We were lucky to catch up with Kristine Schwartz recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kristine, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Knowing that I’m helping people and their dogs keeps me going. Not all training sessions are good, some are very hard. Especially when dealing with fearful, aggressive dogs. I really have to watch for, and celebrate the tiny wins. It might be a quick tail wag, it might be that dog finally taking a treat from me, it might be that dog no longer barking or growling at me. That’s progress in my opinion. Then you have the dogs that just need a basic obedience tune up – seeing those clients succeed at down, recall, place or heeling makes my days a lot better! The mix of easy and tough clients is what keeps me going. Seeing them all succeed at some rate keeps me resilient.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My focus is obedience and behavioral modification in dog training. I got started in this because I was having issues with my own personal dog. Once he matured, he became aggressive towards people and dogs. He wasn’t an extreme case, but it was scary no less. He was unpredictable, lacking confidence and guidance. I needed to change that. To get him to a point where I didn’t have to constantly worry he may bite someone. To be able to take him in public places and he could just relax. To be able to trial with him and not worry he’d run out of the ring and attack another dog. It took time and patience, but it paid off.
On the behavioral modification side of training, this can take many months. I will usually see small wins in one or two sessions, but the big changes happen over time. Many behaviors are rooted in fear and you have to help the dog understand that the thing they are afraid of isn’t all that scary. I also have to make sure I stay safe, my clients and anyone else involved stays safe. Many fearful dogs are bite risks, so rules are put in place for everyone’s safety. Building confidence in dogs like this is key!
The majority of my clients however, are in need of basic dog training. Things like sit, down, come, leash walking, not jumping or biting. It’s wonderful being able to bring a new perspective in when they are struggling. Watching things click for dogs and their owners is the best part of the job!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The ability to adapt. While dogs are very similar in general, they all are a little different. What works for 10 dogs in a row, might not work for the 11th and you have to take a different approach. Not getting hung up on one training style or method is key.
Being empathetic to people’s situations is also very important. People’s life situations really make a difference on the level of training they are able to do. Sometimes people can make big changes, but in reality, people have families, busy schedules, and physical limitations.
Patience. There’s no rushing dog training. There’s no skipping steps. Each dog learns at it’s own pace. If you try and go too fast, you’ll end up having to start over and fix things or you’ll struggle to reach your end goal.
Just like above, patience. Patience with the dogs, patience with your clients. If you try to rush or add too much, you will just have frustrated dogs and clients that will give up. Go slow, make sure everyone understands and the results will be that much better!
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I would love to work with dog owners and trainers that are interested in doing dog sports such as rally, obedience, nosework and shed hunting. It would be great to have a group that meets once a month or so just to have fun and run through a course. Anyone interested can contact me at [email protected].
Contact Info:
- Website: https://northernskydogtraining.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zdxdogtraining/
Image Credits
Rebecca Duran Photography
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