ThDogs

“The people we surround ourselves with either raise or lower our standards. They either help us to become the best version of ourselves or encourage us to become lesser versions of ourselves. We become like our friends. No man becomes great on his own. No woman becomes great on her own. The people around them help to make them great.

We all need people in our lives who raise our standards, remind us of our essential purpose, and challenge us to become the best version of ourselves.”
― Matthew Kelly, The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day with Passion and Purpose

“So, if you are in a country whose traditional training methods involve training like this, you will need to question and think carefully about the methods you may encounter at your local training organisations or chapters — or sessions
with 'pros'. You may already have decided not to go along with the punitive methods which occur when the dog is force-fetched or broke, maybe leaving the classes at that point. But you might not have realised that you also need question the approach which precedes this — allowing the young dog to chase game, to run far and wide and-out of contact with you, to become ever more independent. Keep in mind that all those other dogs you see around you at training seminars, will be broke at some point and forced to comply with their handlers. Yours will not be. Your ability to retain control over your dog will rely on natural biddability; desire to please, engagement, gradually increased distractions', successful prevention, the strength of your relationship, and a history of positive reinforcement.

Make your training choices with this awareness in mind. Because you may need to make very different choices to a traditional handler from the start — even before the use of aversives has entered the picture — and perhaps to model your training more on the approach which is taken in countries where e-collars are not routinely used.”
― Jo Laurens, Force-Free Gundog Training: The Fundamentals for Success

“Many dogs with separation anxiety won’t eat when left alone — a phenomenon commonly referred to as “alone-time anorexia” — although that’s not what I’m most concerned about here. Even some separation anxiety dogs learn to love their interactive feeding toy, and the anticipation of getting it when left alone can be of value by easing the transition. Many separation anxiety dogs, however, quickly recognize the toy as just another cue for a scary absence and learn to dislike the appearance of the food item. For these dogs, one might call it “discomfort” food.”
― Malena Demartini-Price

“In gundog heelwork, you won't score points for any trotting or fanciness. In fact, People would probably laugh! Meanwhile, gundogs — especially retrievers — must maintain heel position not for minutes, but for hours. Often all day.

Gundog heelwork is comparatively low energy. (Because we want the dog to conserve energy for hunting and retrieving.) And the concept of bursting-with-energy heelwork would be a bit risky to most gundog trainers: It hints at a lack of It hints at a lack of steadiness — a heinous crime. Instead, gundog trainers would rather see a lot of self-restraint at heel.”
― Jo Laurens, Force-Free Gundog Training: The Fundamentals for Success