We all make mistakes...

After a stressful few days I noticed that my dog was not taking notice of me as usual, it was like he was saying your not fit to lead so I will make my own decisions, it may not be that but one thing I believe for certain is that the tension in the 'air' was affecting him regardless of the reason behind it.

I have learnt that when helping with dogs you can't be afraid to make mistakes, if you let yourself get embarrassed / tense / frustrated when something goes wrong you can't help the dog as they will pick up on that, thats easier said than done when you have convinced somebody that you have enough knowledge and skill to help with their dog, so I tend to make a joke of the mistake in an attempt to diffuse any embarrassment / tension / frustration, take a deep breath etc to regain calmness....

Also I prefer to be open and honest regarding any errors, at least to myself.

So I went on a very long run / walk to oust any stress or toxins in my body from the last few days and gave myself a good talking to, to get myself balanced again so that my dog will see me as someone worthy of following once more.....

When your out of balance you can't expect your dog to be balanced either...

Totally agree, i find far too often people are afraid to admit they have made mistakes with a dog or are scared to admit their dog is less than perfect.

I've rescued two dogs and their training is an ongoing thing.
Where we are now is a long way from where i started with them but i have made many mistakes on the journey and will no doubt make some more, although i hope being a member of dog forums will assist me in keeping those mistakes to a minimum.

Its inevitably that we will make mistakes with dogs, no matter how much we learn to understand them, we are not dogs and no matter how much we try and think like a dog to see things from their view point we will never be as good at it is as them.

I tend to view using dog behaviour knowledge is it a bit like driving a car, when your a novice you have to think what your hands and feet are doing in order to change gear, slow down, use the clutch etc, when you gain more knowledge and with some practice in the end it all becomes instinctual and you don't have to give much thought to what you are doing, you just do it on instinct, unless for some reason you lose your confidence / fear of failure and the process starts again until you get your confidence back.