Getting schooled
I like the Aussie version of "schooled," penichops is this correct or an American misinterpretation?
8. Australian A group of people gathered together for gambling.
Bringing Kona to the startline always feels like a complete gamble at this point, not sure if that feeling will ever go away. I knew early on that life with Kona would be a perpetual education, and that both of us would be schooling each other for a lifetime. Every moment entertaining but also not without challenges. While Lucy was raised with a foundation of operant conditioning and constantly offering behaviors, her underlying mantra is "aim to please." Kona's underlying mantra is more like "I'm going to experiment because it's super fun, faster the better, and see whether or not I can get you to alter YOUR behavior." She's definitely turned me into a better trainer and handler and what a wild ride it's been. I can't believe that she started competing a year ago. Since we skipped the cute cautious young dog phase in the trial ring and went straight to "I'm going to go as fast as possible," I didn't think that she would have any noticeable speed change as the year went on. Most of my dogs have kicked into another gear in their second year of trailing and I'm hoping that Kona won't find another gear, I don't think it's really possible but she is a special dog. Found another theme song for her:
Tori's seminar was terrific. It's pretty easy to predict that anyone who can achieve the pinnacle of our sport, making a world team, has a lot of knowledge to share, but some are more generous with sharing that knowledge than others. I'm grateful that we were able to get some great feedback and learn new skills. It took two days before Kona shifted into her usual training mode, but none of the problems that we had were too surprising. I gave us a long time to work towards becoming a functional unit and we're slowly getting there.
This year is flying by. Fortunately July 4th is no big deal for the dogs, particularly now that Gus is deaf. He used to pant and drool when the fireworks started but now he sleeps through everything. Happy July 4th!
8. Australian A group of people gathered together for gambling.
Bringing Kona to the startline always feels like a complete gamble at this point, not sure if that feeling will ever go away. I knew early on that life with Kona would be a perpetual education, and that both of us would be schooling each other for a lifetime. Every moment entertaining but also not without challenges. While Lucy was raised with a foundation of operant conditioning and constantly offering behaviors, her underlying mantra is "aim to please." Kona's underlying mantra is more like "I'm going to experiment because it's super fun, faster the better, and see whether or not I can get you to alter YOUR behavior." She's definitely turned me into a better trainer and handler and what a wild ride it's been. I can't believe that she started competing a year ago. Since we skipped the cute cautious young dog phase in the trial ring and went straight to "I'm going to go as fast as possible," I didn't think that she would have any noticeable speed change as the year went on. Most of my dogs have kicked into another gear in their second year of trailing and I'm hoping that Kona won't find another gear, I don't think it's really possible but she is a special dog. Found another theme song for her:
Click to viewTori's seminar was terrific. It's pretty easy to predict that anyone who can achieve the pinnacle of our sport, making a world team, has a lot of knowledge to share, but some are more generous with sharing that knowledge than others. I'm grateful that we were able to get some great feedback and learn new skills. It took two days before Kona shifted into her usual training mode, but none of the problems that we had were too surprising. I gave us a long time to work towards becoming a functional unit and we're slowly getting there.
This year is flying by. Fortunately July 4th is no big deal for the dogs, particularly now that Gus is deaf. He used to pant and drool when the fireworks started but now he sleeps through everything. Happy July 4th!