I figure calling this particular blog entry a “vlogcast” is a good description because it’s a blog post with a video of a podcast episode. A podcast is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, and I decided that 2020 would be the year. But, there’s a lot of planning. A lot of things I didn’t know about podcasting. A big learning curve.
It was looking like the podcast would take a long time. It would have been easy to procrastinate. But then, I decided “you know what Susan, done is better than perfect”. And that became the title of the very first episode that we released in June. The video is below and “done is better than perfect” is relevant to many things in life, including dog training.
“Done is Better Than Perfect” is a great model for everybody to adopt because a lot of times there’s things that we want for ourselves or our dogs, but we’re a little bit afraid. There’s a fear of attempting something new. There’s a fear of maybe failing. For some people, there’s a fear of being successful and what kind of attention that will bring or expectations to follow up with. In order to improve something, you need to start with anything.
For my podcast, we started and figured it out along the way. You can now subscribe to Shaped By Dog on the podcast app of your choice, just search for the name. We got the Shaped By Dog webpage up with transcripts, and we’re putting each episode on YouTube. Now, we could have still been thinking of these things and spending hours planning, but done is better than perfect!
I called the podcast Shaped By Dog, because my life has revolved around training dogs, and that has given me so many life lessons in return and is still shaping me. In the first episode I mention my video called “The Journey” and it’s below for you.
At time of writing, we’ve got 15 episodes of Shaped By Dog released for you. I’m aiming for two a week on Wednesday and Friday. If you have been listening, I’d love to know your favourite episode so far. And if you have any suggestions on topics you’d like me to cover, let me know in the comments below.
Today I am grateful for my amazing team who jumped into the world of podcasting with me so we could get things done!
I have bought both Crate Games and Home School The Dog.
I have 2 dogs Millie a 4 year old maltese cross and Marnie a 3 year old shi tzu cross. Both dogs have developed bad habits over the years.
I have started Crate Games with both dogs, Marnie is very food focused so she has adapted quickly so far. Millie is not food focused so she has to be hungry but it has to be a special treat also before she can be tempted. Marnie takes a little longer to understand what you are asking but once she does is fine. Millie works out what you are asking quicker and does it but then seems to think about and decide how far she can push the boundaries so appears to regress. With the Paw Targeting she did this and it took quite a while before she started to do it properly again but now is fine.
Going into the crate Marnie is good at it and getter better all the time. Millie although she goes into the crate when she chooses is extremely hard to go into the crate when I want her too. I have a wire crate and a hard shell. Have tried with both so far have only managed to get 2 feet in the door. How long should I keep trying to get her to go into the crate in each session? Before either she gives in (not sure how long that will take) or I give up? She is very strong willed even though very tiny.
Good luck, very inspiring !
I’ve just watched The Journey for the first time and it made me cry!
I have just bought your crate games lesson and love the way you teach. I have a problem with my six month old puppy who hasn’t ever used a crate. I now see the benefits of crate training but don’t know where to start.
Do you have a video or advice on a brand new way of getting a puppy who cries if You close the crate and goes a bit crazy in the crate with the door closed to get used to the crate? I am lost about where to start – thank you
For the Therapy dog questions, there are several National Organizations that will test you and your dog for therapy work. The link Gail gave you is only one of the organizations. therapy dogs are not :certified”, they are registered with their organization. Your dog needs to have a good temperment, enjoy people, have been trained with good manners and be tolerant of loud noises, people petting them in groups, etc. You can read on each organizations website what their requirements are. If you can get your dog through a CGC test, that is pretty much the first part of any therapy evaluation. Google therapy dog organizations and you will find the national ones. I have had registered therapy dogs for 16 years. You will need to do some homework.
Hi Susan,
I would love if you had some kind of systematic training method to follow with the goal of getting my dog certified as a therapy dog.
My main issue with her is getting past training with food to getting her to respond to cues when I don’t have food as well as getting her to focus in the face of her own prey instinct (can’t lay off a nice chipmunk)
Thanks for all that you do.
