We talk about taking pride in your dog training achievements – there’s no better feeling than your dog whipping round and charging back to you when you call and feeling the envy from other dog owners!
Why perfection is not an attainable idea.
Have you heard the saying “practice makes perfect”?
It’s a phrase that’s bandied about a lot. But it’s not true. Perfect is an unattainable ideal.
I’m enjoying the Olympics but I’ve been struck by the wonderful American gymnast, Simone Byles, and several others who are going public with their mental health struggles. I suspect some of this is due to the pressure they and their coaches put on themselves to strive for perfection.
If you always try for perfect you are a perfectionist. Trying to be perfect means you set yourself excessively high standards for yourself and/or others – and ‘almost perfect’ might then seem like a failure.
High standards are important, but if you’re aiming too close to perfect then you can get frustrated and angry with yourself if you don’t get there. You might be highly critical of yourself (and others) and hone in on mistakes and imperfections. You focus on the goal and dread ‘failure’. Then, if you don’t meet your own impossibly high standards, you beat yourself up and end up anxious and stressed.
Being a high achiever is more satisfying
Aim to be a high achiever instead, satisfied with doing a great job and taking pride in what you do achieve. High achievers enjoy the challenge and the journey and set high, challenging, but achievable goals.
That’s why I have a target for Gus’s recall that is a 95% success rate. It will never be 100% because that’s perfection and both he and I are sentiment beings. It’s the same target we suggest for our clients – that your dog comes back when you call first time, quickly, 19 times out of 20.
It’s a high target. It’s challenging to attain that in every situation. But it is also achievable.
Applying your standards to your dog’s recall training
If you want to become a dog owning high recall achiever then come along to our Recall Masterclass on Saturday 14thAugust where we focus on teaching you how to achieve a reliable recall.
You’ll learn the secret that underpins a great recall and receive a booklet (and other goodies) with the games to play that will produce recall reliability. This includes more advanced games to proof your recall against the many distractions that would otherwise sabotage your efforts. And you’ll learn our emergency methods for when the unexpected happens.
You’ll also learn the secret formula that tells you when you can confidently let your dog off lead and when you shouldn’t. We’ll encourage you to enjoy the journey as you help your dog understand what you want.
Take pride in your achievements – there’s no better feeling than your dog whipping round and charging back to you when you call and feeling the envy from other dog owners!
Come and join us and become a high achiever dog owner this summer.
Keep training and stay safe,
Carol
