Today’s post is all about patience and all of the places we need it in dog training/agility. I have never thought of myself as a particularly patient person however I do recognize the importance for such a virtue while training. Here are a few areas I see patience important to each of us.
*Lets start with patience with the recent software whoas we are having with our recaller membership site. 🙂 I have been told our e-lesson 10 will be up by Friday morning — by hook or by crook. In addition all recallers please be on the look out for an email that is signing you up to your specific “level” in the recaller e-course. Don’t worry if you are going to upgrade later, we will move you when you do.
*Patience waiting for our puppies to grow up before we start training with age appropriate equipment or skills.
*Patience when executing rear crosses in agility because if we are in too much of a hurry we end up stalling out and taking speed away from our dogs.
*Patience in shaping– allow our dog’s to fail without jumping in to “help” them or make it easier for the dog.
*Patience with our family and friends as they try to understand why we want to spend so much time training our dogs.
*Patience with ourselves when we stumble and may feel like we will never “get it!”
*Patience with our fellow competitors who may choose to do things differently than you do.
Okay, your turn. Please add to my list of things where “patience” is a great asset in dog training.
Today I am grateful for a brand new internet connection here at home that takes my download speed from a whopping 0.67 Mb/s to 5.5 Mb/s. Whooo hooo! No more trips to Starbucks to upload video for the e-course:).
Patience with enduring injuries/illnesses that take many years to heal.
Patience with my puppy.
And patience for this E-Course, of course 🙂
Hello Susan,
I have been away for the first couple of weeks of August with no access to the computer. I understand the site is down for repairs until Friday. This is no problem. After reading a few comments, I would appreciate knowing if I will be able to access the first eleven days of lessons and how I access the ability to print each day off. Many thanks in advance,
Gloria
To me, patience is remembering to value the NOW of my work with my dog, just as much as what I hope to achieve.
Wouldn’t you agree that one day we will look back and value our training time with our dogs in the yard as much or more than any successes in the ring?
Like everyone else here, I’m working towards goals, but sometimes I remind myself of the words to an old song: “It’s not the getting there, but the going there, that’s good.”
Ditto Elizabeth and Kandee…
While instructing a student last night, she inadvertantly reminded me that calmness/relaxing myself is a significant portion of patience in the training process. Stress helps no one, especially a tight leash- mental or physical on myself or my dogs. And, I should remember to enjoy the moments of training with either my 10 year old dog or my 14 month old puppy. …5 minutes a day so far have been very rewarding 🙂
Patience with my irish setter as he figures out how to differentiate between field work skills, obedience skills, and agility skills.
Patience is giving my rescue BC, as long as it takes. Celebrating the small stuff and playing often, really helps! This recall ecourse, so far, has been so motivating. New things to practice everyday. I am ok with a couple day break, too. My stressed out girl has had 3 consecutive training classes where she has tugged and played and I am thrilled!! This has never happened before. It was only recently that she would enter the training buildings on her own. I have been working with her for over 1.5 yrs now. Thank you Susan!!
Patience when teaching my 5 year old daughter to read.
Patience in waiting out my crossover dobes frustration moments when I don´t show her what to do.
Patience with my young dachshund when she goes between sit-down-stand so fast I end up marking the wrong thing and patience to her with me while she tries to figure out why I don´t seem completely happy with her joyful pushups.
Patience while I teach some of the new foundation skills (CG, IYC etc) to our dogs who don’t compete anymore and haven’t had the benefit of Say Yes seminars.
Patience while I’m waiting for an older dog to master a shaping skill.
Patience to listen to my young dogs to know when I am going to fast for them.
I am grateful for the patience of my trainer who is unfailingly patient and encouraging with me and my pups.
Patience with myself. I struggle to keep up with work, a long commute, the seemingly unending flow of cocker spaniels needing rescue and foster care (20 in three months), my seizuring 5 year old “heart” dog who I’m competing with currently, and my two 10 month old pups. The pup boys are why I’m here – everything else is why I’m so far behind. Sometimes it’s hard to carve even five minutes out of the day but even the little bit I”m doing is making a big impact.
I vow to be patient while I try to snatch a moment here and there to do our lessons and just “be” and grow with my dogs.
What a great post – mine are patience waiting for the mature agility dog to enjoy trialing again… to have fun and trial the way he trains. And patience waiting for the rescue girl to come into her own and be the awesome agility dog I know she can be.
Patience is a variable with me. I can be very patient with some things and not with others. Sometimes I think I am most impatient with my self. I should be getting something faster, I should be able to train my dogs faster, better, whatever.
I have to keep reminding myself that each dog has a different learning style and speed as do I. Some things I pick up quickly others take work, sometimes a lot of work. Same with the dogs.
