Evie Progress!
I’m sharing this mostly for myself, but I am proud of the hard work Evie and I have done over the last six weeks or so.
Evie stresses UP, which is a good thing, but it also means that she needs to learn how to channel that up stress and not let it explode her brain. She was disconnecting, zooming, visiting, and just checking out, because she didn’t know where to put the energy she was getting from a trial environment.
For the past several weeks I have only entered her in games classes, only did FEO, and often only did two or three obstacles and then got out of the ring, and we stayed for matches (even if it meant I didn’t get home until after 9 PM).
I am proud that I have been disciplined about not going for the Q but playing the long game, getting her the experience and training and mileage she needs.
I am grateful for the folks who were willing to be pretend ring crew in the classes we dropped into, and for Sue’s help and support as always!
It is ALWAYS worth putting in the effort. It is ALWAYS worth taking a step back and working your foundations. It is ALWAYS worth throwing a Q in order to give your dog the right experience (DON’T FIX ALL THE THINGS!).
Train the dog you want to have in a year. Be patient, but don’t be lazy. And VIDEO EVERYTHING, because seeing even small improvements can be the cookie YOU need to keep going,
It’s obviously a work in progress, but we are for sure several big steps along the right road!
I am so excited about what the future could hold for this little dog!
(Also she earned her very first title – Novice FAST!)