I was thinking about this as I was trying to fall asleep last night so I am trying to recreate the feeling today. I was remembering Bob Vest work the puppies. He was silent(never said a word nada nothing) and the people watching were practically holding their breath because it was so awe inspiring. No extra movements on Bob's part and no fast or jerky movements. Everything was slow or barely moving. The pups got slow and calm and thoughtful. If they were in the wrong place Bob either stepped into them or moved aside or just lifted his stick. It was so minute sometimes that you could easily have missed it. He was working my young pup once and the pup was pushing a little so Bob bided his time till he could get the correction he wanted. I was right there and I heard the correction but it happened so quickly that I am still not sure where he bopped him. Still nothing was said and the dog continued to work but a little more thoughtfully.
So here is the AHA .... And it's not like I haven't thought of it or heard it before but last night it became crystal clear. STOP MAKING SOUNDS! All it does is take the dogs attention off of the job at hand when all the dog wants to do is to keep working. No more aghhh or yelling or Hey or any of that at least with my young dog. Keep the personal stuff out of the dog training. It's not personal and you make it personal when you interject your emotional noise.
I still don't feel that I have said what I felt last night, but I am trying to get this across to a student who wants to praise her highly driven BC all the time. He doesn't need it and he doesn't want it and it interferes with his working ability , but she seems to need it. We all often need tape on our mouths. The dogs would all be better off.
I need to learn this with Pepper. She is very sound reactive- as in loud or hard sounds make her hyped up and more likely to dive into the sheep. I have to keep it calm and necessary commands quiet.
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