Passionate for Positive Training... or a Zealot?
In those seminars, I could not let it go if someone flat-out disagreed with me, and it happened all the time. I felt I had to explain, and rephrase, and push, push for my way of thinking. I was motivating dogs in all sorts of then-unusual ways. I had the credentials to back it up, making USDAA national finals twice with a Rottie and twice with a Springer Spaniel. People really did want to know how I did it, and my seminars were packed. I was convinced that everyone would benefit from my approach and that the way to success with most dogs was through my door. I had a powerful new message for agility. Unfortunately, I also displayed a zealot's passion.
And oh, the resistance. My point here with you now is that I realize my message was often lost as I argued. There was resistance to my different approach, and my zeal only made it worse.
Passion is not the same as belief or commitment. Zeal and passion are emotional, and they can be overdone when we are trying to influence another sentient being. Passion can get in the way of the message because it can be very difficult for others to process through all that emotion.
Why Passion Can Lead to Pressure
It's that way for our dogs as well.
Our passion often translates as pressure. Pressure is not our friend in dog training.
When does an option feel like a thinly veiled threat? When does a suggestion feel to you, the trainer, like an invitation but feel to the dog, the learner, like unwelcome pressure? How do you feel when you receive an unwanted 'suggestion?' Pressure can look like an invitation but feel to the learner like a gun to the head. A gun to your head will motivate you, for sure! But it doesn't help you feel attraction for the lesson; quite the opposite. And it doesn't create the mental state which we are trying to foster with R+ training. With influencing people and with training dogs, be aware of the unintended effect you might be having. No matter how much you want what you want in the moment, learn to control your passion when you train.
The more we want something when we train, the more we can put unbearable pressure on our dogs. Sometimes they might like to buy in, but the pressure of your zeal is pounding them with too much coercion. That coercion is mental force! To many dogs, it is a gun to the head. Whether the student is a seminar attendee or a dog in training with us, we need to temper our passion so that we can be understood and our message can be processed. Leave the pressure out of it. Let your dog's mind open on its own terms. That's the only way for your dog to welcome your message. And that is your dog's road to Empowerment.
This is the handler's role in preparing the dog's mind. Bring your belief into the training session, for sure. You should not be there without it. Bring your love and your commitment to the session. Bring your open-mindedness, your A game of observation, and your sense of fun. But save your zeal for the excited phone call to your friend when your training session is done. Your Empowerment dog needs space and time to process. Step back. Let him think. Take the pressure off.
Julie Daniels won her first award for writing in the fourth grade, and she was training dogs long before that. Today Julie Daniels is one of the foremost names in dog agility in the United States. She was one of the early champions of the sport and helped many clubs throughout the country get up and running. In 2015 Julie moved to Deerfield, NH, where she has opened a new business called Kool Kids Agility. Julie also owns White Mountain Agility, a 90-acre dog heaven in North Sandwich, NH. That school has operated since 1993, and Julie developed many theme camps there, including Wild Child, Speed-Em-Up, Novice Genius, Jumping Genius, and the world-renowned WMA Instructor Certification Course, which has honed the skills of hundreds of teachers and thousands of dogs worldwide. She is well known as a premier teacher at all levels of play, and she loves all kinds of dogs.
She has titled and won with all sorts of dogs through the years, including two Rottweilers, a springer spaniel, a cairn terrier, two corgis, and four border collies. She is the only person to make USDAA Grand Prix finals with a Rottie or a springer, and she did it two times each.
In IFCS international competition, Julie is a member of two gold-medal-winning teams. She is a two-time USDAA National Champion as well. She has won many televised events, including the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge and the ESPN Great Outdoor Games. Three of her border collies, Spring, Clark, and Sport, have made the Challenger’s Round at AKC National Championships. Julie and Spring are the only team to win the International Class three years in a row at Springfield, the largest agility trial in the US. Julie and Spring also made an appearance to promote agility on Good Morning America.
Julie’s current competition dog is MACH2 MAD Sport, who is a few legs from his ADCH in limited showing. He is a soft dogjdaniels2 who started off “slow and thoughtful.” Now he pumps himself up to run and shoots off the line like the champion he can be. Motivation is everything! Julie now has a young border collie, Koolaid, who is already a dynamic presence in several FDSA classes.
Julie is well known worldwide as the expert commentary voice of Cynosport agility, doing the livestream video broadcasts seen all around the world.
Julie is an expert in the art and science of operant training, and her approach works! She has always taught “dog’s choice” games as a way to develop agility partnerships. Her first agility book was published in 1991 and the “dog’s choice” games were actually controversial at that time! But she was nominated for a Dog Writer’s Award nonetheless and has never waivered in her philosophy. Julie is the author of three DVDs and four agility books, including an update of her award-winning foundation training book, Enjoying Dog Agility.
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