I must be patient when there are things that just take time, like putting weight on Larry, the emaciated horse who came marching up my drive way last week with Moe and Curly the goats. (who are fat as little ticks) Training is that way. It takes time. Somehow I get that with the horses but it’s harder with the dogs. I don’t know why. I see the videos and things go so smoothly, even with green dogs. A lot of the time that’s not how it goes with me. I know that when someone does something every day, and is a pro at it, no matter what ‘it’ is they make it look very easy. That can be very frustrating for those of us who are struggling up that slippery learning curve. There are days when I wonder who is winning, me or the curve.
I also have to have patience to find what each of my dogs wants/likes to do and then let them do a lot of it. I have to have to accept that not all of them will have the same drive to do every game or task. I have to have the patience to stick to it until I determine if it is them not knowing what I want or just doing it because I ask, not because they enjoy it. Granted, they can learn to like a lot, but not everything.
I have plenty of patience for something like the web page problems, I have least patience with myself I guess. Have to work on that.
Kandee
Patience that my first trip through a new process of a training regimen will take me from point A to Z. I have entered into day 3 of Ruff Love with my 3-year-old Dobie whose unusual temperament I am still trying to understand. This is my first time through the process of Ruff Love, and it is hard. But with patience and faith in the process, I believe my dog and I are going to come out on the other end more bonded and with greater understanding of each other.
Patience with myself when I’ve searched out how-to’s on DVDs and youtubes, and am in the middle of training something like rear crosses 🙂 and neither the dog nor I are getting it. Patience to step back, do more research, and try again, instead of trying to fix something on the fly that I have no experience fixing.
I want to give credit to the tremendous patience my dogs have. All of them who I’ve trained through the years have had patience with me as I’ve worked through learning to train them. I don’t know if any other animal is as patient as a dog. 🙂
Patience to do things the right way the first time, rather than trying to fix the results of “short cuts.”
Patience when other things in your life take priority and you can’t train/trial as much as you would like. My time will come :-).
Patience with my 4 yr old granddaughter who wants to help Grandma play with Emma and give Emma treats too. Patience with Emma who is trying her hardest to figure out why Mom is changing all the rules!!!! “Why do I have to go to your side to get my treats, I’ve always sat in front of you to get them???????”
Patience with my agility instructors who keep me in line when I become obsessive, compulsive on training, as well as patience with myself when I try to rush to the end rather than work each step at a pace that is better for my dog, my team mate.
Patience to figure out a way to work in the house when we really really want to be outside but it is either POURING down rain or the Heat index and Air Quality index are in the danger level! I am getting lots of practice at this one this month!
Patience to unlock the learning style of my young girl …and already knowing it doesn’t match mine…but we’ll get there!
Nell
Having the ability to recognize when things are going wrong and you’re just building on crap and having the patience to say that what you planned to accomplish today will have to wait for tomorrow while you address what you really need right now.
Lack of patience has been a lifelong weak point for me. This post and everyone’s comments are a great reminder to take time where needed.
My “patience” thoughts…
– Patience to appreciate and understand that my dogs are two individuals with two very different learning styles and two very different sets of strengths and weaknesses, even if they are both Rottweilers.
– Patience to work at the right pace to move us all forward, and to understand that the “right” pace is probably going to be different for each one of us.
Patience with my dog learning a new behaviour which is the opposite of a behaviour she has been reinforced for for the last 4 years. Poor girl will need more than one week of reinforcement to overcome the 4 years of reinforcement 🙂
How cute was puppy DeCaff!!
Denise
I am so with you on this one, Denise! I need to keep reminding myself that it took me (yes, me, not Freya!) six *years* to get something wrong and it is going to take more than six *days* for both of us to fix it.
Wow, the comment posts are wonderful. It’s always good to hear from others what they are working through with their dogs. It’s not just about me and my dog. Others have the same issues and the same great moments. Thanks to your group for all their work and patience.
Patience to reward my 18 month old for what she does right. I had gotten greedy in starting to sequence in expecting many obsticles for one little treat.
Patience waiting for more classes to be hosted at “Say Yes” that are not handling focused.
Patience waiting for me to heal so I can have a long agility career.
I miss you guys!
Patience is learning to enjoy the moment – to not push to get to the end but enjoy the whole experience, from the first time our pups get it to when they offer it consistently. I love watching animals get it – way to much fun.
Patience as I find my way with each new baby dog. For me it takes time for my baby dog and I to “find each other.”
Patience with my non-housebroken brand new puppy Bily despite the fact she’s already 4 months and a half (previous owners never thought him so his sphincters are not muscled…).
Patience with myself not having patience enough despite I teach patience to my obedience students!!!
Lesson of humility… 😉
Jean in Montreal.
Thank you. I am happy for a lesson in patience right now. A few years ago I looked up the definition of patience.
“Patience is the quality of enduring with calmness.”
I am still practicing patience with myself and in training my dogs. The other day I got a message that said “It’s coming. You’re gonna get it. You’re gonna love it. And then you’re gonna forget there was ever a time when you didn’t have it.” Yea! there is hope for me!!
