“The trainer we work with has told me that my belief or disbelief in my dog’s ability travels down the leash.” – unknown trainer (good advice.)

While the animals are eating at the feeder, I often need to leave the gate open briefly to haul water or hay or shovel some manure out of the way. I don’t bring Zinnia into the pasture for this, as she might distract or spook some sheep.

I ask her to sit and stay by the gate, first to keep any sheep from trying to run out – they are not afraid of her, but they won’t challenge her. The donkeys would never leave their hay until every scrap was gone.

To prepare Zinnia for this visualization, I had her stay for at least three minutes. If she can’t wait for three minutes, I don’t trust her to stay; three minutes is my minimum, five is better.

To visualize with a dog, you must first teach them to look you in the eyes. I do this by tossing, lifting a small biscuit to my forehead, and saying her name. I often say, “pay attention.” After a while, she checks my eyes, and when I say “pay attention,” she locks on.

I am still and clear my head.No no distractions, worries, or resentments.

If my head is not correct, I wait until it is. Then I visualize what it is I want her to do. Visualization is mostly about picturing what you want to happen. The dog is used to looking at me and reading my moods and emotions by now. That’s the foundation of this work.

I have almost absolute trust in my dog; they will respond to the degree I believe they will and trust them to.

It takes time, patience,  a clear head, and a strong will.

While I visualize, I look at Zinnia straight in the eye. I am thinking, “you will do this. You will sit and stay at this gate, and not go in, and block any sheep from doing out, just by sitting quietly.” (the sheep are very unlikely to walk away from their hay unless it’s Spring and there is fresh grass growing outside the gate.)

Since she has been trained to sit for three minutes, I know I will have the chance to praise her and reward her verbally or with a couple of pellets from her kibble when she holds her position. After a few tries, she did it automatically once I said “sit and stay,” or “stay,” or just held my hand up in the “stay” position.

I don’t even think about it anymore; it’s just automatic. It’s not as simple as imagining something; the relationship must be strong, the emotions evident,  and the training effective.

It’s not simple, but oddly enough, it isn’t that complex either. It’s sometimes so simple that many people can’t quite believe it.

A vital element of this is attitude, confidence, and trust on the person’s part.

When I visualize, I mean it; I want to convey to the dog my seriousness without speaking or yelling. It’s a dignity question for me. I won’t be blown off or brushed off.

If I’m not serious and don’t mean it – most people give dog commands without really telling it, I think – then it can’t happen. I see a lot of multiple-choice dogs – they decide which orders to obey and ignore the others.

Visualization is about projecting intent, and the more precise and more robust and determined the plan, the more successful the visualization will be.

I’ll be offering visualization pieces and examples as they come and explain what I am doing and why. I’m enjoying writing about this finally, and thanks for following along.