Mean what you say!
I think I need to put those words on a tee shirt...my version of a tattoo.
The other day I was contemplating how each of my dogs handle different. I need to be aware that Sally can be tight...and regularly I have to give some sort of "clean-up" command. If I run Nell with "clean-up" commands...she gets wide because her natural self is pretty clean. I was working her with a friend and I actually hit myself in the head when I gave an un-needed "clean-up" command and she took it. "Say what you mean...if you need a come bye..say come bye. If you need a come out...then by all means say come out." It would be good to listen to myself and apply what myself is saying!
Then there is the "mean what you say" portion of the cliche. How many times have I said something that I did not mean, or had no meaning at all...to only have my dog not listen or attempt to do something different. I'm trying to loose all that nonsensical verbal that slips out of my mouth when training dogs and trialing. My goal would be to stick with words that I have put meaning to and then make sure I get what I asked for.
Say what you mean....mean what you say....all very calmly of course!
In other news...I am soooo freaking excited! I got into LaCamas for Open! Happy Dance.....happy dance! The only sad thing is...it was a friend's pull due to a very busy life that got me in...it just won't be the same without her. It is funny, I was thinking back to a conversation I had with a really nice semi-local open handler five years back when I first started trialing. She told me that over the years....some of your best friends will come from the sheepdog world. How fortunate and blessed I am to have this come to fruition in my life!
Seize the day!
Oh so true! If we watch our dogs closely, they will reveal what comes out of our mouths and "how" it comes out!!! Such a good lesson. And yes, I've only been trialing a year, but I love the people I trial with. Salt of the earth I call them.
ReplyDeleteBlessings
So glad you are coming to Lacamas.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, saying what you mean and meaning what you say is critical. You read my mind, I have a blog half done on this very topic!! Now I'll just look like a copy cat ;)
I tell my students this all the time. On week 1 when they arrive without a dog for the hour long talk, I tell them it is the most difficult thing I will ever ask of them. I believe it.
Thanks for being my friend :)