
17/04/2025
This photo means more than a ribbon.
It was four years ago.
Raven and I placed 2nd in obedience. But that’s not the part that stuck with me.
I’ve competed before. I’ve had dogs that worked for toys like their life depended on it. I could’ve been on fire and they wouldn’t have noticed as long as they had their ball.
But Raven? She is different.
She works for me.
I remember running between two rings that weekend—from obedience to rally-o. I tried to play with her after our test, and she spat out the toy. She didn’t care about the toy. She was just ready to keep going… with me.
She wasn’t perfect. But we were a team. We had fun. She sat on her chair, watched the world go by, and soaked up every “best Malinois here” compliment.
That day made me think hard about what really matters in dog training.
That maybe we overuse rewards and underuse relationship.
That maybe we don’t practice the basics enough—because Raven beat everyone on stays alone (because we actually work on it).
That maybe a little less cueing and a little more connection goes further than we think.
I don’t have it all figured out.
But I do know this—I want more people to feel what I felt that day. To know what it’s like to have your dog choose you.
Every day I try to help more owners and their dogs get there too. Because ribbons are nice. But connection? That’s everything.