My students and I recently discussed how important it is to watch your dog vs. figuring out where you need to be as a handler. I am not going to tell you not to watch your dog, but, to be more successful, you do need to move the watching of your dog to your peripheral vision. I usually wear contacts instead of eye glasses for big events just for this reason.

How can you learn to watch what your dog is doing and where you are going at the same time? Watch the path where you want your dog to go next! You are still aware of where your dog is, but you are moving your eyes to where you want them to be next and moving your body to handle the next move. It is kind of like tracing the path you want the dog to go with your eyes.

When I run my dogs, I am looking to where I need them to be next and moving on; I am not waiting. My dogs are pretty fast so I don’t have time to stand around, plus standing around is not so much fun (for dogs or people).

If your dog starts to go off course, instead of watching them with your eyes and calling them, run to where you were going next and have a big party! And then start over and try again.

If your dog misses an obstacle, keep going! It was probably your handling mistake anyway. Then, go back and try the whole thing over again, focusing on that one spot where the mistake occurred. But, this time, handle the path, not the individual obstacle!

This might not work for all of you; we are all different and so are our dogs. But think about it, try it, and see if it helps get you moving. This might be just the thing you need to take your handling to the next level!

We are all learning all the time.  Don’t forget to ask questions and try to figure out what works for you and your dog and your team. That’s why it’s a journey!