What kind of trainer are you?

ALL the quizzes.

All over facebook:
What kind of storm are you?
What's your best feature?
What's your spirit animal?

You get the drift.

It made me think what a great quiz what kind of trainer are you would be.

What adjectives would you apply to yourself? To trainers you'd like to emulate? If they are different words consider why they are different. Here is a good place to put positive self talk into practice. You might say you are soft - another person might see you as kind. You might label yourself indecisive while someone else might see the same trait as willing to experiment.

If you aren't seeing yourself in a positive light have a good hard look at the words you have chosen. What is the best  aspect of the word you have chosen? How can you build on that aspect until you feel more positive about your word choice?

Let's say I call myself lazy as a trainer. (Actually I tend to think of myself as a lazy trainer). What's the plus to being lazy? Training sessions are short and sweet. I don't want to waste time or energy so I put a plan in place before I start work. I set goals for the vast majority of sessions, and as I don't want to repeat things needlessly I take either pen and paper or mental notes on how things go. See? I'm not lazy. I'm efficient. Truth!

So what kind of trainers are there? The list is endless - but here's my take on just three types. See yourself? See other people? (and here I'm going to pretend that only positive or at least mostly positive trainers exist in the world - my blog - my rules)

The superstar trainer.  They get the fine art of training. The science. They may tackle issues in different ways and have different areas of expertise but they are superstars in their own right. The superstardom may be local, national or international but they are magnets. They attract people and can make you BELIEVE.

The hard working pet dog trainer. They have a school, or not. They do stuff with their dogs, or not. They get frustrated by the same old same old issues and the people who think they can teach everything their puppy needs to know in one hour once a week in a group class.

The personal trainer. They have purpose but life sometimes gets in the way. They play sport(s) with their dog(s).  They like learning and they like teaching. Some are better than others. Some are more competitive than others. But they have commonalities. They take classes. Often with superstar trainers. Often with a variety of superstar trainers. They can get a bit desperate at times trying to achieve sometimes elusive success. They often work hard in spurts. Consistency can be missing at times.

All good people. All doing good things. All with laudable individual characteristics.

What kind of trainer are YOU? What kind of trainer do you want to be?
The first step to getting there is figuring out where you are now.

I really otta teach more

Today I hosted a smelly workshop at the barn ... such a good environment to gently test commitment  - pigs, horses, cattle, chickens ... you name it they can smell it. So far the dogs in all four workshops have come, had a look around and acclimated very quickly. Every dog has worked scent though not always as well as in a familiar place.

I love groups like this - dogs know the game, handlers know the game but teams need a confidence boost and a reminder about what I think are the fundamentals (timing and reward placement). We did a handling circle, then a double row, then a room search in a tack room. The group brought lunch - so so yummy and generous of them! Then we went back to work introducing the vehicle search.

As usual I started simply with a very obvious find on a very simple wagon. Then we moved onto the old tractor and finished with a horse trailer. SO MUCH FUN!

sometimes love hits you in the weirdest ways

So many wonderful dogs out there .. but one less today than yesterday.

photo was found on FB for human's Biz - DogGone Right!

My friends and family have amazing, talented dogs who make their heart sing  and I appreciate and enjoy them all .. sometimes though one gets a little bit of my heart and I'm not even sure how it happens. Every time I hear a loved pet has gone I am so very very sad for the people and families that lived with those dogs (or cats). Usually I feel sadness, pat my dogs, post a public commiseration and send a more personal heart felt one. (You may recall I have too much experience with grief).

I miss those dogs, but not the way I miss one I have lived with or taken care of for periods of time. Except sometimes. And those sometimes feel so very very awful I am grateful my response to friend's animal's deaths are not always as visceral. Today is one of those days (and there have been others - Killian, Mouche, Kaylie and more). The coolest doodle I have ever known, and I have known a fair few, is no more.

Molly is gone. Dead. Deceased. My grief is palpable and it shocks me.

Molly was a wonder dog - have no doubt of that. She also had a human of her own who adored her and played games with her. Molly didn't need me to love her. She had lots of love of her own. Likely even more love than some of the crew who have laid their head here. Molly had an Angel to play with and snooze with and smell all the good things together. Molly had a Good Life once she and her human connected.

My grief is partly selfish today. Understanding I won't see Molly again is beyond my comprehension right now. To imagine not throwing multiple balls for her (she and Wyn adored racing around chasing as many balls as I could throw) is unimaginable.

Be good to those you love. Visit those you love. Let those you love know you love them. Molly I wish I could wow you with ball throws just once more. I wish I could comfort your human in any way that would make a difference. Instead I will grieve your loss. What a good dog Molly.