It's All About The Dog

I don't train my dogs. I develop a relationship. This relationship is always evolving. All along the way, I ask myself..."am I being fair?"..."am I being clear"..."am I enhancing the bond between me and my dog?"

I come from a horse background and, as you know, it's impossible to physically force a horse to do much. Acquiring my first Tervuren in 1985, it soon became apparent that dogs were "trained" differently than horses, and it made me wonder why. In the ensuing years, I have had the great fortune to be heavily influenced by cutting-edge, progressive dog trainers...Sylvia Bishop, Brian McGovern, AnneMarie Silverton, and now Marilyn Donlon. Some of my more valuable insights are:

You get what you give. Want a special connection with your dog, then you must be the first to give it. Consistently and continually. If you were to observe me with Trip, it would be easy to see that I am in love with him. When we work together, I give him all of my attention and ignore everyone else. To him, I smile, talk, touch and am completely available to him. As a result, he adores me. The feeling is mutual.

I am committed to being the best partner that I can be. I practice my responsibilities (heeling, turns, signals) without my dogs, so that my cues to them are clean, crisp and consistent. I don't my make dogs pick up the slack when we compete. I want to be worthy of their partnership.

I am empathetic to Trip. While he has never refused, never stopped trying to figure out the game, I try to reduce the times I make him guess. Dogs are linear thinkers and I teach in a straight line...from one task to another...from one position to another. If Trip doesn't give me the right response, I look at MY delivery style. It's always me screwing up.

In the beginning, I think that when Trip does something right, it is just that he is a good guesser. His response is a result of using everything I've already taught him and then he offers it to me. I can either make the reinforcement that his guess was perfect, close or not what I want. My next actions are dictated accordingly.

I want my dog to be right most of the time. If Trip is wrong, you'll likely not hear me say anything. When Trip gets it right, you'll hear the verbal and very often physical reinforcement. He loves it and, as a result, will always keep trying.

I am his leader. Despite what you may think, Trip does not get to vote. I am in charge, and am benevolent with him. As you've heard me say, a dog will be in charge...they are awful at it, but in your absence, your dog has no choice. Be a worthy leader by being consistent and fair.

I respect my dog for being a dog. Regardless of what I think, Trip was not born wanting to be a Best in Show and High in Trial dog. Given the choice, he may have wanted to chase squirrels all day. Despite his remarkable work ethic and style doing what I want him to do, I remember to let him be a dog. He gets to sniff, run with abandon and just be a dog. He did not volunteer for his role; I drafted him.

I keep my eye on Trip. I observe his subtle body signals, his eyes, the messages he sends me with his ear position. He is an easy dog to read...or maybe I'm just practiced after all of these years. When he is interested in something, I share his interest..."what is in that hole, Trippy??" I've asked him more than once. "Want to jump in that water, fella? Okay, let's go." I want to share his world with him...just as he shares my world with me.

I work with my dogs because they open up a magical world for me and together we embark on a wonderful journey. Each dog has resulted in a different journey. In the ring, sometimes our performances are awful...sometimes they are stellar. All of them combined are part of the fabric of life we are weaving. I lost my ego a long, long time ago. I reach for competitive dog obedience goals because I relish the partnership. Be clear about your goals and why you have set them.

I keep my toolbox full. After teaching dogs for so many years, my toolbox is pretty full, but I continue to seek the guidance of trainers for whom I have great respect. Every time I work with my instructor, I learn something new and am so excited about the possibilities! I now know that there are dozens of ways to apply my theory and get remarkable results. I also realize that technical prowess is diminished without the emotional skills of compassion, empathy, communication and resulting depth of a relationship.

I have learned that Trip will forgive me for my mistakes. However, I often wrestle with forgiving myself. I'm trying to get better at that...and strive to not repeat my mistakes.

Enjoy the Journey,
Andrea Meinhart