Guest Blog – Not A Walk In The Park: Consistency Over Complacency

So back over the Pennines we go to see how Lola is shaping up. Now seven months old, not my favourite age for a dog, some bad habits are creeping in. As I get out of the car, I give Damian a list of what’s wrong with my dog. Of course I know what will happen next: Damian gives me a list of what’s wrong with my training.

It turns out I’m a social walker. I have a nice, friendly dog, she’s ok off lead and I have a well trained older dog who keeps an eye on her. Instead of every outing being a training session full of focus and consistency, it’s literally, a walk in the park. I chat to my friends and take calls. All the time I have one eye on Lola but that’s the trouble, one eye, not my whole focus. So of course, where is her whole focus? Not on me either.

The result of this complacency on my part is that her heel work is not good. Given any distraction, neither is her recall. I know I have mentioned this numerous times before but with a Pointer, recall is everything. They are ranging dogs and if they won’t come back, all you will ever see is them disappearing over the horizon.

So it’s back to heel work; Damian tells me the language of the lead is fed through the movement of the lead. In other words, move it like you mean it, leave your dog with no uncertainty as to your intention. Instead of having a nice walk in the park with her mates, Lola needs to be focused on me and what I decide is happening next. Only from this will our bond grow strong enough to have 100% recall and with my girl, I can’t accept anything less.

So I have my homework and another reminder of why it’s worth talking to a dog trainer who knows their breeds. As Damian commented, she’s a confident dog with a high prey drive. Complacency with her training is not going to get us anywhere.

Posted: February 4, 2019