Weekly Training Update (Oct 30)

In response to last week’s Training Update, my professional writer and dog-loving friend Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell (who blogs about living large in a little house) asked for some background on why exactly I would work so hard and continue to put so much effort into training Lilly. Here is my best attempt at answering that question, which is bigger than I suspect Kerri ever imagined.

Kerri asked: I wonder if you would explain a little of your motivation with Lilly? You seem to work very hard, and I’ve never seen anyone work as hard in training unless it is to eventually have some sort of service or therapy dog, or for dog shows.

If you too are new to our blog and wonder what on earth all this is about, I suggest catching up via a handful of early entries filed under Backstory. You can always find them under Category Archives in the sidebar to the left. In particular, see my second-ever post entitled Why Champion of My Heart? (A much-shortened version of that post lives permanently in the sidebar, under Lilly’s smiling photo.)

A couple years later, let’s revisit this question of WHY?

Essentially, living with Lilly, a dog with such generalized fears around the house, to noises and motion, with people, and particularly with other dogs, transformed me into a different kind of Dog Girl. To communicate with Lilly and to help her LEARN to handle the world, I had to move far beyond what most people consider dog training and well into the realm of behavior modification.

I’m not kidding when I say that I’m earning my PhD from the University of Dogs With Issues.

I’ve made mistakes and gotten terrible advice. I wasted a lot of time, especially trying many “holistic” options before turning to the medications that are now helping so much. I’ve cried. I’ve felt like the biggest failure in the history of dogs. I’ve quit. I’ve started again. I’ve cried some more.

Performance Dog, Not Pet
Lilly is my first-ever “performance” dog. And, yes, that is a kind of “show dog.” Leave it to me to have a a performance dog with performance anxiety.

While our ultimate GOAL is indeed to return to serious agility training (and, we hope, some competition before she gets too old), let’s be clear that the dog came first, the sport second.

I did NOT set out to adopt an “agility dog.” I adopted a dog who sorely needed a job, and agility was an early contender for Lilly’s “work” because it’s hilarious and a serious mental and physical challenge for person and dog. (I even took a human agility class for a while so that I could improve my sprinting skill and speed, as well as overall fitness.) Plus, agility is much more accessible than competitive herding and way more laid back than competitive obedience.

Initially, Lilly was downright amazing at agility, and I got hooked … on the puzzle of it all, on the great people I met, on the rock-star dogs. Dog training became a new hobby, or even avocation.

Then, The Trouble Started
Lilly had always been fearful or shy, but as she matured things shifted into something more. Her fears continued to worsen until we had to quit agility lessons entirely … and focus on fixing our increasing problems across all venues at home and in public.

And, that’s where we’ve been for a couple years now. We began a progressive medicine and methodology routine in summer 2008 with an eye toward returning to agility training. Our behaviorist STILL believes we could compete at some level. I think she is overly optimistic.

Our Current Work
In the meantime, we continue with behavior modification, tricks, and agility in controlled settings because Lilly needs to work and learn. We continue to take what I call advanced “pet dog” classes with our AMAZING dog trainer (Gigi Moss). We continue to have regular contact and consults with our certified applied animal behaviorist (Jennie Jamtgaard) from the veterinary school at Colorado State University.

The Bigger Why
Spending so much time and effort and mental bandwidth on helping Lilly be happy and productive (not fearful and shutdown) has become a major part of my life. Call it a habit, if you like.

Beyond the obvious activity, however, is the personal growth for both of us.

Everything that has happened in the last five years taught me that we can have a profound relationship with our dogs. Forget this “dogs as children” thing. I do refer to myself as Lilly’s Mom, but it’s more than that.

We have a kinship and communication that’s unlike anything I’ve ever had with a dog. (And, I’ve had a canine in my life since I was a toddler.) We have a partnership that’s meaningful in a way I cannot yet fully explain. We have a connection that I believe eclipses the day-to-day work we do together.

So, I guess the ultimate answer is that I continue to do all this with Lilly, for Lilly, and for me because it has become part of who I am as a Dog Girl. I think once you experience a bond like this, forged through training and teamwork, you can never go back.

Still, you should know that MANY agility people, including former trainers, told me to “retire” Lilly to life as an at-home pet years ago and simply start over with a new dog.

Because of my inherent loyalty and, for lack of a better word, monogamy, that isn’t an option. At least one of those former trainers now says it shows “character” that I haven’t given up on Lilly. Most times, I think that’s a euphemism for crazy or stubborn.

But, in my heart, I try to think of it as hope.