Get Off My Property!

I love doing obedience as a sport and I’ve been lucky enough to own biddable dogs. I’m proud of my dogs when people stop to watch my training, while marveling at the things they are doing. Even though my working dogs impress those who adore their pets, but aren’t really interested in formal obedience I am aware that I still have a long, long way to go to get to reach the top of the competitive obedience ladder.

Obedience is a team sport and in order to accomplish the success all competitors strive for in the ring, both team members must be on their game. I can’t say I have ever been faced with an obedience exercise were I’ve thought “I’ll never be able to train for this”. Some exercises have been accomplished quickly with little difficulty while others have brought forth challenges requiring more creative training methods and more practice. I’m probably guilty of more frequently practicing the exercises that my dog does well, rather than the more difficult ones that I bury at the back of the crate to tackle another day. This makes me feel good for a few minutes while I praise my dog for a job well done, but in the long run I need everything to be competition worthy, not just my favourite moves.

Over the years I have attended obedience classes, watched videos, attended clinics, read books and done everything else I can think of to learn the sport obedience well enough to teach my dogs. I feel I have a pretty good grasp on my own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to training. I’m the queen of distraction! I can be really creative with that one! My friends often say to me “that would never happen in the ring!” Well guess what, it sometime does or at least something very similar might. I practice with enough regularity that I feel my dogs catch on in a reasonable period of time. My practice sessions are usually a good length neither too long nor too short. I practice in all weather conditions, a habit left over from the days when many trials were held outdoors and weather was unpredictable. On the negative side, I know I fidget around too much, talk too much and I am usually too quick. Too quick walking the heel patterns, way too quick doing the change of position signals and too quick to make weak excuses when things don’t go well instead of accepting the need to make changes. I work on all those things and more each time I’m out with my dogs and sometimes I even practicing without the dogs. However, I’ve always felt the biggest drawback to my game and it’s a huge factor is that I rarely GET OFF MY PROPERTY!

I am blessed to be the owner of a beautiful farm. We have fields, woods and water all within metres of the house. Simply stepping outside my door puts me smack in the middle of some great training areas. I even have a space in my barn that allows me to work away from inclement weather. Heaven on earth for a dog trainer, but still it has it’s limits. My dogs can work around horses, along side a tractor plowing a field, in a hay mow or stable area, close to horse poop (this challenge is still being addressed for one dog), but they are country dogs and that alone has it’s limits.

It isn’t that they fall to pieces when they go to town, but they are definitely more distracted off property. Garnet, my Toller, is quite confident and will work on the city sidewalks, although keeping his attention does take more of my attention. I can’t blame him. He isn’t used to busy streets, noises and crowds. Cooperative as he is, he’s still nervous and no doubt the reason for some of this is because nervousness has travelled right down the leash from me as I’m a country girl who is also less comfortable in the city. I’m sure the same thing happens in the trial ring. The more we go to town the more relaxed we are, so again I have to GET OF MY PROPERTY.