AG205: Creating Confident Commitment

Factors Affecting Commitment 

There are some important factors that I feel really affect commitment and are the best place for  us to focus our attention on to help us create that confident commitment we are after. One of  the biggest factors in lack of commitment is a lack of confidence: our dogs just aren’t clear on  what it is we are after. In this class we are going to use clarity, consistency and connection to  help us build understanding and confidence. These are pieces that you play a HUGE part in! I  am a big believer in splitting behaviours, and not just for your dog, but for you too! So, many  of the concepts that we dive into will start with human only exercises so that you can practice  and grow your skills, and then we will layer our dogs into the picture. 

Now let’s dive into the concepts of clarity, consistency and connection! 

Lack of clarity leaves our dogs unsure and can really erode our dog’s confidence in us. We  want to be clear in our reward strategies, our reward mechanics, our cue combinations, and  our timing. There are many places we can look to increase our clarity, but two big things we  can do to help us be more clear is to plan ahead and to work through exercises without our  dogs. Planning ahead allows us to develop a clear mental picture of what we are aiming to  achieve, making execution easier. Our dogs add a great deal of pressure to the situation, so  taking the dog out of the picture helps us really focus in on what we are doing as handlers. We  can slow things down and focus in on each piece of the puzzle to increase our fluency and  thus increase the clarity of the picture for our dogs. Ask yourself are my pictures clear to me?  Do I know exactly what reward strategies are available to me and what reward strategies work  best for my team? Do I know how to clearly execute those reward strategies with clean reward  mechanics? Am I clear on what my cue combinations are and how each handling element  plays into the picture? Am I clear on when things need to happen, when I am rewarding, and  what is the timing of my cues? If you are not clear on any of these pieces it is likely that the  picture your dog sees is also unclear.  

Consistency relates directly to clarity. I think we often lack consistency when we are not clear  on what we are doing. Some of our exercises are going to help us be really clear on what it is  we are responsible for and what we can do so that we can be more consistent with our  execution. If we can do the thing the same way every time, then that consistency helps us to  create more clarity. It makes it easier for our dogs to follow along because they are masters of  recognizing small things! When we are really consistent our dogs recognize small pieces of the  picture and can confidently predict what the next thing is. We want to look at increasing  consistency in our reward strategies, our reward mechanics, our cue combinations, and our  timing. Again, the key factor here is increasing our consistency, so you probably guessed it: more exercises for the human end of the leash. And then we build in the dog. Ask yourself, are  you consistent? Do you use your reward strategies clearly and consistently in the same  manner? Are the mechanics associated with your reward strategy consistent? Are your cue  combinations within your handling consistent? Is your timing consistent?  

Connection is a biggie and again it relates to clarity and consistency. When we are clear on  what we need to do, and can consistently execute again and again, it is easier to stay  connected and in the moment. When we lack clarity and fluency it is easy to become  disconnected - we are thinking about other things and not staying in the moment. And that  lack of connection can really interfere with commitment. Many of you have heard the phrase  Connect-Commit-Cue. Our dogs are always seeking our connection. Most dogs will not commit until they connect. Think about how many times you have seen a dog land an obstacle  and move straight towards the handler, those dogs are seeking connection. And often times  we are focused forward on the “next” thing. Instead if we focus on that sequence of connect commit-cue, we connect on the landing or end of the obstacle, our connection allows our dogs  to maintain their path rather than coming in toward us. To be clear, connection isn’t staring  deeply into your dog’s eyes. For the purpose of connection between obstacles, the dog simply  needs to see the side profile of your face. And, each individual dog may require a different  amount of connection. I find younger dogs, and dogs lacking confidence, sometimes require a  bit more connection so I work with the team in front of me to find that balance. Connection  supports dogs and teaches them to stay on their line and find the next obstacle faster. Ask  yourself, do I always know where my dog is on course? Do I stay mentally present with my  dog? Some handling techniques and equipment do not allow us to remain connected, so do I  know where the important reconnection spots are? Do I focus on connecting as my dog is  competing an obstacle?  

If you answered no to any of the above questions, don’t worry, we are going to break this all  down and work through it together! If you answered yes many of the questions above, you are  well on your way to connection so we will be making some tweaks to what you’re doing along  the way!