WAO 2013 - team Argentina
Working with dogs , it means a lot of patience and a strong will . What do you will add to this list ?
I know it sounds cheesy , but .. LOVE . I was watching an inspirational video some weeks ago , and a phrase got stuck in my head “ If you don ’ t love what you do , you ’ re going to fail ”. This applies to absolutely everything , not only agility . Dogs test your patience and will of course ; they are living , breathing beings that have feelings and a mind of their own , and it took me a while to truly understand this and keep it in mind to work -with- them . Developing that kind of silent understanding you have with your agility dog , the type of mute communication when you can tell what ’ s going on by just looking into your dog ’ s eyes , is simply magic for me .
What are your major strengths and weaknesses ?
Wow . It ’ s a rather good question . Lets see .. Weaknesses , the biggest one is my work schedule . I get home around 6:30pm , sometimes too tired to do any training , so maybe I end up taking Marvel and Bliss for a good 2 hour playtime at our local park . I may spend a day thinking of the bazillion things I ’ m going to train with my dogs , but sometimes I have too much work and my brain is fried by the time I get home , so a walk at the local park and playing with the girls is all I do if I ’ m in that state of mind . I need to be more regular and le “ messy ” about my training ( I don ’ t keep written records for example , and I recently starte recording sessions with my newest pup ). My biggest strength , I suppose , is that despite n having everything I train written on paper , I tend to teach everything step by step , hardly skipping one unless the dog is showing me they can . I ’ m not in a hurry to see the finished result , so I start by very small things , and build from there . Also it ’ s helped me that , so far my dogs ’ breeds , personalities and temperaments have been very , extremely different so far , so it ’ s never the same formula with them either . I love challenges .
“ If you don ’ t love what you do , you ’ re going to fail ”