OneMind Dogs Coach Channie Elm Ørsted from Denmark has a student who wanted to share a story about her OneMind Dogs journey. This is the last part of a series of three blog posts.
Have you seen the first two instalments of Louise’s story? Follow her OneMind Dogs journey from the beginning by reading her first and second posts.
Another thing that works well for me is that Channie is not just rewarding my dogs, she is rewarding me! It is ME who is doing a good job, me who moves correctly, or who gives a perfect cue etc. If I do my job perfectly, so do my dogs. Not that my dogs don’t get rewarded (because Channie is super-fast at rewarding them with a toy), but the focus is on ME, the dogs already know what to do, it is me who needs work! I have two very different dogs; Ronja is much more flexible than Piil. Channie is one of the only people who has been very honest about Piil and her lack of jumping technique and Channie has been able to organize the training to fit Piil. Piil needs a lot more help getting around the course and she is not very forgiving if I make a mistake. Now when I am getting the right guidance for Piil I do not have the same problems with knocked bars etc.
If we did not have time to evaluate the training session right away, I am always sure that Channie will send me an evaluation by email later that day and possibly tell me what homework I need to do as well. That shows me a huge dedication and gives me the desire to continue. Channie is always attentive to my dogs and I at competitions. The second time I was running in A3 with Ronja, Channie was away in Norway for a competition, but she still found the time to send me a message, asking how things were going. She also evaluated my runs on video. Maybe she knew how nervous I was, but again it shows me the dedication, that makes me feel like my trainer is taking me seriously.
For the first time I am training agility by setting goals and focal points. I had several written assignments that I enjoyed doing. Channie has the insight in my needs and follow up and makes sure that I meet my own criteria. It is fantastic that a sport that is such a big part of my life is now ALLOWED to take up such a big part. I love writing my thoughts, goals and evaluations on paper. Before every competition, I write down my focal points, during the competition I write down a quick note on each run and after the competition I write an evaluation.
In the past 9 months, I have trained the OneMind Dogs method and, with Channie as an instructor, I have gone from having two dogs in A1 to having one dog (Ronja) in A3, even winning one jumping certificate, and one dog in A2, only two qualifying runs from A3. I can’t pinpoint exactly when I REALLY felt it, but all of a sudden, I could get through tricky courses. My dogs trusted me and I trusted them. I can do Reverse Spins, Germans Turns, wraps, Jaakko Turns, Flips and Flicks without thinking too much about it.
Both my dogs run with more speed and they are more independent now. My teamwork with my dogs has really grown and I enjoy the flow and our connection and the calmness I feel. When we train, we use a lot of time on course walking, looking at handling lines and different ways to solve the course. This was one of my focal points, and I really feel it made a big difference for me.
So yes, OneMind Dogs HAS changed me – in combination with a good trainer. I feel it is now ok to THINK agility – and I love it! You might think that with my success and my big development in the last 9 months, my goal would be the national team or the Danish Championships, but that is not the case. My goal for the next season is to continue the focus I have, the positive development and the good experiences with my dogs. I love feeling the flow and the connection when we are on the course together.
This is Louise in a competition after training with OneMind Dogs.
On the other hand, I am afraid that the whole thing will fall apart. No one can be on an upward going curve for eternity. I already talked about this with Channie and I feel like we can handle that situation, if it arises.
I still have lots to learn – which is great! It has been an exciting journey for me and I would hate for it to end already! Luckily, Channie is a coach that is developing herself all the time, so I am sure our cooperation will continue for a long time to come.
Louise
