Back to Business - the good & the bad

Major boo-boo I see, away from the blog 3 days...apologies!!!...and worse I see my post is not appearing! I was working on the blog during a big storm, when we lost power I hurried off line to go take care of other things and somehow saved this post to files without publishing. Many apologies all around!


Monday Training

Today was our first day officially back to our agility field at home 100%. Our grass repair project has gone fabulously, especially nice with this last weekend's huge rain. The gigantic thunderstorms right over us, release so much nitrogen that all green things just stand up with brilliant, green, glory afterward (at least if they're not smashed by a bolt of lightening or a big wind!!). So I thought green was a good color to use today. The field is simply beautiful again!

I'll have some pictures soon! But today was about training.

Bungee worked on our new contact trainer, (pictures also to come), and also did some teeter games, and plank work, and finished up with some two-toy games for handling. She was brilliant!

She took turns with her brother Guinness who is getting some refresher on entries, a little handling, and starting tonight is going to get a lot of remedial gamble work, after being off so long. They each wait in a crate in the shade while the other works.

But, it was not a perfect day, though a very informative one(!) as Bungee finished off her session on the field, showing a little bit of jealousy toward Guinness, as I let him out of his crate. I was not impressed. I scolded her soundly that instant, which may have been meaningful to her, as I've never raised my voice to her before. But I'm not so naive as to think that is sufficient to avoid repeating a similar incident.

I'm coming back to this post to insert: I am aware that scolding my dog is not in keeping with my goal for purely positive training methods. It is certainly not something I want to do again either and so it is important to find an appropriate and effective solution at the first sign of a concern, thus "nipping it in the bud."

Bungee is very jealous of me, it's a growing condition lately. If allowed, she will follow me everywhere all the time, which if you are a big softy like me, is very endearing. She is very much "my dog" between my husband and myself, that is clear. But she is also a Border Collie and I know what she is up to as she shadows me around lately. She is starting to insert herself between Guinness and I when she should not, and being allowed to follow me around the house is too much opportunity for her to take control of the household (Guinness) at least in her own mind. This bit of lunging at him as he came out of his crate today scared him and frankly pissed me right off. I will not tolerate such ill-tempered behavior.

So, I think a course of "Ruff Love" is due, and will be the best way to get through to this little Border Collie what behavior is allowed and what is not.

I have used this program before, so I do have experience of very positive results with it and even a modified program will work nicely to help Bungee understand the way we want things to work around here. If you have never heard of it, click on the link & go to /books: "Ruff Love". Most people do not understand it, can't imagine implementing it, and hate the sound of it after they read the book. Again and again, my experience with those who have this response, it is because they don't fully understand how it works. I do.

I've known people who did not approve of the program, while their dogs were dressed in only choke chains for every occasion, (shows what they don't know). But there will always be naysayers.

The reality is just because you decide to train positively you cannot pretend to yourself that bad behavior will still not occur or that you will not risk raising a total brat of a dog if you never learn how to apply acceptable consequences for unacceptable behavior. You cannot be an ostrich with your dogs anymore than you would be with your children, and ignore bad behavior.

"Ruff Love" offers a real solution to unacceptable behavior, within the range of acceptable consequences, allowing you to maintain your own decision to train purely positively. In fact, how many years after it was written, it is still to this day one of the best, (only?), works on the market, addressing bad behavior, and offering owners effective and real-time solutions for improvement. Kudos to Susan for writing it and putting it out there. It's been horribly misunderstood, and it's been helpful to many, many dogs with owners you will never hear from or meet.

Well, must get ready for class. Our obedience class was canceled tonight, but a new Tamsu focus series of workshops on Gambles, from past nationals courses opens, and Guinness is signed up. So from now on we'll have two classes on Monday nights which will make Mr. Guinness a very happy guy too!

Don't worry, the little Princesse Bungee is still my perfect little Border Collie - well almost!!! Her little tiara of perfection will soon be restored to it's rightful place on her head and she will never be short of kisses from the mamma! Life will carry on as normal and she really won't know she's having her behavior "modified".