New Year’s Resolution of a Dog Trainer


As the New Year rolls around……

…….millions of Americans participate in the annual of game of drawing a line in the sand and erasing a weeks later.  Some make a commitment to stop eating cookies or a more aggressive plan to start exercising. Meanwhile, others go way overboard by planning to cut back on dog expenses.

As for me, I plan to become a better dog trainer!  You might ask, what makes me a dog trainer? Well I’ve got a dog whistle around my neck, lots of dog equipment and a couple of Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.  My office wall is covered with ribbons. Nevertheless, I’m not one who believes in resting on one’s laurels.

My New Year’s Dog Trainer resolutions:

Continue to Learn.

I must be willing to temporarily set aside what I know and entertain new training and handling concepts. Nothing worse than becoming a ‘know it all’ stuck in a rut.  I plan to read or watch one training article, video, or book every week.

Plan Training Sessions

It’s easy to follow a solid retriever training program in sequence as laid out by top-notch pros.  However, tailoring and applying it to a youngster is still necessary on a day-to-day basis.  Older accomplished dogs need memory refresher on different concepts. Walking out the door to do “whatever” often results in over duplication of drills or concepts for both.

Use a Journal

Hard to place necessary emphasis on improving a dog’s weaknesses when they aren’t documented.  I plan to review each dog’s log weekly and adjust the training sessions accordingly.

Explore the Sport

Time to immerse myself in a variety of retriever games. I’m bound to learn additional training tips by participating in other retriever venues.  Field Trial Derby/Qualifying or Super Retriever Series here we come.

Write about Training

Numerous retriever topics go through my head unpublished. Many thoughts are about training. Subject matter tends to stick in my head when I take the time to write it down. Articulating it requires an even more thorough understanding. Stick with me and let’s see how many New Year’s resolutions I keep.

Happy New Year’s Y’all!

 


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