You can't win without a great team behind you!
It doesn't matter whether you're training for IGP, Mantrailing, Agility, Fly Ball, Treibball, Obedience, Dog Dancing, or if you're an operational dog handler—or even just teaching your puppy to be a well-behaved companion. The key to success is having a solid support system. That might be your family, your dog club, or even a group of like-minded friends who are all in for the training journey.
The best part? You get to choose who’s on your team!
Be open to new ideas and suggestions along the way. Add tools to your toolbox that work best for you and your dog. Attend workshops, go to seminars, and check out other trainers. Even if you don’t end up agreeing with a certain approach, you’ve still learned something valuable—like what doesn’t work for you, and why. Sometimes, stepping outside the familiar can make a huge difference in how you approach training. It will definitely help you grow as a trainer.
As Wikipedia puts it: “Dog training is the application of behaviour analysis which uses the environmental events of antecedents and consequences to modify the behaviour of a dog, either for it to assist in specific activities or undertake particular tasks, or for it to participate effectively in contemporary domestic life.”
By that definition, every dog owner is a dog trainer—whether you train every day, or just a little here and there. It doesn’t matter how or why you train, as long as you're working together.
Embracing different approaches to dog training is the first step toward becoming a better trainer. And by building a team with diverse strengths, you and your dog can become an even stronger team.
Now, go out there and enjoy the wins!
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