Principle Two: Observe & Assess (Dog + Handler)
Title: Principle Two: Observe & Assess (Dog + Handler)
Observe & Assess sounds simple.
It is simple.
It’s just not small.
Because you can apply it at the micro level (this rep, this moment, this response)… and you can apply it at the macro level (this week, this season, this whole rhythm you’ve built).
And it matters on both ends of the leash.
Micro is the obvious stuff:
What is the dog doing right now?
What am I doing right now?
What is the environment doing to both of us?
But macro is where people get blindsided.
Your dog doesn’t show up to training as a blank slate every day. Neither do you.
Maybe you’ve had three weeks of chaos. Maybe you just came off the holidays. Maybe you took a work trip and your dog’s rhythm got weird. Maybe the weather changed and you stopped moving as much. Maybe the dog hasn’t slept well. Maybe you haven’t slept well.
That compounding stress doesn’t announce itself. It just shows up as “why is everything harder than it should be right now?”
Principle Two is the reminder to zoom out before you zoom in.
Because if you misread the moment, you’ll push when you should simplify. You’ll add more complexity when you should be working on strengthening the foundations. And then you’ll end up trying to train through a problem that isn’t actually a training problem.
ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAY
Before your next session, do a 60-second macro check.
Answer these three questions with one sentence each:
Dog: What’s been their rhythm the last 7 days (sleep, exercise, routine, stimulation)?
Handler: What’s been my rhythm the last 7 days (stress, patience, time, consistency)?
Environment: What’s changed recently (travel, schedule, weather, new places, new people/dogs)?
Then make one adjustment on purpose:
- shorten the session
- lower the difficulty
- add distance
- increase the reward
- or just choose “easy wins” today
Observe & Assess isn’t just about what’s happening.
It’s about what’s been happening.
Chris
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