Setting Training Intentions

Thoughtful Thursday

Happy New Year to all of you!

With the new year upon us, setting goals, making resolutions and all that jazz is all the rage.

I am going to propose we do something a little different.

How about we create a progression plan for where we want to be at the end of the year. Of course you have to know where you are going, but we can also figure out the small things we need to do every day in order to move towards this goal.

Whether this is dog training or weight loss, it is those little things we do every day that matter.

Two of my goals this year:

1) Lose weight because my knees will thank me

2) Train my dogs at least 5 days a week.

The first I'm well on my way thanks to some small steps AND meal prepping ahead of time so I don't have to think about eating.

The second, this is 'hard'. I have five working dogs (seven if you count two that are off at training) and a few more up and comers with the

puppies.

This is a LOT of training in addition to running the farm and managing the inner workings of the Foundation. So I have had to define what I mean by training. It also means that I am becoming more hyper focused on the small pieces that build the big behaviors.

Making these small behaviors fluent so that when put into the big scheme, the chain is fluent.

This week, the first week of the year, my first steps in the plan I wrote for myself was to set up my training area and begin with small training sessions for each dog.

The training area is complete, I did it in about 5 minutes with some imagination. This needed done because the puppies have taken over my usual training area.

And just because I set it up, I started training, YESTERDAY. I trained three of my five working dogs. Today will be all five.

This also means I have to manage my time. I am focusing my mornings on computer work and puppy care. Afternoons are dog training. I've preselected the specific behavior I'm working on and have a progression plan posted in my training space.

How are you training with intention this year?

And yes, I'm reusing images. The messages resonate.

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