@Lauren Edwards thanks 🙏

@Livvy Brewer thanks 🙏🙌😁

Great question . I love it as I pay so much more emphasis on my coaching skills rather than just dog training in last years. Having adhd brain (this is what my friends say which makes little sense as I’m too old for that- in my youth and part of the world I grew up in, we didn’t have adhd) it easily became my obsession. To the point: Overall I want to find the balance between dogs style, temperament, how they learn etc.and the same with the handler’s. companion dog training- heavily focused and adjusted to the handler. Some of them they are busy with their careers, family etc some a lacking some skills and the goal is to make their life happy as soon as possible. Dog sport training- heavily focused and adjusted to the dog. Dog sport is for us and if we want to bring the performance to maximum, dog comes first. Dog sport is also a journey, there is no rush so the handler has time, passion etc to learn. However my job as a coach is break down elements of the sport to the handler so they don’t need to spend too many brain calories while training (and therefore overthink) This is why I like to teach in frameworks, step by step systems, take the most decision making off the handlers head. If (as you gave example) my handler is overthinking that is my job to change that. Saying: stop overthinking as you pointed that out wont help and in my experience quite opposite- will make handler overthink even more (why am I overthinking? Oh that’s affecting my dog’s confidence…) and as a result performance of a team will suffer even more. As a coaches if we bring enough clarity and coach accordingly to the person in front of us, handler shouldn’t have reason to overthink.

He is a talent -with Nick we couldn’t wrap our heads around how is he doing it? LOL great to have you both there. I really fucking enjoyed every second of training him 🥋4️⃣🐕 I know shit about tracking but boy has also tracking nose for sure 👌

Flexi all day for 200 reasons ;)

@Lynne Willmott of course :) 200 reasons why I prefer a flexi (extendable lead) over a long line 1. It’s more comfortable in my hand 2. I don’t have to wrap it around my wrist 3. I don’t have to coil it 4. I don’t have to uncoil it 5. It stays clean 6. I don’t drag it through mud 7. I don’t drag it through piss 8. I don’t drag it through shit 9. I don’t step on it 10. I don’t trip over it 11. I don’t have to pick it up 12. I don’t have to drop it 13. I don’t lose grip when it’s wet 14. I have a solid handle 15. I know exactly where the brake is 16. I can stop the dog instantly 17. I can allow movement instantly 18. I control distance without thinking 19. I don’t manage excess rope 20. It doesn’t knot 21. It doesn’t tangle 22. It doesn’t wrap around legs 23. It doesn’t wrap around trees 24. It doesn’t wrap around people 25. It doesn’t wrap around me 26. It doesn’t collect leaves 27. It doesn’t collect burrs 28. It doesn’t collect grass seeds 29. It doesn’t smell 30. It doesn’t soak water 31. It dries instantly 32. It fits in one hand 33. My other hand is free 34. I can open doors easily 35. I can pick things up easily 36. I can handle multiple dogs more easily 37. It’s less visually messy 38. It looks cleaner 39. It feels cleaner 40. I like the design 41. I like the colours 42. I like that it looks modern 43. I don’t like the look of long lines 44. Long lines look sloppy 45. Long lines feel outdated 46. I don’t like managing rope 47. I don’t like rope systems 48. I don’t like “outdoor climbing gear” aesthetics 49. I like minimalism 50. It suits my style 51. It suits my brand 52. It suits my dogs 53. My dogs move more naturally on it 54. My dogs look happier on it 55. My dogs don’t get tangled 56. My dogs don’t drag weight 57. My dogs don’t trip themselves 58. My dogs don’t associate it with restriction 59. My dogs don’t chew it 60. Puppies manage it better 61. Adult dogs manage it better 62. Seniors manage it better 63. It’s easier for recall work 64. It’s easier to give freedom gradually 65. It’s easier to limit freedom gradually 66. I don’t need gloves 67. I don’t burn my hands 68. I don’t slice my fingers 69. I don’t get rope rash 70. I don’t get mud on my clothes 71. I don’t get mud on my jacket 72. I don’t get mud on my hands 73. I don’t get mud in my pockets 74. I don’t get mud in my bag 75. I don’t carry a wet rope afterwards 76. I don’t store a wet rope in my car 77. My car stays cleaner 78. My house stays cleaner 79. My washing machine stays cleaner 80. I don’t have to wash it 81. I don’t have to dry it 82. I don’t have to replace it as often 83. It lasts longer for me 84. It’s predictable 85. It’s consistent 86. It retracts smoothly 87. It extends smoothly 88. I like the mechanical feel 89. I like pressing the brake 90. I like releasing the brake 91. It feels precise 92. It feels intentional 93. It feels controlled 94. It feels calm 95. It feels organised 96. It doesn’t feel chaotic 97. Long lines feel chaotic 98. Long lines feel messy 99. Long lines feel clumsy 100. Long lines feel annoying 101. I don’t have to explain myself 102. I don’t care what Facebook thinks 103. It makes people angry online 104. I enjoy that a little 105. It filters weak opinions 106. It starts conversations 107. It exposes dog-training dogma 108. It breaks expectations 109. It challenges tradition 110. I like challenging tradition 111. I didn’t pay for it 112. I got one for free 113. Free is a good reason 114. I kept using it 115. Habit matters 116. Preference matters 117. Comfort matters 118. Enjoyment matters 119. I like it more 120. That’s enough 121. I don’t need justification 122. I don’t need permission 123. I don’t need consensus 124. I don’t need approval 125. It works for me 126. It works for my dogs 127. That’s the point 128. Long lines don’t excite me 129. Flexi does not annoy me 130. Annoyance matters 131. Friction matters 132. Simplicity matters 133. Ease matters 134. Flow matters 135. Rhythm matters 136. Movement matters 137. Timing matters 138. Handling matters 139. Feel matters 140. Grip matters 141. Balance matters 142. Weight distribution matters 143. My wrist thanks me 144. My fingers thank me 145. My patience thanks me 146. My focus stays on the dog 147. Not on the line 148. I walk more relaxed 149. My dogs walk more relaxed 150. Relaxation matters 151. I don’t pretend it’s something else 152. It’s just a lead 153. A very convenient lead 154. A very practical lead 155. A very clean lead 156. A very comfortable lead 157. A very unpopular lead 158. I like unpopular tools 159. I like unpopular opinions 160. I like thinking independently 161. I don’t copy trainers blindly 162. I don’t follow trends blindly 163. I choose tools intentionally 164. This is one of them 165. It suits my lifestyle 166. It suits my walking style 167. It suits my dogs’ movement 168. It suits my daily routines 169. I reach for it first 170. That tells me enough 171. Long lines stay in the cupboard 172. Flexi stays by the door 173. Tools you use matter 174. Tools you don’t use don’t matter 175. I use this one 176. Therefore I prefer it 177. I don’t overthink it 178. I don’t overexplain it 179. I don’t apologise for it 180. I stand by it 181. I’ve tested both 182. I’ve chosen one 183. Choice matters 184. Experience matters 185. Results matter (to me) 186. Comfort matters (to me) 187. Preference matters (to me) 188. Dogs don’t complain 189. I don’t complain 190. That’s a win 191. I like the click sound 192. I like the feel in my palm 193. I like not bending down 194. I like walking upright 195. I like clean hands 196. I like clean gear 197. I like efficient tools 198. I like tools that disappear 199. I like tools that don’t annoy me 200. I like flexi leads more

🙈🙈🙈🤷‍♂️ since you asked …