Mike
You don’t need certification to be a therapy dog. https://www.therapydogs.com/therapy-dog-certification/ The dog needs manners, to enjoy people, to have a certain temperament. It doesn’t necessarily even have to have a Canine Good Citizen certification. There is no AKC Therapy Certification, and the AKC doesn’t offer such a certificate. There are online hussle organizations that will sell you one. Beware of these.
Excellent as usual 😊
Thank You Susan, I am so grateful that I was given your contact information and websites by my newest friend Kate Fulkerson. I have a brand new German Short hair Pointer that Kate is working with me to train the ‘correct’ way and I am loving it.
Kate recommends every broadcast, book, idea, you have and through her I see just how talented you are.
Thank you again Susan and I look forward to many more years of learning from your experience.
Nancy McCallister
Good Morning Susan,
Thank You. I love it; Done is Better Than Perfect:) I appreciate everything you have taught me. I agree thoroughly and am always trying to improve personally. My dogs including future ones greatly appreciate the knowledge and training that you share as well. I am so glad to be on this journey and to have you and your team as guides.
Toast to today, tomorrow and our futures,
Tracy & Night
HI,
I watched the journey after my comment. That is beautiful, tear jerker. I sure love all of the dogs that have been in my life as well as the lessons learned. Thank You,
Tracy & Night
‘Done is better than Perfect’ do think the title is very appropriate as do want to make sure I want to train the respective behaviour correctly and that can sometimes hold up training that behaviour. Definitely agree that dogs shape us, and they are very good at it, much better than me but I do try and learn from it! I wholeheartedly agree with your statement that dogs do their best with the education we give them in the environment we put them in which I learnt from Home School the Dog. When things don’t go to plan, have always thought it was me or the circumstances/environment, very good to see it written down, don’t feel so bad now. Thank you
Thanks Susan. I’ve been procrastinating on doing a family history project because it had to be ‘perfect’. But I’m not getting any younger & I want it done. ‘Done is better than perfect’ is just the kick-up-the-backside I needed to hear.
“Done is Better than Perfect”……..just what I needed to hear at 5:30am as I’m thinking about what games to concentrate on today with my dogs! Also thank you for the inspiration in the area of fear of attempting something new. My life is very different now than it was almost three years ago when my husband passed away. My dogs came into my life shortly after his passing and they have definitely brought me fulfillment in many, many ways. I’m a stronger person now than I was before and by applying what I’m learning in Recallers I know good things are gonna happen with my dogs. Thanks for your energy, Susan…….it’s contagious!!
Excellent and I so agree our dog training shapes who we become!
I’m loving your podcast. There are two episodes that have really resonated with me: Episode 8: Get Your Dog in the Belief Loop of Awesome and Episode 12: When Helping Your Dog is an Illusion. I need to try to be better at incorporating these concepts into my daily like with my dog. I also need to be better about not getting into a rut with how I work with my dog. I would love a podcast (or several) about how to get the most out of your day with your dog when you have to balance it with working a full-time job and taking care of family obligations, too. I’m sure I’m missing a lot of opportunities and I know I tend to get in a rut and do the same things over and over, which is boring for me and I’m sure for my dog, too. Thank you.
Well done Susan, will definitely be looking forward to more podcasts.
I loved hearing your stories in the past when you would come to California in the early 2000s about the challenges you faced and how you overcame them, especially the one about the time you did a seminar and people actually left back in the early days. And this just feels so invigorating Susan to hear your journey and where you are now it’s just totally fantastic totally awesome thank you so much for inspiring me.
My favorite is definitely the power of permission. It is such a powerful concept. I had never heard it presented before this podcast. My perception of reward has been limited to concrete things like food, toys or praise. Now I just need to work on using it in my life with my dogs!
Naming Your Puppy Episode was the most motivating for me. It really showed me how what I was thinking is holding me back by limiting my expectations of who my dog really is and can be. It’s nice to grow emotionally from dog training! Thanks for the great podcast.