Two things to do when someone is ignoring you
There are times when I feel that Grace is ignoring me. (And I’m sure she does on occasion.) But mostly I think she just doesn’t always understand what I’m saying. What often looks to me as if she’s ignoring me is very likely a result of her not knowing what I’m saying. When she’s afraid […]
Can a person ever change?
“Can I person ever change?” That question was posed several times, stated in a number of various ways, during meetings I held with one of my clients last week. The majority of these 30 managers are seasoned and they all care a lot about their employees. They also take their role very seriously. They have […]
Oh chute, this is easy!
I was a presenter at a workshop yesterday discussing best practices for successful hiring of employees. Before we started, I was talking with one of the attendees, wanting to know if there was a particular thing that triggered her to come. She said that she was always interested in learning more about HR topics, adding […]
Learning anything complex takes time—don’t shortchange the process
One of the agility obstacles that Grace and I have not spent a lot of time with is the weave poles. When first learning this particular skill, the poles are “open” to create a channel that the dog walks through. Eventually, the goal is to have poles “closed” or set in a straight line so […]
Sometimes you really need to state the obvious—sometimes the obvious just isn’t that obvious Part 2
At last weekend’s “Show and Go” agility event, there were lots of obvious things going on as I described in Part 1. There were also things that weren’t so obvious to me. The whole point of this particular event is to expose the team (handler and dog) to a new environment. We were in a […]
Sometimes you really need to state the obvious—sometimes the obvious just isn’t that obvious Part 1
This weekend, I took Grace to an agility event called “Show and Go.” It’s a mock competition – designed as a way to introduce handlers and dogs to a competitive experience without being judged. We were in a new, outdoor area, with different equipment, surrounded by more people, lots of dogs. My goal was to […]
Are you ready for your next hurdle?
Grace is fast. Very fast. One of my challenges in working with her during agility is to keep up with her! My pictures never quite portrayed that sense of motion and so I asked a professional photographer, Annie Card, to join us in a recent class. I love the way Annie captured our movements; the […]
The nuances of communicating do matter
Grace was out of control. In a happy way. She bounded into the agility room on Friday and all bets were off for getting her attention. She wanted to greet the other two dogs. Say hello to her favorite trainer, Rachel. She jumped over the hurdles. Ran through the chute. Leapt over the A Frame. […]
How much focus do you need to get what you want?
Focus. No distractions. Having all your attention on something—it’s a good thing. Until you lose your focus. That’s what happened to me at agility last week. And I didn’t even realize it until a fellow classmate, Patricia, recognized it had happened to both of us. I loved our class last week. It turned out that […]
Learning takes time and can be scary, especially when you are supposed to know what you are doing!
When Grace and I entered our agility class last week, it immediately hit me that learning takes time, repetition, and patience. I was walking around the agility room in familiar territory, feeling good about that. Yet I was simultaneously starting to worry if Grace and I would do well – or would we falter? Would […]
