter, for every time I heard a discussion about which method to use to get a dog to do something. It doesn’t matter whether it is advanced field work or getting your dog to come in from the back yard, there are various ways different individuals use to get the job done. And so the debate begins, whose way is the better way, or the right way. What brings this to mind is a recent visit from a 2 time National Champion NCAA wrestler, 2 time All American (or more, I can’t recall) 3 time High School State Champion and 2 time National Open Freestyle Champion. He went into professional rugby after that wound up on the world cup winning team and was now coaching a team that just won its league championship in college, going to the NCAA playoffs. He was having his dog trained. Given our son’s involvement in wrestling, it was about equivalent to having Elvis Presley stop by the local band jam in the garage. Naturally after we get past the dog stuff he came to learn, we began to ask him questions about his world.
His comments coming from every winning spot except Olympic Gold Medal were fascinating. One of the first ones he made was that a good coach wouldn’t try and make you do things his way, but the way that was truest to the student, the ones that would bring the greatest results. “You have to be you when you compete. “Find out what that is and then perfect it. Keep it simple and work very hard on those simple things.” In that, he summed up his extraordinary career.
We then commented on how it was absolutely not one iota different in the world of training dogs. It isn’t about which ‘coach’ you are using, what methodology. It is important that you use a coach or a method to find what solid and proven means fit you and your dog. If you go to the greatest dog trainer in the country but there is a misfit, it is not a bad thing that you can’t make that work. Find another whose methods are a better fit for you. And frankly it is more about a fit for your dog than you, but that’s a tough battle for most of us.
The key to results, the key to achieving whatever performance expectations you have is a series of simple steps.
- Understand the nature of the animal you are training. Not what you want or need this animal to be, but what it actually is. That’s the hardest part of all because our egos get so in front of us that we can’t view the animal as it really is.
- Understand the same things about yourself. Why are you doing what you are doing with this dog? What are your strong points, your weak points, how do you perform under fire, when you must think and respond quickly? Who are you as an animal trainer?
- Understand where you are right now, and get a clear picture of where you’d like to be in terms of performance, not titles, competitive events, etc. What kind of performer would your dog/human team be?
- Where and how can you learn the basic steps through which you must go to acquire the skills to perform as you have described? You need a basic set of steps to follow. It is these steps you tailor to suit your animal and your nature.
- Work on your steps. Perfect them. Make them yours and work to withstand the external criticism you will receive from others doing it differently. If you get your process defined, nothing can stop you from reaching your goal except you quitting.
- Enjoy this. The day you don’t stop and make plans for the next day. You can’t loose with this; it’s impossible.
I never liked it myself when my old high school and college coaches used to tell me this was simple, I just had to work hard. The ‘work hard’ part was the part I never liked. I wanted there to be some trick I could utilize that would make me beat the others who didn’t know the trick. After many years in competition I have also had to succumb to the same thing those old people used to tell me. It is simple. It isn’t so much a matter of the methods, though make sure you had the best one you could get; it was about me perfecting it. That takes time, effort, time and commitment. Teaching a dog to come in from the backyard consistently and without bribe or threat takes simple planning, consistency and sticking with the plan – a good plan. Becoming a Field Champion, and Upland Hunting Champion, a Master hunter, Canine Good Citizen or Grand Master Pointing Retriever differs only by the steepness of the expectation and how much time and effort goes into perfecting the steps to it.
Quit spending so much time evaluating the differing methodologies. Just as my son does in wrestling, look around and see where the greatest success seems to consistently come from. Find out what methodology, what ‘steps’ they use, learn those and then tailor them for yourself. Perfect that to a point of ridiculousness and then go do your thing your way. Be open to other methodologies if those also net successful performances. It is not about who sounds better, looks better or seems more confident. Without exception, those with the greatest confidence and greatest success talk the least because they have no need to convince you of anything. They’ll be like our celebrity wrestler/rugby champion; you’ll have to drag it out of them. And they won’t say much, but if they do – listen.
Finally, this is about you but it really isn’t. You are the coach in your dog/human team, and you have to find the things that work for your dog. You may just love the sound of a training system that involves no correction, only positive reinforcement, praise and happiness because that’s just how you like to live life yourself. However, if your dog does not response cooperatively to positive reinforcement and lots of praise, instead taking advantage of your kindness, then you’d better look to another system that produces fair minded but acceptable results. You are the coach and your dog is the coachee. Find out what makes your dog tick, tailor a good system to that, develop your steps and then perfect them. That is not always easy but you are asking a lot of your dog so don’t be afraid to expect as much from yourself.
And if you really get this, you won’t be one of those who begins to have success with your dog and then runs about having to proselytize everyone else to do things they way you are. Remember you have to be true to you, and that may not be what’s true for the next guy.
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