Clean Run Magazine - April 2009 - 71

relationship and motivation Jenny’s Guide to SucceSSfulTeAMWork By Jenny Damm, photos by Mette Björne In thIs fIrst artIcle In a serIes of sIx, I wIll descrIbe how I thInk about dog traInIng, my way of workIng wIth my dogs, and how I buIld the foundatIon for my traInIng. let me start with the one thing that matters most: love. I love my dogs and it’s extremely important to me that they understand they’re valued and loved. love will always get you far, and dog training is no exception! there are other important components for a relationship to be successful, but the foundation is love. I often just hang out with my dogs; before each run I tell them they’re the world’s greatest and they will remain so whatever happens—they deserve to hear that. I have a basic concept when it comes to dog training, but often you need to sidetrack from the basic concept to reach your goal. When things don’t go the way you plan, you need to get creative and find alternatives to your normal paths. My training revolves around trying to understand the dog and April 09 | Clean Run getting the dog to understand me. My job is to create the will to learn and to make sure the dog understands my direction. Dog training is built on knowledge, but I also believe it takes a certain feeling for dogs and people (and their behavior), a strong will, and curiosity. Dog training must never become stagnant. If you are an instructor, you need to realize you are training a team of both dog and handler; you need to consider the handler and dog as separate individuals and also the team as a whole. This is where the feeling comes in. are important, too, but the relationship in itself is, without doubt, the most essential part. First, you need time; I want to hang out with my dog in many different situations so I can get to know him. I want my dog to get the chance to develop his own special personality, both in and out of training. At the same time, I try to influence him in my way to create a certain type of character and to provide him with the prerequisites I build my training on. reward and correction: finding the balance The most important thing for developing a positive relationship is rewarding your dog. Rewarding and confirming what’s correct is the most efficient way to teach your dog anything and also strengthens your relationship. Through your rewards, you can hone details and reinforce behaviors. I will talk more about rewarding when I discuss play. But to get a dog that’s self-confident in any environment, I also make sure to let strengthen your relationship You can train a dog that you have no actual relationship with, but if you want to go far, your relationship with your dog is one of the most important parts to consider when reaching for success. So the relationship is what I begin with in training. My everyday life with my dogs is most important to me. Training and competing and good results

Clean Run Magazine - April 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - April 2009