While wallowing last week over setbacks, I posted a plea elsewhere for ideas on what to do when you get discouraged. My question … How do you keep your spirits up? The discussion
included the concept of mantras. I’ve been using a couple phrases in my head relating to work. (Remember, I get things stuck in my internal audio easily.) So … I figured how about one for training?
Here’s what I wrote. What do you tell yourself? …
I’m waiting for confirmation of date & time, but I’ve been invited to be interviewed on video (with Lilly) for an upcoming PR campaign for a big-name dog product. In addition to working
on Lilly sitting nicely next to me while I talk, I’m trying to narrow down possible stories to tell or themes to address. I have some ideas of what I’d like to say, but sometimes I think it’s easier
for others to see such narrative threads. So, if you had to sum up our strengths or the most compelling examples of our partnership, what would you pick …
It’s likely going to snow again today, but the last 2 days have been almost spring-like (in a real way). So, Monday, I bundled up enough to be comfortable, fired up the laptop and did
my best to make serious headway on this week’s looming deadlines. While I typed away and pondered content, structure and pace, Lilly had her own agenda that went a little something like this. …
Lilly and I often hike alone on the trails near our house. Due traffic of hikers with dogs, mountain bikers with a need for speed, and the preponderance of horse riders, I keep Lilly on
leash. Even when we don’t see another person or dog, there’s always a chance of coming across a rattle snake, a coyote, a fox, a herd of deer or elk, or the dreaded mountain lion. So, I personally
prefer to keep Lilly close. Plus … frankly, it’s park rules to do so. However, there are spots on private land owned by neighbors where traffic and …
Oh, how I wish I could buy “real” agility contact equipment. Even the stuff from “affordable” places, however, is pretty pricey. So, I’m starting to plot for some do-it-myself options.
OK. That really means Tom doing it himself, but you get the idea. …
During these not-yet warm, spring-still-winter days, I open the back of my car so that Lilly has access to her crate, if she prefers. It gives her a dry spot, out of the wind, to survey
the valley for a bit while I’m hard at work inside. Until last week, I always thought it was a nice, safe thing to do. …
I experimented this week with Lilly’s play training. As I’ve mentioned, she usually does not play in front of other dogs, including Ginko at times. She has, however, learned that some
things simply do not interest him. And, in those cases, she’ll play fetch (or whatever) in front of Ginko. Sticks, for example, allude him. He does not get the point, so if he steals the ball, which
he often does, then Lilly finds a stick to play with instead. To see if I could combine a toy in which Ginko heretofore hasn’t shown interest with Give Me a Break …
If the dogs are outside when I drive up, I always have to gauge my ability to open the gate, drive in, and close the gate before they reach me. My only hope is if they’re in the back
pasture and don’t hear me at first. Otherwise, getting safely through the gate and up to the house requires a different strategy. …
Once we got past her various medical issues, I took Lilly through her initial obedience class in spring 2005. Since then, of course, we’ve been through a bunch of other classes
for agility, rally and all-around pet dog training. With our previous dogs, Tom and I usually took that first (and only) round of training classes together. That hasn’t been the case with Lilly.
That spring Tom worked a lot. He spent several nights per week and many weekends in training. So, I went it alone, and that became the norm. Fine … really. Except now …
Saturday afternoon winds kept me indoors when Lilly and I returned from our usual round of errands and in-town walk. It was warm, enough, however for the pups to poke around outside
alone. I left the tailgate down and Lilly’s crate open since she enjoys sitting up high and watching the world go by in our little valley. Just before dinnertime, Ginko came to the door and asked to
come in, but he was alone. I assumed Lilly slept happily in her crate. I was wrong. …
