This is a brief type up about HUMANS DISTRESS and ANXIETIES performing in MEN MADE outings with their ANIMALS
.Most people are perfectly capable to enter a basic or even advanced training relationship with their animal. They find rewarding emotional feedback in it, lots of their techniques are rather intuitive and feel based, rational responses based on their own observations knowing what works and what does not. They keep working with their partner, experiment in playful ways, even try new things and some day they decide to enter a show, attend a clinic or consult a trainer – either to see how they rank or to receive feedback to improve or to get the missing piece of the puzzle. They – the humans – volunteer to invite a third party – another human – into their team – to judge, to measure, to set conditions, lay out rules, oversee their work. And – the animal that day, that moment, that scenario, that quest, REFUSES to COMPLY. Not that it has not worked before, you had it of course tested, prepared, properly imprinted, it had even been shown before. It just won’t do it and NOW WHAT ?
No matter how bad or sad that feels the one thing you must know is that your animal really has no clues about how embarrassed you might be so – Stay calm,assess the conditions you are under and do never let your partner know what you think. By pointing it out you will create a very NEGATIVE training condition you will turn into someone very strange, scary, uncomfortable – a pool of negative energy one either runs away from or shuts down to.Do not surrender towards changing your training that got you here that same moment. Do not try to fix it right away. You can revisit after the show is over if you must.
So if possible wrap up and walk away calmly, excuse yourself skillfully to not sour your partner. Than check – Soundness, Environment(Lighting),Training and or Teaching Style, Time of Day, Length of outing, Work amounts applied, Stress Factors (Shipping,Weather) Familiarity and think of any other that will come to you. Clear every position.Make a plan to replicate something very close to the conditions you had faced when things did not work and enter it by KNOWING IT WILL WORK. If you than had fundamentally trained correctly and your performances have some substantial references that it did work before – it will work again.
Victory in animal training means to conquer your emotions and stand up for your friend that trusts that you make good decisions.Sometimes you just didn’t and they will tell you so – all you have to do is LISTEN and eventually you can even see them WALKING on WATER.
