I have said it before and will say it again — training dogs is an intensely creative activity. Each new dog is an opportunity to learn new things — new ways of doing things. My outcomes may be the same but how I get there? Surprisingly different.
There is no way I could train Capella in the same way I train Claire. Capella is as soft as Claire is not. Sweet and easy, Capella can be concerned about things — like a noisy cart.
And so her draft training is slow and easy. Step One is learning to step between the shafts — and she controls the pace of things. That is how confidence happens — honoring and respecting what this particular dog needs to be successful.
Capella appears to have potential in agility. Her physical structure is sound and balanced, she is active and bouncy, and she enjoys the “work.” She is learning weave poles using a modified two-by-two method…
Gentle dogs like Capella are especially tuned in to “corrections” and even a harsh “no” may shut the dog down. I do not train using corrections/aversive methods — instead, I work hard to simply train what I want. This is a well-suited method for Capella.
This is Capella on a “wait” — what if she were to move before I released her?
I would say nothing but I would think to myself, “I asked for too much too soon.” Maybe the duration of the wait was too long or maybe I got farther away than she is currently comfortable. Maybe I have not been clear enough about the criteria for “wait.” We cannot always know what went wrong but we can make some educated guesses — and note that I am not saying any version of, “Capella was naughty.”
Training issues are training issues. Not dog issues.
If Capella got up from a wait before I released her, I would simply (and kindly) walk her back to the spot and do it again — but I would adjust my expectations (less duration or maybe less distance?) and heavily reward success.
We should always train to/for success — not failure.
Capella is a lovely jumper. She is very careful about bars because hitting one and having it crash down concerns her. Therefore, I do not ask her to do things that might set her up to hit a bar. Again, confidence happens with successes — not failures.
Her mom, Claire, could care less about crashing bars or noisy carts or loud teeters. Each “flavor” of dog has strengths. I love having a careful, fast agility dog as much as I love Claire’s big, bold, and unflappable presence in obedience.
Although I will not compete with Capella in agility before she is two, I decided it was time to make her life as an agility dog special-slip-lead-official. In other words, I ordered a custom agility slip lead for her — this is Sparkle helping with the modeling…
Notwithstanding Sparkle’s reaction to the taste, the lead is really beautiful…
Pozy Clarkia also scored big — just wait until you see her custom finery!
Happy Wednesday to you!
And as always — HAPPY Dog Training.