Focus Forward vs. Attention

No Compromises Necessary
Bungee has really caught on to the FF work in Agility nicely. She has done this in spite of a great deal of attention work of late in the obedience setting. So I'm really pleased.

I'm also thrilled the way she has caught on to her job in agility, in the continuum of transition from flat work to equipment. Once it clicked in her mind what to do, it's as if there was never any concern to begin with.

No Fear
I'm happy to move forward with both agility & obedience in confidence. Through a clear and solid foundation, allowing 1st for good understanding of whatever it is we are teaching, Bungee will have no trouble distinguishing which behavior is needed at which time.

The Joy of Training
I'm also so happy I chose to learn to train purely positively a long time ago. I never went into it to become a zealot, but only for my own professional growth. I knew it could be done, I wanted to learn how too.

I can't imagine what the training experience would be like for myself or my dog, if my only joy was the end-picture of the competition result. For me, the joy is very much in the process, and seeing what we have learned come alive when it's happening in the ring, when it counts :-)), and rarely the competitive result (which is almost always great!).

But the pay-off now, is that unlike so many other dogs we see that are immersed in obedience with correction-based methods at Bungee's young age, and then have trouble finding the mental freedom they need to do agility well (fast & fun as our friend Lynda says!). I can say with full confidence, this will not be an issue for Bungee!

I remain in such gratitude to the ability of training with purely positive methods. Bungee will not be stifled, fearful, or inhibited about learning or running in agility, nor suffer any ill-effects in learning her obedience skills either, on the contrary she is going through the learning stages of both with the joy we all want our dogs to know.

Happy Training! Hug your dogs!
...and remember: It's About Love!