In starting up a new business I’ve learned patience on how much can actually be done in a days time. More isn’t always better.
Shaping has helped develop patience not in training per say but in planning the training process. If the dog isn’t getting it, it is because I haven’t broken down the criteria into its smallest denominator.
Patience with my-self, take a deep breath, settle down and everything will fall into its place, which in turn will help my dogs tremendously…..they all learn at a different level.
Wow!! Definitely some great comments on patience from everyone!!! Mine would be patience with increasing my 4 yr old BC’s confidence in me, her surroundings, and agility in new places!
Patience with our second agility dog when our first one “spoiled” us by being “easy.” I found that with the first dog, you were both learning the basics together, you were on the same learning curve. Now you want to rush the second dog to catch up to your level of knowledge. Playing these games in the Recallers course really helps drive home the point of letting the dog choose–and that takes time and patience!
Patience with myself when training my second dog. My first dog spoiled me as well and I realize I’ve gotten lazy on course as she just seems to know what I want. I now have to backtrack and retain me so I can correctly train my second dog.
Hey I needed the break to bake more treats. We are going through them fast and furious over here!
Marietta (Atlanta)Georgia USA
Patience for the process!!!! Every day I have to review our progress and look for those small moments where I see that in Months (not days as I would like!) this will all build the willingness to work in my dog that I so desire!!!
Patience to learn about the next e-courses. 😀
Patience with myself- learning to break some of very old ingrained habits and that I take time to learn new skill just like my dog does. Thought sometimes he learns faster then me!
Judith
Patience to learn the mechanics correctly, do, and wait.
After a week of e-lessons, I had been already thinking about how my weak point is patience and resolved to improve (Without a doubt, this is a tribute to the quality of your course design!) Reading others comments and the SayYes instructors knowledge, force me to look haimpatience and desire to “make” results happen lead to sloppy work.
Oops! I got inadvertently posted!
Others comments ..force me to look hard at my own mistakes….
My impatience and desire to “make” results happen lead to sloppy work.
Oodles of patience when my dog shows uncertainty and nervousness…so he can work it out in his own time at his own pace.
I’ll support the patience with family & friends! 🙂
Patience to learn, to take the time it takes to understand your dog and why she’s doing (or not doing) what she is.
patience to understand that puppies have short memories – that today’s star is tomorrows beginner again.
Patience to let my puppy grow up and enjoy the puppy and not be in a hurry to have an agility dog.
Patience to build a solid base on my puppy and develop a very strong bond.
Patience to wait for my slow internet – 0.67 Mb/s would be a big improvement here.
Patience when working with my old dog (almost 14 yrs), who is slowing down physically and mentally … it’s so easy to get excited working with the pups, but the old man enjoys (and deserves) as much quality time as they do — just at a different pace and with different expectations.
syl
Some great ones I didn’t think of; like patience with our older dogs that are slowing down (Sylvia) and patience with dogs who are injured while we let them heel fully (Bobbie). Keep them coming guys!
Sylvia, I commend you on continuing to work with your 14 year old. I have a 7 year old GSD and had stopped working with her after she retired from agility. She has been begging to work and I have been ignoring her. So I really admire you for what you are doing.
Patience while training my dog new skills or games. Ensuring that I am working her at an appropriate distraction level
Patience to not increase the distraction level before she’s 80-90% successful — patience to refrain fom being a “lumper” and thereby creating a difficult learning environment for her.
Patience to ensure tha my dog is successful.
Patience to wait for my Agility dog to heal after a cruciate ligament op.
Thank you for this reminder. I am working with my first Terrier puppy after years of working with Dobermans. Wow, it is a whole different ball of wax especially the size difference! I’m loving my puppy but patience is definitely something I am definitely learning to be more patient with myself. Thanks again!
Patience when my nearly 9 year old takes so much more time to consider the options than the 10 month pup- but he really really wants to have his turn!
I don’t think I had this much patience with my kids but perhaps they shaped me!
Patience when my nearly 9 year old takes so much more time to consider the options than the 10 month old- but he really really wants to have his turn!
I don’t think I had this much patience with my kids but perhaps they shaped me!
I have (finally!) learned patience in raising my criteria (and lowering my reinforcement). My dog enjoys training a lot more and so do I!
Here’s a couple of things I’ve learned about patience:
Patience with my instructors while they shape ME!…allowing me to fail without jumping in to “help” me or make it easier for me.
Patience with family, friends, students, colleagues, fellow competitors, fellow students as each person travels on their own journey, and allowing them to get there whenever they do.
Patience while my awesome dog Charlotte’s toe heals from a break. 🙂
patience to support and encourage students when instructing agility even if at first they don’t see the benefits of shaping rather than luring. Lead by example and be there to help when they’re ready to make the switch.
patience to allow my reliable, experienced agility dog the time she needs to recover from injury and see this as an opportunity to make training and competing a special time that I spend with my younger, less experienced dog.