04/08/2025
Things your coach wants you to know:
1. This sport is hard. You don't get to bypass the hard…..every good competitor has gone through it. You make progress, then you don't, and then you make progress again. Your coach can coach you through it, but they cannot make it easy.
2. You're going to train dogs you don't want to train. If you're teachable, you will learn from every dog you train. Each dog can teach you if you let them. IF YOU LET THEM. Which leads me to…
3. You MUST be teachable to succeed in this sport. You must be teachable to succeed at anything, but that is another conversation. Being teachable often means going back to basics time and time and time again. If you find basics boring, then your not looking at them as an opportunity to learn. Which brings me to…..
4. This sport is a COMMITMENT. Read that, then read it again. Every sport is a commitment, but in this sport your teammate bites and speaks a different language. Good trainers don't get good by training every once in awhile….they improve because they make riding a priority and give themsevles opportunity to practice.
5. EVERY MOMENT SPENT WITH YOUR DOG IS AN OPPORTUNITY. Even the walk ones. Even the hard ones. Every. Single. Time. Remember when you just wished you could spend time with your dog? Find the happiness in just being able to hang with your dog. If you make every session about what your AREN'T doing, you take the fun out of the experience for yourself, your dog, and your coach. Just enjoy the process. Which brings me to...
6. Training should be fun. It is work. and work isn't always fun.....but if you are consistently choosing other activities or find yourself not looking forward to lessons, it's time to take a break. The dogs already know you don't want to be here, and you set yourself up for failure if you are already dreading the lesson before you get here.
7. You'll learn more about dogs from spending time with them than you ever will while training. That's why walks are important, too. If you're skipping walks, you're missing out on the most important parts of owning a dog. You spend far more time just being with your dog than training.
8. Ask questions and communicate. If you're wondering why your coach is having you do an exercise, ask them. Then listen to their answer and refer to #3 above.
9. We are human beings. We make decisions (some of them life and death ones) every day. We balance learning for students with workloads for dogs and carry the bulk of this business on our shoulders. A little courtesy goes a long way.
People who coach dog sports spend the better part of their free time and much of their disposable income trying to improve their own training and caring for the dogs they love. They love this sport and teaching others…..but they all have their limits. Not all good trainers are good coaches, but all good coaches will tell you that the process to get good is not an easy one.
*thank you to whoever wrote this! Not my words, and modified from a horse post but certainly a shared sentiment!
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