Barking Mad Dog Training

01/11/2022

Very good points:

“Nice dog. It’s a shame [they’re] not with someone who could do more with [them].”
This painfully casual exchange has been living rent-free in my head for a number of months now for a few reasons; the primary one being the audacity, but beyond that, the commonplace of the underlying sentiment in sport training.

A half-hearted compliment (of a genuinely contented, happy, and accomplished team), delivered with a heavy implication of wasted talent.

We talk a lot about dogs satisfying their innate genetic drives, but what often gets lost in the demand to do more, be more, and strive for more (in the work or otherwise), is the animal husbandry part of dog ownership and the mutual enjoyment of the other being at each end of the leash. This part of the conversation acknowledges that all other needs being met, our dogs have been domesticated to be our (individual) companions. What that fulfillment of drive and expression of mutual enjoyment may look like will be unique to each team, and no two teams will have the same scope and depth in their individual journey.

Talent is subjective. And a waste of talent - even moreso.

Where contentment is present at the root of the relationship, as long as the dog is fulfilled and happy and the owner enjoys their dog, all else should not matter. That alone is enough.

📸:

11/14/2021

10/20/2021

Training time!

Family dog training, board & train in Katy, just west of Houston, Texas.

08/18/2020

Just as much affection, half the responsibility. What’s not to love?

07/25/2020

The dogs were able to detect the coronavirus with 94% accuracy.

01/07/2020

Training thought for today:
It seems to me that a lot of dog training is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole where the dog is the square peg and what we want from the dog is the round hole. There are times when we need to sand that square peg into a rounder shape to prepare the dog for what we want to train - maybe working on attention on self control. On the other hand, we should remember that there are times when the square peg is what it is and we need to adjust our expectations and instead make that hole bigger so the dog can succeed.

01/05/2020

Telescoping Target sticks on sale for $2 on Amazon!

COA Target Stick

The COA Target Stick is a key accessory for clicker training. A soft rubber bulb provides a visual target to guide the dog. Also retracts to a convenient size for transport in your pocket or treat bag. COA training products are used every day at Dr. Roger Mugford’s Training and Behavior Centre an....