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Do you spend enough time “hanging out” with your dog?
We love agility. So do our dogs. Our passion is what drives us to train harder, be better, reach higher.
Outside agility, countless other dogs and their human partners are just as ardent about their chosen field of sport or work.
But in our attempt to achieve the perfect sporting or working partnership, are we in danger of neglecting a relationship with our dogs that is just as valuable?
Doing nothing…but doing it together
Do we spend enough time just hanging out with our dogs? No training or competing, no commands or discipline – just having fun, being goofy, being cuddly or just doing nothing at all…but doing it together?
Being “off-duty” doesn’t come easily for some. That ingrained habit of always needing to be doing something constructive towards your goals is hard to kick. But as many seasoned dog agility competitors and trainers will tell you, it can lead to burn-out.
You can’t train your way out of burn-out
Sarah Stremming is a highly regarded American dog trainer and agility competitor, passionate about positive training techniques. Sarah has written about clients who, despite the best intentions, are doing too much with their dogs. Problems start to creep into their dogs’ performance.
“These are the clients who are always doing more, in the hopes that the more they practice or train the better their dogs’ problems will get. The unfortunate thing is that the opposite is usually true,” Sarah writes.
“Besides the risk of physical injury, burn-out is hugely common in these dogs. Burn-out often comes across as lacklustre performances, missed criteria on course, or ring stress.”
Sarah continues with some wise words: “If you have lost connection with your dog on course, trust me, the answer lies not in the 108th repetition of the dogwalk–it lies in doing less and being more.”
The importance of just “being” with your dog
Canadian agility competitor Kayl McCann is another great advocate of spending quality time with your dog. Kayl and her wonderful dog, Funkee Monkee, are Agility World Champions and seasoned veterans of competitions all over the world. Yet Kayl is a firm believer of reaffirming the close bonds she has with her dogs by putting training aside occasionally.
In her blog, she says, “Somewhere along the road I've learned the importance of just "being" with my dogs, which I believe, allows me to have that extra special connection with each one of them. This improves my relationship with my dogs in all aspects of our life together - not just agility.”
How to bond with your dog
It’s best not to think about this too much – plan your quality time too minutely and you’ll end up sucking out all the joy and spontaneity! But here are some of the favourite things we do to strengthen our bonds with our dogs.
Do nothing!
Kick back on the sofa, sit under a tree, cuddle up in bed – wherever you do it, just do nothing! But do it together. Our dogs just love spending time with us with no demands.
Pampering
Get out his favourite brush; the one that makes him squirm with pleasure, or the one that makes his eyes slowly droop as he relaxes, or the one that makes him butt your hand with his nose when you stop. You know the one. Groom him and pamper him – just let him know he’s number one sometimes.
Playtime
Don’t know about you, but it seems like our dogs have more toys than our children sometimes! There’s a staggering array to choose from: throwing toys and tug toys, squeaky things, flying things and sticks. Set some time aside to have fun together – no training allowed! If he doesn’t want to fetch the ball after you’ve thrown in, so what?
Another great way to have fun is a bit of rough and tumble, with some good old-fashioned tickling thrown in for good measure. Nothing can beat romping around on the floor together and nothing else can reinforce the bond of trust you have not to hurt each other. Just be careful not to let your dog get too excited in these sessions.
Food treats
For working and competition dogs, treats are often an integral part of a training regime. As trainers, we can get stuck in the habit of only using treats as a reward for learned behaviour. Occasionally, give your dog a treat just because you love him, not because he’s earned it.
Time away from the ring
Get your trail shoes on, abandon the training schedule for an afternoon and get out into the Big Wide Open, just you and your dog. Go somewhere neither of you has been before; somewhere he can roll in mud and sniff out fresh rabbit trails, and you can enjoy new scenery.
When your champion retires, what will you have left?
Your dog’s career won’t last forever. Even champions retire eventually. Make sure you have the kind of relationship with your dog that you can both cherish long after he leaves the show ring and into his twilight years.
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