Training Tuesday
I got mad at my dog last week during training. I will be honest, it probably happens more than I would like to admit.
It is my responsibility to manage my expectations and behavior while training. It is my responsibility to set up training so the animal can make the right choice.
While preparing for this post I was scrolling through a bunch of quotes about anger to try and capture what I was trying to say. There were a few quotes high on the list such as:
Anger doesn't solve anything. It builds nothing, but can destroy everything.
Anger is a result of unmet expectations.
Anger is one letter away from danger.
As I looked at all these quotes, I decided that I wanted to have a different conversation. The quote I used popped into my head. "Always approach your dog with all the love in your heart (Lisa Higgins).
I realize that when I get angry while training, it is usually because my dog has not performed at the level I expected it too. (See the second quote).
Which then can result in me behaving in such a manner that I could damage the relationship with my dog. (See the first and last quote.)
During operational testing/training, the behavior should be built to such a point, that the dog is fully fluent in the behavior it is supposed to do. That is why incremental training is so important.
Train your dog.

Don't always test your dog.
Training is about reinforcing a behavior to make it stronger.
In thinking about the times I get angry while training, I have come to understand that one of two things happened:
1) I set up a crappy problem and just need to scrap it and set it up differently.
2) I am usually asking the dog to make too big of a jump in their training. I'm shifting too many criteria at the same time, or I'm lumping too many behaviors together. Resulting in confusion by the dog.
Both of these, the responsibility lies with me.
How I react depends on how I manage myself.
As a emotionally detached trainer, with no ego involved, I should read what the dog is telling me by their behavior, digest it, and make appropriate adjustments so the dog learns the lesson I need them to learn. Our gold standard of errorless learning.
Because I am human, I don't always react this way.
I am getting much faster at recognizing when my frustration is building and when I'm going to get angry. I'm not 100%, I'm still working on it.
Last week, when I lost my s#%t with my dog, I also was coming down with a stomach virus that had me on the couch for 4 days. Being self aware is important. But I didn't realize this until after I had 800mg of ibuprofen on board. Sometimes I'm slow.
I have started realizing the power of just putting the dog up. Thinking about my training and I usually identify the training gap, the problem with the hide, the environment, or even with me.
I then adjust and begin again. Almost always, things go much better and the dog I was training shines.
What are your strategies to recognize and cope with your frustration during training?
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