This Dog Trainer Needs to Refine Her Skills

Okay, before you start saying "What? Huh? What do you mean?" I'm talking specifically about refining my mini-golf skills, not my skills as a dog trainer - I already do that everyday.

Whatever your "skill" is, whether it be dog training, wood carving, snow-boarding, or miniature golf, if you want to do well at something, or achieve the goals you've set for yourself, then you need to practice, practice, and practice again. Remember the old adage, "If you don't use it, you lose it." Well I was living proof of that today...dog training every day, mini-golf, uh, not so much. 

I can't recall the last time I played miniature golf - it's been years, I know that. Well, my good friends, (Wild-Web-Women Lorrie Thomas, Emilia Doerr, Nicki Gauthier, and Pamela Sherman) came south from Santa Barbara today to celebrate Emilia's BIG 3-0 B-Day at Golf 'n Stuff here in Ventura. It was a great time! I think I shot about 100 over par...but hey, it was about having fun, not scoring...good thing because Lorrie even mentioned how it had been so long since she used a pencil and paper (versus computer) that she wasn't sure how the scoring was done, so we decided not to...thank goodness. I think she and I both tried to cheat at some point, and couldn't even pull that off! Duh! 

Anyway, having the club in my hand just reminded me how not keeping up with any skill can make you forget... however, the good thing is that it started to come back towards the back nine. So I know that if I stuck with it, I'd probably do better each time. 

Mini-golf isn't as important to me as some of the skills I teach my dog training clients. I explain that taking one class is great to get started, but it certainly doesn't stop there. Of course they don't have to continue taking classes forever, I don't like to add that type of pressure in. But let's face it, "life is training". We humans go through 12+ years just to graduate high school, then onto college or some type of training to get a job... then as we get older we might go back to school for some reason or another - career change or just for fun...Regardless, obtaining skills takes practice! 

So, if you've already taken your dog to a dog training class, go practice those behaviors. If you haven't, think about signing up at the inquisitive canine... Or, teach them how to golf! Poncho would have been able to retrieve our golfballs today when we accidentally hit them into the brush - good think Lorrie enjoyed the rock-climbing.