In coaching softball, the mantra was, trust the process and the outcome will take care of itself. When coaching athletes, we know the mechanics of skills and along with video analysis we can almost guarantee success for the players as long as we have a plan for the skill acquisition. In coaching our puppy Rylee, we still need to trust the process. It may be different as far as the pathway but the concept is the same.
Trust The Process
When we work with our dog trainer, she gives us guidelines to use that will help us achieve the skills we want for Rylee. There may be a sequence to follow and different milestones as we reach our goal, but we need to work on the process. That means practicing with her as required depending on the complexity of the skill.
If we are just working on getting past squirrels on our walk, it is simple. Have her focus on us as we go past the distraction and give her treats as we move. This is conditioning her brain to desensitize from the object. If we continue to do this every time we pass a squirrel, she will eventually be able to simply carry on as if it wasn’t there.
A more complex or harder skill such as going to meet one of her puppy friends, requires us to plan the event and to break it down into steps depending on her ability to control her arousal. We work every day on her arousal using different activities. For example every morning we have her wait for her breakfast and then I play a wait and take game with her after that for treats.
We also work on her arousal in different activities but not necessarily specifically on arousal. By going through the processes and sticking with coaching her, there is a good chance she will be able to control her arousal in most situations. We can also know that when she is an adult in another year, she is going to be almost everything she wants to be. And of course everything we want her to be.
We need to trust the process and that if we keep going and coaching her with the skills that she needs. We also during this process need to enjoy her. We need to enjoy the process as much as we trust it. She is a great puppy who just wants to please. She is loving and playful as most young dogs are and we need to have fun with that.
We need to have fun and so does Rylee.