#5 Effort Trumps Style

Highfives Insights #5: Effort beats style because, without effort, nothing can get going. 

It's important to always reward effort from ourselves and our dogs. Effort is the motivation to get the job done, to strive for success, to accomplish a goal. Without effort even style will suffer. Without effort, there isn't even a 'try'. 

Sometimes at first, effort will be the only thing keeping you moving. Your style and technique might be sloppy when you're learning new things but this is where the effort truly counts. For example, take a dog who is struggling with fear issues. Even if that dog is still acting fearful, she should be rewarded for the littlest sign of effort in controlling her impulses to flee. Yes, she might not be sitting pretty, or you may have had to use a leash to guide her and maybe things got a little messy. But in the end, the effort that is given and rewarded will bring more opportunities to practice. And perfect practice makes for perfect results. 

Another example of effort topping style is that there are some very effective training techniques out there but they won’t do you any good until you utilize those techniques consistently. And I would much rather see you putting effort into something you are comfortable with. If you don't put extra work into training or bonding with your dog every day, it really doesn't matter what methods you would want to use to achieve a great family pet... Your methods won't work because they aren't even being put to use! This is exactly along the lines of 'you miss 100% of the shots you don't take'. Its not about your technique, its about your effort!

Dog training isn't solely about using food, prong collars, long lines, or even energy. Dog training is training, which means you have to put the effort into teaching your dog what you want him to learn. The tools don't do it for you. A trainer can't even 'fix' your dog if there's not an effort to change made by you. 

So feel great about every effort you put into working with your dog and the effort he gives back to you! And if you don't give any effort, don't blame your dog or the style of training for lack of results.

No train no gain!

Jenna