Today, Stacy, Robin, and Crystal discuss questions from their roundtable that they were unable to answer. They begin comparing their dogs’ workdays with their rest days, sharing anecdotes around what their dogs’ days off look like. This leads to a discussion around time management, something that the self-employed struggle with because, as Stacy says, you’re working all hours. Robin mentions that a dog’s training hours can be dependent on weather and climate. She later divulges that sometimes, when it’s a perfect training day, she’ll blame a fake IT department on delays in computer-based work. Search and rescue work, Crystal explains, will take all your time and all your money. They share the most effective ways in which they practice time management.
The next question is about training every day, multiple times a day, and how to make it work with the dogs’ needs. Stacy shares that the two often fit into each other well. For example, when the dog needs to be fed, it is an opportunity to work on something like impulse control. However, given time restraints, it’s near impossible to train multiple times a day. They emphasize the importance of building your relationship with dogs outside of training and setting aside time regularly to do so.
They then address a question from a listener about how to not get overwhelmed by all the training required for a new search dog. One thing Robin recommends is to slice the behaviors thinly and train baby behaviors. Stacy advises to focus on keeping your dog engaged. They again acknowledge the importance of connecting with your dog, an activity which can adjust your mental attitude and make you feel less overwhelmed. Crystal suggests approaching training as teaching behaviors rather than fixing behaviors. They close in discussing the social pressures of training, and why they aren’t useful. “Those happy little accidents are those times that we get to teach. That's not a mistake,” Crystal explains. “That's an awesome thing we get to experience and do with our dogs and ourselves.”
Key Topics:
The roundtable (00:41)
Working days versus rest days (01:12)
Schedules in flux (02:14)
The impact of weather on training (06:27)
Balancing dog work with computer work (8:00)
Training as an all-day affair (11:39)
Time management tips and tricks (18:29)
Balancing a dog’s training with its needs (23:03)
Building relationships with dogs (27:09)
Giving a dog grace (31:26)
Avoiding getting overwhelmed (35:14)
Mental attitude adjustments (39:03)
Social pressures (45:40)
Resources:
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