Jackie has truly blossomed these last six weeks, and I am so thankful for all I’ve learned with Jackie and from Jackie. Robin Barber, our coach at Cowtown Dog Sports, has gone above and beyond in her patience, and has helped me establish a great foundation from which to springboard into learning to play agility, and further obedience should we choose to do so, and I’m grateful.
Jackie and I have joined one another in our collective journeys seemingly at a seminal moment, and taking the time to reflect on how I am learning has been interesting and insightful. I am amazed by how much Jackie has taught me about both teaching and learning, and how by teaching the “same things” to different learners, the teacher begins to learn the subject matter in a new light. Sincerely having my dog’s best interest at heart, and with a different awareness of consent and choice on the part of the learner, has allowed me to evaluate my own teaching and learning manner.
Indeed I have previously educated rescue dogs, and other herding dogs and Border collies. Each new dog is a huge step in the learning ladder, and much of what I’m learning from Jackie is to listen to the dog and what she is communicating. From our coach Robin I’ve learned in a new way the idea that the dog has a choice; Jackie doesn’t have to do the behavior for which I’m cueing, if she chooses not to do the behavior nothing bad happens, she has that choice. When Jackie does choose to follow a cue and offer the behavior in which I’m interested, she quickly learns that all kinds of fun and other good things ensue. There is so much good information coming from Jackie about how fast or slow the process should go, and how we all are our own individuals and no one has to follow a script.
Jackie graduated from obedience class today at Cowtown Dog Sports! She received her certificate of completion and some cool swag- a Cowtown Dog Sports magnetic bumper sticker.
In class today we participated in “the Olympics” of dog obedience, where there were five rings on the floor and inside each ring we had to play an individual game we learned in class, such as “sit,” “down,” “stay,” recall, nose touch, and loose leash walking around a barrel.
We also learned about ideas for calm greetings and keeping all four paws on the floor when greeting people and playing.
Pearls:
- Grateful for a patient coach who believes in my dog, and truly has Jackie’s best interest at heart
- Jackie has learned so much, and taught me so much, these last six weeks of basic obedience class
- Consent and choice on the part of the learner, and taking time to reflect on how I both learn and teach has been insightful
- A career in obedience, Rally, or agility are all within the realm of possibility, and we are excited to continue the journey
Jackie wagging her tail as we celebrate graduation from basic obedience
