Clean Run - December 2011 - 62

GET CONNECTED...AND STAY CONNECTED

BY SANDY ROGERS

In 2009 Twentieth Century Fox released an Oscar-winning fantasy ﬁlm called Avatar, which portrayed a utopian world (Pandora) inhabited by beings (the Na’vi) thought to be more evolved than humans in many ways. The humanoid creatures had long hair woven into a single thick braid (a neural queue). At the end of the braids were plugs to their internal power sources. There were also some ﬂying horse-like creatures (direhorses) living on this world and those were used for transportation. The humanoids would plug their braids into an antenna that was at the base of the direhorse’s mane before they climbed aboard. When the rider and mount were connected by antenna and braid they traveled at high speed. The catch was that the rider had to maintain constant intense mental focus on the task at hand or the connection with the animal was lost. When that happened the animal lost all power and the crash that ensued would not be a minor one since they were ﬂying miles above the ground.

Do You Have a Connection with Your Agility Dog?
This article is not going to be a recipe for a training session. It can’t be; I don’t know your dog. This article is about what a connection is. I wanted to write it because so many handlers don’t fully understand the concept. When you lose your connection with your dog you might not risk plummeting to your death as the humanoids did, but the path that disconnection puts you on can lead to serious frustration for the dog. It can be hard on the handler too. What I like best about the story in Avatar was that the responsibility for the connection between the rider and his mount was not put on the animal It was taken on by the rider 100% of the time. The well-being of the animal was at the mercy of the rider. Get it?
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Before we discuss the dog-handler connection, I would be negligent if I did not advise you to please have any unmotivated dog checked by your veterinarian. I think that some dogs just might not feel well and medical reasons can keep them from their full potential.

want to achieve the most is so often the most challenging to get. Seeking an awesome connection with your dog is both the most frustrating and the most rewarding training road you will travel. But, I can promise you will be a better trainer for it in the end. There are not many dogs out there that are never connected to their handlers. Their handlers know that their dogs are capable of being connected to them but the connection comes and goes. These people ride an emotional roller coaster and they believe they are at the mercy of their dogs’ moods. They do not take responsibility for the connection at all times. I learned early on in my dog training career that my dog’s attitude had to take a front seat to all other skills at all times. I also learned that a good attitude could be carefully cultivated.

Creating a Connection
We need to understand that if the dog does not bring his own drive and intensity to the job (I’m referring to genes), the handler will have to take on the job of manufacturing and maintaining the connection. It takes dedication and determination beyond what most people can imagine. It takes will power to connect and maintain that connection. You can want to reach a goal more than anything in the world but until you do what it takes you simply won’t be able to accomplish it. It seems like the goal we

Clean Run | December 11

Clean Run - December 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - December 2011