Internal Motivation – do we value it?

A couple of years ago I wrote a blog on the importance of “investing” ourselves in our training.  With my current blogs on Motivation, I re-read it to see where I stand today.  Here is the blog I’m referring to: The Happy Emotions – A Party for...

Motivation Part 2

Oh, things are going well around here.  Very well. Here’s a video – Lyra has had three or four training sessions since my last post. Things Lyra has learned in that last three sessions: 1)  Work from the training yard can be rewarded with a trip to the...

Motivation – Part 1

Some days there is so much information to be shared about a topic that when I start to write, I end up with a great big mess. A  jumble of ideas lead to other ideas, and to other ideas and next thing you know, I want to write a book.  And having just finished a book...

What is a Motivator?

A motivator is something we want; most of us can answer that pretty easily.  In the world of competition dogs, however, I often see something that is really confusing to me.  I routinely encounter people who are using rewards that their dog does not want, in order to...

Systematic Problem Solving

Trainers often say that they don’t need to know why a problem exists in order to fix it; they simply look at the behavior and address it.  I disagree.  I find that identifying the underlying source of the problem is critically important, otherwise the trainer is...

Obility – Teaching the Retrieve over High Jump (ROH)

Here’s a simple video showing how I’m working on Lyra’s retrieve over high jump. She knows how to fetch.  She knows how to jump.  She knows how to stay.  She has a reasonable clue about fetching over a jump in the outbound direction, but definitely...
Raika – Who’s the cutest??!!

Raika – Who’s the cutest??!!

I’d like to talk about Raika.  The Leaping Lunatic.  Moderately neurotic, single minded and full of life.  The apple of my eye.  The cutest ever. Welcome to my blog, Raika. Raika doesn’t really deserve the amount of adoration I slavish upon her.  Raika has...

Two and a half dogs – Juno

I’d like to introduce the current canine members of my household – not only are they a huge part of my life, but  each has contributed greatly to my current ideas about training for competition. My plan was to start with Cisu; after all, she is the oldest....