Confidence & Con"Fido"ence

Confidence & Con"Fido"ence
                            
One thing I have been hearing over the course of this last agility year is  "Confidence"
"Be confident"; "Show confidence" Along with "Be convincing"; "Run with intent" & "Drive the line, with confidence!"
While I know at times I get to the start line and I might or might not feel confident about my walk-through, I never thought about how this bleeds over to Hemi.
It seems like it is obvious, but being confident and portraying confidence is two entirely different things. I can be confident in my mind, but that doesn't necessarily mean that  it is in my body language.  Our dogs draw so much from us, fear;  anger; worry; why wouldn't they also draw confidence?  This connection they have to us is what makes us true partners & teammates.

And speaking of  Con"Fido"ence ? what about your Fido's confidence? Are they confident in all situations? Are they confident in start line stays, as you enter a new ring and walk away from them? How do you know? Are you reading their true body language?

Although I feel Hemi is a fairly confident dog, I know there are things that can worry her. For example, at the seminar last week, there was a  cutout of a horse's head that just scared her to death. Once I went back to our puppy game of "What is it?" she went from worried to a game of touch with her nose. There was an immediate change in her posture - She was much more confident.
Someone mentioned that maybe she did have some confidence issues, and this was why we had so much barking at the start line. Is she lacking confidence at the start line? Well obviously she can't answer that, (wouldn't our lives be so different if they could talk to us?) but it did make me think.

So, one of my goals in the next few weeks is to build confidence in Hemi. How? Well...I haven't quite got my plan completely worked out yet, but I think it will simply consist of exposing her to new and different things, people and places and making it as highly rewarding as possible.

So, next time you step into the ring Be Confident, Be convincing and Drive that line, so your Fido will follow your lead and run with con"fido"ence !

But remember, no matter how confident you drive, always drive safely.
And yes, I got a Hemi! Vroom Vroom!