Reflection, Patience, 2010

I read back a lot of my blog from earlier in the year to write the dog’s 2010 reviews. It does make me smile quite a lot, sometimes. With hindsight, I shouldn’t have been so impatient with Dylan and I’s lingering in Grade 3. We were balancing on the edge of winning a class for a long time, but not such a long time that I had any right to lose patience. I knew I had to get faster contacts and reams of confidence before we could go anywhere, and when we did get all the boxes ticked, I immediately wanted out of Grade 3.

You’d think I’d have learnt with Kim that sometimes it’s about pulling it all together at the right time, rather than just assuming that having the right components is going to make a car. I feel like I should have relaxed and let things roll, rather than being so focussed on getting to Grade 4.

I know I am very focussed on where I need or want to be, but I am not always appreciative enough of where I am. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy the training and work we put in to reach whatever end, because my favourite part of training is doing it. But I do need to make changes to how I train. I need to be more focussed on the small details, and less on the big picture. I need to figure out what I need from today’s training session, I need to spend more time rewarding my dogs, I have to put in more effort with the little things.

Mostly, I need to have confidence in myself, in my training methods, and in my dogs. Especially because I am optimistic that 2011 might involve some serious steps towards Future!Puppy, if everything goes to plan!