thinking to much could only hurt you!

So with the last child about to head off to school after what can only be called a "trying" 8 weeks vacation time, I find myself in the "now" and about to have some free time to actually train my puppy. Coming up to 6 months old we have "dabbled" with some basics but with this dog ( and due to her breed) I have opted to build a relationship with her first of trust and respect rather than of "My way or the Highway".

Our relationship is fantastic. She is defiantly my dog and every day she presents me with a new challenge which I actually enjoy as well as showing me how devoted she is to me as her partner. I was reading somewhere in a book completely unrelated to dog training about something that really struck home and a way of training a dog I never had thought about before. It was a book on quilting ( yes - I am a closet quilter) and it said that in order to really make a really nice quilt, you need to enjoy each and every process. That included picking the fabric colours, cutting, sewing, basting ( no - not turkey), quilting and binding. Thats a lot of sections but once I took this on board I truly started to enjoy the WHOLE process of quilting rather than flying through the parts I didnt like.

How does this relate to dog training? Well when I thought about it I thought that is so much like dog training. You need to enjoy the foundation work but no foundation work is enjoyable if only one of you is having fun - and that is where the relationship side comes from. If its a 2 way street then you will go much further than "my way or the highway" and now that I think about it, that would be why I did so well with my cavalier Mickey. We really did work together. I think I was extremely luck to have worked with him and to have achieved what we achieved. Not because he was a one off dog, but more the fact that I now really understand what its like to have a wonderful relationship which will help us both down the track.

So now I am faced with some free time ( well after I spend a few days on the lounge asleep recovering from school holidays) and now I have to be "accountable". So the first few days of "real" training will be working out exactly what I want and more importantly exactly how I will train that behaviour. Here is where I hit the next and biggest hurdle I will face. I had read somewhere that people who have read too much on training methods are in fact their own worst enemy. Its time to shut up and put up and yes - mistakes will be made ( many) but its time to take the plunge and I am looking forward to what ever lies ahead. Hope the water is not to cold!