Consistency

Consistency 

I have just been having a clean out at home and came across a card I was given years ago whilst sitting exams. The front of the card read ‘We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough – Helen Keller’  As with most things in life, this got me thinking dog!

There tends to be two types of attitude when people train dogs:

1.     * I will stick to this technique/method/exercise/system, perseverance will pay off

2.    *  This technique/method/exercise/system isn’t working, I’ll try another.

Something I remember Dave Munnings making very clear during my first lesson with Cody is ‘consistency is the most important ingredient for successful dog training’. It was a wake up call. I had always told my clients to be 100% consistent, but had I ever sat back and analysed my own consistency.  

The behavior of a human being is diverse, complex and confusing for another human to read. Imagine how hard it is for a dog to try and figure. Now imagine being a dog who is just getting to grips with what you may mean/want  …. Then, everything changes again!

Last weekends recall workshop was a great fun and all owners were amazed at how much there dog had improved in a two hour session. At the end of the session I asked the owners to set four aims in which they wish to complete within a month. Every owner mentioned consistency – BRILLIANT!

A little twist on Langman’s Shaskespear quotes - Some are born consistent, some achieve consistency and some have consistency thrust upon them!