09/07/2025
This weekend I competed with my dogs in a sheep herding trial. My goal was to move Journey up to the advanced level and he did it! On Friday we competed in the Open Level Farm trial, which was really cool and the first time we ever did something like that. It was a great exercise to work together as a team. Journey got fourth place, which was great given how talented the other teams were. Then on Saturday Journey got third and fourth place in arena trial and on Sunday he got first and second place and High In Trial. Quest also competed but wasnât ready as she needs more practice and more milage. But she still earned a few Qâs and a title and we had a great time on the field together. The judges and my coaches had a lot of nice things to say about her, so I was happy with that.
During the week leading up to the trial and during the trial itself I had a lot of time to reflect on my training with my dogs, how I have grown and changed personally and professionally and how I continue to grow and change as a dog trainer each year. And during that reflection time, I was thinking back to how I was always a horrible student in school; from elementary school through college. Not because I was lazy or didnât apply myself, because I did. I actually worked really hard to barley get by. The issue was that the classroom setting wasnât the place for me to learn and grow.
I use to be very jealous of classmates who could listen to the lecture or read the textbook and absorb the information without an issue. Abstract concepts, theories, numbers and ideas were difficult for me to understand. I always found my strength to be in places where I could learn hands-on. My classroom and laboratory was always the place where I could learn through tangible experiences. Having the opportunity to actually apply things, try things and even fail and try again. This was where I excelled.
Looking back, it is funny how things have come full circle. Today my work and hobbyâs are through hands-on work and application. I remember as a student I would always be a nervous wreck when it came to taking quizzes and tests. But when I take tests today, such as being on the trial field with my dogs, I donât typically get nervous. In fact, I am very focused and I am usually really excited because I get to go out there as a team, show our work and see what we still need to work on together to continue to improve.
Hands-on skills, whether it be on the trial field or just out on your own experimenting and playing around with dogs or working with a coach and mentor in my opinion is how we grow and get better as dog trainers. It isnât enough to just read all the dog training books and all the âstudiesâ on what âscience saysâ and take all the popular online courses. That is not to say that information isnât important, because it is. But dog training and behavior isnât just about knowing facts, it is about actually applying the information to use hands-on to help dogs and their owners.
A textbook and studies might give you a blueprint on what to do or how to do it based on the information being presented, but it isnât enough as you will run into situations where things wonât work and you will need to find another way. You will need to learn to work through making changes on the spot, use other ideas and strategies that will work for the dog in front of you. You will also make mistakes and screwing up. But with those mistakes you start to learn and gain all the tangible hands-on skills and nuances that those who donât do it will never ever understand because they have never experienced it.
While I was at the trial this weekend, I also spent sometime reflecting about the dog training industry as I was surrounded by many talented dog trainers, competitors and breeders at the competition. The thing everyone had in common this weekend was that they were a team with their dog working together for the same goal. They all put in the time and hard work to get to where they were. Instead of arguing or running our mouths on dog training methods or what âscience saysâ, everyone got on the field to show their work together as a team, showed their capabilities as a trainer and competitor and showed their dogs skill and ability level.
This really had me thinking about the dog training industry and how results are not always found in the laboratory or through a survey study. Sometimes, or maybe most of the time, the truest study is getting our hands dirty and working with a dog hands-on. This can be something as simple as living with a dog or working with the individual dog in their home, going out in public with them, giving a dog opportunities to have freedom to express themselves and/or deciding to get on the trial field to compete. Regardless if we are talking about pet training, behavior modification or competing with a dog, working hands-on with dogs is where observations are made, things are discovered, questions are answered and results are gained.
You can gain information from a study done in a laboratory or through a survey, but that is very different then actually being able to apply that information and follow through with it hands-on, on the spot in a clients home, out in public or on the trial field. This is what makes us dog trainers. And honestly, this is what makes us scientists in our own right.
Today it seems a large part of the dog training industry only wants to celebrate those with a bunch of certifications and puts those with higher level education degrees like a PhD or Veterinary Behavior degree on a pedestal as if they are the only industry experts. I know I use to believe this. Donât get me wrong, I do think there is a time and place for individuals like this. BUT, one of the reasons the dog training industry has become so divided isnât just because of different methods of training, it is because people who donât train dogs hands-on are now claiming to be the industry experts and make claims and/or write position statements on the right way to train a dog and/or modify behavior, when many of them have never actually done it themselves. Some have never even owned a dog!
Last year for example, many of you may remember the article that was written as a response to disprove a recent study on the use of electric collars for recall. The author, who wrote the article disproving the study had a higher level degree in education. She wrote out how she would teach a dog a recall using positive reinforcement only and how effective it is based on studies. At the very end of the article she mentioned how she had never actually owned or trained a dog a recall. THIS IS THE PROBLEM! People like this come out and make claims when they have never gotten their hands dirty and have not trained multiple dogs in different situations. People like this do not know all the tricks of the trade, all the nuances of working with and teaching a dog. Unfortunately, this is true among many veterinary behaviorists as well. I have had the opportunity to work with about ten different vet behaviorists/behavior residents and in all my time training dogs, I have never seen them apply any of the skills and techniques they claim to work.
As I was sitting watching all the talented competitors on the trial field this weekend, one thing I was constantly reminded about was how the work you show isnât going to lie. Sure, a dog and their handler can have an off day. It happens to everyone. But typically, the work showcased isnât going to lie. I was reminded of this when I started learning Jiu Jitsu this past winter. When you are rolling with your partner on the floor, your skills wonât lie.
I use to think getting all the certifications would make me more credible and would make me a better trainer, but it didnât. What made me better was learning hands-on with my own dogs and with client dogs at home, in public, at training class, attending hands-on workshops and getting coached by other trainers in sports and competition.
Rather than arguing and pointing to what studies show or what science says, what we as dog trainers should be doing is getting our hands dirty! We need to work with dogs hands-on in our âlaboratoryâ. We should even meet up with other dog trainers to train together and collaborate and to learn from one another. And we should show our work and the results of our work rather than relying on those who arenât dog trainers to tell us what is right and wrong. This is how we actually grow and develop as professionals and as people. AND this is how we help improve the quality of life in dogs.
There are so many people I have to thank who have helped me, taught me and inspired me to constantly keep learning, stay hungry and continue to improve. I am not going to tag any of them here as I do not want my post to put words in their mouths. You all know who you are and I thank you for your help, knowledge, generosity and friendship.
