Set backs, Frustration & Goals.

[MyDogBitz]

Dog training isn't linear. You rarely move in a straight line from point A to point B. Be sure to remind yourself this as you go through it.

I've been working on building my dogs power and arousal with backtie work. My dog is a naturally excitable dog. He's always on the go and ready to get after it. Some of this is exuberant puppy energy and a lot of it is genetics. Anyway, in a short time I noticed this power is spilling over into unwanted situations.

We're in a casual obedience club. We meet on Thursdays. It's typical AKC style obedience for pet dogs. I'm only there as an avenue to work my dog in close proximity to other dogs. My dog is the only high drive working line dog in the group. My dog is not reactive and he's friendly with other dogs but this is a challenging environment for him. That's why we go. I want him to be challenged.

Last night I noticed that his arousal and behavior from the backtie work was bleeding over into his regular obedience work. He was struggling to relax between reps and he started to get pushy and demanding with me after verbal corrections.

Speaking honestly, I felt myself getting frustrated with him. He was really in rare form. But I took a breath and relaxed. After all, he wasn't being disobedient, he's only doing what I've been showing him to do. So I have to take a step back and teach him how to regulate his emotions from one moment to another.

Tonight we had a play session and I went in with a plan. I took progressively longer breaks in-between reps and I was very conscious to put the breaks on queue. "Enough" signals a break. "Ready" signals a start.

While we were playing I progressively worked him further into arousal and then stretched the duration of the breaks as well. I paid careful attention to my markers and timing. I set him up so I could use "NO" and I started to speed up his OUT as well.

This went really well. We'll work on it a bunch over the weekend and next week I'll introduce the concept into the backtie work.

If you guys are new, or largely self-taught like I am, don't get frustrated with your dog when things aren't going your way. Take a step back and think about what they're doing and why they're doing it. Take a break if you have to. Remember your goals and write them down if that helps you stick to them.

Most importantly, make sure you love up on your dog as much as possible, we're all they got.

 

[Malakai The Great]

Dog training isn't linear. You rarely move in a straight line from point A to point B. Be sure to remind yourself this as you go through it.

I've been working on building my dogs power and arousal with backtie work. My dog is a naturally excitable dog. He's always on the go and ready to get after it. Some of this is exuberant puppy energy and a lot of it is genetics. Anyway, in a short time I noticed this power is spilling over into unwanted situations.

We're in a casual obedience club. We meet on Thursdays. It's typical AKC style obedience for pet dogs. I'm only there as an avenue to work my dog in close proximity to other dogs. My dog is the only high drive working line dog in the group. My dog is not reactive and he's friendly with other dogs but this is a challenging environment for him. That's why we go. I want him to be challenged.

Last night I noticed that his arousal and behavior from the backtie work was bleeding over into his regular obedience work. He was struggling to relax between reps and he started to get pushy and demanding with me after verbal corrections.

Speaking honestly, I felt myself getting frustrated with him. He was really in rare form. But I took a breath and relaxed. After all, he wasn't being disobedient, he's only doing what I've been showing him to do. So I have to take a step back and teach him how to regulate his emotions from one moment to another.

Tonight we had a play session and I went in with a plan. I took progressively longer breaks in-between reps and I was very conscious to put the breaks on queue. "Enough" signals a break. "Ready" signals a start.

While we were playing I progressively worked him further into arousal and then stretched the duration of the breaks as well. I paid careful attention to my markers and timing. I set him up so I could use "NO" and I started to speed up his OUT as well.

This went really well. We'll work on it a bunch over the weekend and next week I'll introduce the concept into the backtie work.

If you guys are new, or largely self-taught like I am, don't get frustrated with your dog when things aren't going your way. Take a step back and think about what they're doing and why they're doing it. Take a break if you have to. Remember your goals and write them down if that helps you stick to them.

Most importantly, make sure you love up on your dog as much as possible, we're all they got.

This is such a grounded take. I really like how you caught yourself in that moment of frustration, that’s the part most handlers miss. It’s easy to correct what we see, but harder to step back and realize we created that state.

What you did here, using arousal management as part of the plan, that’s exactly how you turn chaos into control. Those small intentional breaks (Enough / Ready) are massive because they’re teaching neutrality without dulling drive.

When you introduce it back into the backtie work, it’s going to balance the equation beautifully. Controlled power > wild energy every time.

 

[MyDogBitz]

This is such a grounded take. I really like how you caught yourself in that moment of frustration, that’s the part most handlers miss. It’s easy to correct what we see, but harder to step back and realize we created that state.

What you did here, using arousal management as part of the plan, that’s exactly how you turn chaos into control. Those small intentional breaks (Enough / Ready) are massive because they’re teaching neutrality without dulling drive.

When you introduce it back into the backtie work, it’s going to balance the equation beautifully. Controlled power > wild energy every time.

Hopefully! That's the plan anyway. LOL.

 

[Kaia Murphy]

This was such a fun read, I learn so much from your posts! It’s cool how you break things down like that instead of just pushing through frustration. I never realized how much timing and breaks mattered until I started following along here.

Do you think backtie work is something beginners could try eventually, or is it more for experienced handlers? Also… I love that “enough” cue idea, might steal that for my future pup one day

 

[MyDogBitz]

This is such a grounded take. I really like how you caught yourself in that moment of frustration, that’s the part most handlers miss. It’s easy to correct what we see, but harder to step back and realize we created that state.

What you did here, using arousal management as part of the plan, that’s exactly how you turn chaos into control. Those small intentional breaks (Enough / Ready) are massive because they’re teaching neutrality without dulling drive.

When you introduce it back into the backtie work, it’s going to balance the equation beautifully. Controlled power > wild energy every time.

Hopefully! That's the plan anyway.

This was such a fun read, I learn so much from your posts! It’s cool how you break things down like that instead of just pushing through frustration. I never realized how much timing and breaks mattered until I started following along here.

Do you think backtie work is something beginners could try eventually, or is it more for experienced handlers? Also… I love that “enough” cue idea, might steal that for my future pup one day

It's not something I'd recommend for first time or novice dog owners. Not without guidance from more experienced trainers anyway. Also, ask yourself "What am I trying to achieve and what will my dog get out of it?" Before doing any type of training, especially something like drive building. It's not suitable for all dogs.

My dog's play drive is already pretty intense. You could lose a finger if he didn't no how to target, and this is before we did any backtie work. LOL.