Continue to learn

Today is another Dog Agility Blog Event Day - December 3, 2014; please visit all the blogs at: (http://dogagilityblogevents.wordpress.com/continuing-education/).  Also please leave comments, we all enjoy hearing what you have to say.

Continuing education is a process, is it better to try new things or is is better to stay with what you know?  With all the changes in agility, obedience and rally I feel it is necessary to continue to learn.  What you learn may not work with your team but it may give some different ideas or bits of what you learn may help to make you a better team.  If you don't continue to learn you can become stagnant, not able to handle the new course layouts and possibly continue to make the same mistakes you are making as you trial.

How do you continue to learn?  Take seminars, listen to your instructors, talk to people at trials, watch and listen to others and be open to new ideas.  Some things you may want to change others maybe not.  Don't try something one time and say it doesn't work for you; you and your team mate need a chance to learn it together to truly test it.  Don't continue to jump from one new idea to another it will end up being too confusing to both you and your dog.

As I progress in my agility career what I find most important to learn about are my dogs; why they do the things they do, what motivates them and how do I best communicate to them. All three of my Boxers are so different but also alike in many ways.  I made so many mistakes with my first agility dog and do not want to repeat those.  The best way to do that is to continue to learn, understand and be the best team mate on the other side of the leash.

Thanks for visiting and please remember to visit the other blogs, I am!!!!