Beautiful Basics

 

“Are we doing the basics?”

 

This was asked the above question twice in this afternoon’s classes, once in the Positively Dogs class and again in Puppy Class.

The Bottom Shelf

I’m not sure I like that term: The Basics. Or Foundation. Or any of their synonyms. I’m sure I’ve written on not liking them before, but for the life of me, can’t recall where.  I’ll make a note when I find out.

Basics. Makes me think of the shelf in the supermarket where the cheap beans live. Dull, boring, lacklustre.

Championship Football

What I should be remembering is my pony-riding lessons where I spent hours just getting the tension on the reins just right and the position of my legs and seat just right.  Gymnastics, I recall over and over working on getting my landing/finish position just right.  I think there’s examples from most every sport/skill, the drills we do to gain then maintain our skills at a high level.

Barre work in ballet
Scales on the piano
Ladder running in football

To the Penthouse – Let’s Go!

Bargain basement behaviour?  I’ll have none of it.  If he sits having been told a number of times to do so, and he thinks about it a little bit before he does it, if he sits slower than he’s capable of sitting. If he recalls in a wandering way, slowly, and even more slowly when he’s busy doing something when he’s called. If he pulls on lead, lunges out towards interesting sniffs at the pavement’s edge, appears to be pretty much unaware that there’s an actual living owner on the other end of the lead. No, none of it!

Fast
Confident
Clear
Efficient
Beautiful
Brilliant

Yes, walking before you run, but walking like you own the place.
 

Red Shoe

A Shoe that Owns the Place


 
Notes

Basic Beans

You’ve rumbled me, I buy basic beans.  But I don’t want my dog training to remind me of the low points of my grocery cupboard.
 


 
PUBLIC VERSION. Public versions of student questions are summmarised, mostly for confidentiality reasons.

 



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