Trouble, Sadness and Foundation Training

The last couple of weeks have been a haze of van and car trouble, ICAT massage course and birthday celebrations.

Amongst all this we also had the sad news of Ruth having to have Kimba PTS due to a brain tumour. Kimba was one of my massage models and was a brilliant one. She was so gentle and happy to be massaged. She will always have a place in my heart and I'm sure will leave a large gap in Ruth's life.

On Wednesday we had our Foundation training with Greg. It is very interesting seeing how dog's learn and what they teach themselves if we are not clear of our criteria.

(It was also so very cool to have such great friends that made a special evening as it was my birthday too)

I am reading The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson at the moment and really like her way of pointing out that dogs are animals and any time we credit them with human emotions we can open the door to choose aversions to correct behaviour. That is not to say that dog's are not amazing and work so hard to share our lives but attitudes that promote punishment or removing a reward in case the dog is "getting one over on you" is not helpful in any relationship building. Dogs are not capable of thought processes that go in that direction. Dogs will do what is rewarding and easiest in their lives and live in the here and now.

How does this all affect Rhyme's training? Well for Agility Foundation it is important to have a dog that is focussed on you and finds the rewards you give them well worth any effort in order to attain them. Ways to achieve this vary considerably to the extreme of no other interaction except with you including any food and play. This builds a total bond with you and a strong working ethos. It can also be very hard to achieve within day to day life. It is not something I have a history of achieving LOL.

Anybody that sees me with my adult dogs can not help but notice the strength of bond between me and them. They are focussed and ready and able to try to do anything I ask.

Look back at them as puppies and you see none of this. More of "Hello World I'm your man - bring it on" and "Who IS this woman hanging around cramping my style?" At this time I am always left wondering what it is I do or don't do to allow this to happen. Then suddenly they grow up and I'm their world so maybe I should just relax and be prepared for that moment they are ready :) As we don't do any equipment until they are fully grown then this is fine really - isn't it?

So why do any Foundation training? Although things have worked out ok, I do want to improve - it would be a boring day in agility (and a lie) if I really thought I could not get any better. Not everyone can be a World Champion but ANYBODY can dream :)