Helping your fellow competitor

I have pondered this topic for several years now.  Should we or should we not share how we train something in agility (for money or free).  Or even give advice (when asked) on what went wrong and how to fix it.

I guess my opinions have become very clear to me on this one.  Yes, we should help our fellow competitor!

In helping our fellow competitor I believe that we are increasing the body of knowledge in our sport and advancing the sport, we are helping to raise the competitive level of everyone, I an learning more about the topic myself, and we are paying forward for our own time in need.

Why should we add to the body of knowledge.  Just look at the history of agility.  When I started with Tip 8 years ago my first day of instruction with her was running an AKC Excellent course with the dog on leash.  If people had not shared how to train new dog we would still be doing that.  I believe our training methods are better and easier on the dog and human today.  Not to mention, more fun!

Why should we raise the level of competitiveness around us?  Personally and selfishly speaking it helps me be a better competitor.  I want there to be a ton of competition around me, I want competition to challenge me to improve, I want the bar HIGH!  I want to watch great agility all the time.  I want to be wowed by improvement and performance.  I can only achieve these things if I agree to help lift those in need up!

Success

I think the concept of learning more when you have to teach it is not new.  I have a burning desire to always learn my topic better.  By helping others I help myself.

Paying forward in my mind speaks for itself.  If we are all helpful and giving to our community, doesn't that make a much better community?

Now the caveat!  I want to help, really I do.  But I have found that those who ask casually for help are not the best people to help sometimes.  Not because they aren't in need, but because they are not ready to receive.  I think that people have to be hungry for the help and knowledge.  They have to have that burning desire to improve, not just the weekend wish to improve.  You have to be willing to take risks, put yourself out there, and open your mind to new concepts even if they don't make complete sense at the time.

So pay it forward, share the skills you are good at, and open your mind to strengthen your weaknesses!

Develop Success From Failures

 I had dinner with a friend tonight and admitted that I don't even watch the agility runs posted on FaceBook anymore.  There are some that I watch, but it is getting more uncommon for me to watch.

On the way home I began to think about that confession.  I realized, it is not as interesting to me to watch a "perfect" run as it is for someone to post a run with a mistake (dog or handler) or what they learned in their run.  I like things that really make me think.  I like things that help me learn.  Watching perfection sometimes is really awesome, but run after run for me, tends to get boring.  People don't comment on why it was perfect or what was perfect, only that it was perfect or a Q.

Now, it will catch my interest if there is a ton of handling moves that I don't recognize or sequences in a course that are evil and tough.  But the average run, not so much.

I know, it takes guts to make our mistakes public.  But only because not every sees it as a step toward success.  Failure is thought to be a bad word.

I have a quote on my desk, "If you let your fear of consequence prevent you from following your deepest instinct, then you life will be safe, expedient, and thin" Katharine Butler Hathaway.

I don't want a safe and thin life, I want to be as good as I can be.  Which, for me, means taking chances.  It is a chance to learn, a chance to improve, or a chance to trust my training.

My take way from this.  I need to post more "imperfect" runs on my blog (I don't post runs on FB too much--lots of reasons).  Examine what I did well in that run and what I learned.  Why?  Because when I write about that, I am forced to examine the run, to analyze the handling and the dog, and draw conclusions that I can learn from.   Posting one of my perfect runs does not cause me to learn.  I feel proud and that shouldn't be underrated, but that isn't what keeps me coming back to the start line for another try.  It is what I learn that keeps me coming back.  Because I need to apply what I have learned the next time.

Develop success from failures.  Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.  Dale Carnegie  

It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure  Bill Gates

Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence. Colin Powell

If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed.  I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward. Thomas Edison

Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.
George Bernard Shaw
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/mistakes.html#tqRElXmZLfPH1MwS.99

Just Because!

Sometimes I have to step back and be a proud mama of my dogs.  I am not proud because they just won some huge national competition, I am proud because they have done something that was hard for them or overcome some obstacle that has been in our way.
I went to drop-in last night with Split and Tangle.  Both of the dogs did really great and it was nice to sit back and just love being their mom!

If you have read about Split on my blog then you probably know that he is a very driven, focused, yet an issue filled boy.  Sometimes life is a little too much for him and he develops a fear to something.  Sometimes I have no idea why that fear developed.


Lately Split and I have been working through his teeter issues.  He decided that he would be afraid of some (not all) teeters and would refuse to get on them.  Also, he is "Border Collie" stuck when it comes to downing on the table.  He just can NOT lie down quickly on the table and I have yet to work through that with him.  But, I love this dog and he has taught me so much about training!  He is my hero!


Split's run last night at drop-in was amazing for him.  Lately he has been taking 15 extra obstacles (can't keep his head), running (quiet nicely) his 2o2o dog walk contact and running around the teeter.  I was really happy with how he kept his head in this run, took the teeter willingly (twice), and downed fairly well on the table.  These are all things that we have been working on and making some progress.







Tangle did well last night too!  I am super proud of him and how he is transitioning from a baby dog to a confident dog. There are things on this course that would have been very challenging for him 2 months ago. He is picking up speed and breezing right through them.  His stand on the table made me laugh. His trained behavior is an automatic down, which until last night had never been questioned. A green dog has to try it all on and see what sticks, don't they?