Musings About First Dogs

I've been thinking a lot lately about the old adage "You always ruin your first *insert whatever here*." and how it applies to performance dogs. Certainly some performance sports are more forgiving of rookie mistakes but what of the ones where a green handler training a green dog can lead to permanent behaviors? I think we can all agree that some dogs are more forgiving of mistakes than others and the word "ruined" is very much subjective too. Do you define ruined as getting injured, no longer willing to try the work, or maybe ruined is a dog that does the job but without the natural flair it once had? 


I tend to be the type of person who likes to gather information and then take it and find my own way. I know this isn't every one's cup of tea and along this journey I am sure I have gotten my fair share of whispers and rolled eyes. I used to be bothered by these judgments but what I have learned since I got involved in performance is that not everyone that tries things on their own ends up being successful. It's no wonder the "old timers" shook their heads when I took my puppy and rented sheep time :). I will be honest, in the beginning it never even occurred to me that Diva and I would fail because I am a problem solver. If one way didn't work I was going to try another and another until it did. Of course now, with some mileage behind me, I can see just how much Diva played a role in this success. Had she had less drive or biddability things could have gone differently. Had she been less honest and more intense things could have gone very bad! I have been very fortunate to have her to learn with.


So have I ruined Diva? I personally don't think so. We may have gotten from point A to point B faster if she wasn't my first performance dog, but our journey isn't over yet. I used think that the things I did with Diva were for her education but, since I have had the opportunity to start another puppy on stock, I can clearly see that Diva has given me an equal amount of lessons. To be a "first" dog is a special thing!