Finding Joy Amidst Frustration And Shame In Dog Training - DeCaff’s Story Part 2 #230
Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett
DogsThat
4.8 • 679 Ratings
🗓️ 1 September 2023
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Visit us at shapedbydog.com
In episode 229, I shared the story about finding joy with a “mighty dog” in my life, a Jack Russell Terrier mix named DeCaff. In Part 2, I admit a painful lesson around frustration, shame and struggle between two of my Terriers; as well as the last six lessons my agility champion taught me about conditioning positive emotional responses, arousal states in dog training, seeing behavior as communication, the canine gut-brain axis, and most importantly: forgiveness of self and others.
In this episode you’ll hear:
• DeCaff’s Story, Part Two: A painful admission about my world champion agility dog.
• Lesson 1: A dog shutting down during training is feedback to you.
• About DeCaff’s slow weave pole times.
• Lesson 2: A dog’s behavior is a critique of your training plan, skills and execution.
• How I used time outs in the past.
• About DeCaff’s aggression redirection.
• Lesson 3: Never sidestep the lesson the dog is trying to share with you.
• About my a-ha moment with the “Smack Da Baby” tug game.
• How I doubled my agility dog’s weave pole times with positive conditioning.
• Lesson 4: You can’t truly help a dog you’ve labelled or compared.
• How to acknowledge a dog’s limitations but focus on their joy and strengths.
• Lesson 5: Release guilt, shame and angst we have about our dogs.
• When DeCaff jumped my sick senior dog.
• My struggles training DeCaff after the death of my other dog, Twister.
• About forgiveness for mistakes made with your dog.
• Lesson 6: Focus on you and your dog’s improvements.
• About the lessons dogs bring to our lives.
• About the link between gut health, a dog’s reactive behavior and their neuroses.
Resources:
1. Podcast Episode 229: Transforming An Overwhelmed And Anxious Dog Into A World Champion - Decaff’s Story Part 1 - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/229/
2. Podcast Episode 36: Puppy Selection: How I Do It and Why I Didn’t This! Time - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/36/
3. Podcast Episode 205: The Hidden World Of Reinforcement For Dogs And Why You Need To Know - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/205/
4. Podcast Episode 177: Dog Training Outside The Box: Transfer Of Value Case Study - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/177/
5. Podcast Episode 86: How to Train Unmotivated or Overexcited Dogs - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/86/
6. Podcast Episode 189: All The Things That Influence Your Dog’s Behavior And What Behavior Tells You - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/189/
7. YouTube Playlist: Dog Body Language, Communication Signals, and How to Read Dogs with Susan Garrett - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLphRRSxcMHy2IwzRwAWcG0yK8oez1nPU0
8. Podcast Episode 157: Dog Body Language: Understanding Canine Communication Signals And Emotions - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/157/
9. Podcast Episode 5: What is Shaping And How Can Dogs Shape Us - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/5/
10. Podcast Episode 71: Pro Dog Trainer’s Secret to Help Your Naughty Dog - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/71/
11. Podcast Episode 34: Time Outs for Dogs: Does Your Dog Need One? - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/34/
12. Podcast Episode 64: Help! How Can I Tell My Dog He’s Wrong - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/64/
13. Podcast Episode 172: How To Teach Your Dog Anything With My Training Plan - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/172/
14. Podcast Episode 104: Naughty Dog Behaviors And How To Deal With Them - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/104/
15. YouTube Video: The Journey with Susan Garrett - https://youtu.be/JpgEi1n7yPc?si=b4mAJLD40it_TcWc
16. Podcast Episode 95: How Playing with Your Dog Like a Puppy Can Reduce Fear - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/95/
17. Podcast Episode 221: Mindshifting Dog Behavior Problems To Overcome Extreme Training Challenges - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/221/
18. Podcast Episode 8: Get Your Dog in the Belief Loop of Awesome - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/8/
19. Podcast Episode 159: Help! My Puppy Is A Bully And Plays Too Rough - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/159/
20. Podcast Episode 217: Understanding Emotional Regulation In Dogs To Create Calm - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/217/
21. *The Gap and the Gain: The High Achievers' Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy - https://geni.us/the-gap-the-gain
22. Podcast Episode 206: First Dog Agility Competition: Creating Joy For This! By Maximizing Reinforcement - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/206/
23. Podcast Episode 203: Reactive, Unmotivated and Fearful: Finding Resiliency For This! Beyond Dog Training Part 1 - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/203/
24. Podcast Episode 204: Dog Behavior And Diet: Recovery For This! Beyond Dog Training Part 2 - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/204/
25. Podcast Episode 208: Brilliance, Resilience And Gratitude: Inspiration And Motivation With Elliott Connie - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/208/
26. Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube - https://youtu.be/WENcO3tHxB0
*Amazon Links Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Susan only recommends products she uses herself, and all opinions expressed here are her own. The link above is an affiliate link that, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a small commission if you decide to buy from it. Thank you!
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In Shape by Dog, podcast episode number 229, I introduced you to a very, very important dog in my life, |
| 0:06.0 | actually a mighty dog, my now past Jack Russell, Terrier mixed, decaf, who came into my life |
| 0:13.0 | over 23 and a half years ago today. In today's episode, I'm going to share with you six more lessons |
| 0:20.3 | that I learned and a very, very important |
| 0:22.7 | reflection that I had looking back over my life with decaf. |
| 0:26.5 | Hi, I'm Susan Garrett. Welcome to Shape by Dog. In our last episode where I shared |
| 0:41.5 | decaf story with you, I talked about six super important lessons, lessons that I think about and |
| 0:48.0 | use, if not daily, at least weekly in my training with myself, with my own dogs, and with my student's dogs. |
| 0:55.1 | Lessons such as puppy selection, the importance of using arousal states to lower distraction |
| 1:01.0 | value or lower fears, importance of creating a positive environment and who gets to pick the |
| 1:06.7 | dog's best number one reinforcement. I also shared about the transfer of value and how you should |
| 1:13.8 | take a challenge out of the training, how super important that is for your dog. In today's |
| 1:18.8 | episode, I've got six brand new lessons equally as important. One very, very painful. |
| 1:23.8 | I had to rehearse how I was going to share this one with you because it's a biggie for me. |
| 1:27.7 | Now, the first lesson I'd like to share is a dog shutting down when you're training |
| 1:32.8 | them is feedback to you on your training. |
| 1:35.7 | And let me tell you the backstory on this. |
| 1:38.0 | Now, Decaf was brilliant at some behaviors in agility. |
| 1:40.7 | She could turn so tightly and her running contacts were not too difficult to |
| 1:46.3 | train to her. What was difficult is getting her to open her stride, particularly if it was a spread |
| 1:52.3 | jump upcoming or leaving out strides when there was big distances. And worst of all, the worst thing |
| 1:59.4 | for me was her weave pulls. |
... |
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