Just how does one go about attempting to change those “worst assumptions” that I wrote about previously? By becoming the best.

Because people often assume the worst because they’ve seen some pretty poor examples.

Best is relative of course. And not everyone has aspirations to become the best. That is perfectly fine. It’s great to get out there and have fun with your dog and dabble in your activities together. And, IMO, enjoying your activity together is about the highest goal you can have as a dog person.

But in order to challenge the assumptions that the “other side” makes about you, you need to do more. You need to be able to hold your own with solid competitors, you need to be excellent at your pursuits. You need to have an excellent relationship with your dog. In short, you need to have something about what you do with your dog and your performance together that makes others say “I want to be like that!”

Mediocre won’t cut it when you’re trying to change perspectives.

You need to study the masters – both that you agree with and that you don’t.

You need to pursue excellence.

You need to have some aspect of your training or performance that turns heads, that makes others stop and take note. Something about you need to stand out from the rest of the crowd.

You need to have a thorough understanding of learning theory, drives, and behavior and how they intersect and how to work with them.

You need to understand the tools that other people use and why.

You need to be able to have an intelligent conversation about all of the above and then let your success show others why you train the way you do.

You need to be kind. To yourself, to your dog, to others in the dog world.

If you do all that, there will still be naysayers. That’s okay, disagreement is part of life. But you will be confident in what you do, in the choices you make, in working with the dog in front of you. And your confidence, knowledge and success will influence others. As well as that dog in front of you.