Handlers who do just the bare essentials somehow have the idea that they are good enough. But are they? What happens when something goes wrong, or what if the dog does something wrong or far too slowly, has to be nagged at or, worse still, just stands there and looks at you utterly confused? Whose fault is it? In nearly every case, it is the handler who is at fault. He or she has either said the wrong word, done the wrong action, not corrected the dog nor praised the dog at the right time, left a vital part out, tried to be clever in cutting corners, been inconsistent, not given the dog a good foundation in the training, expected too much, possibly overtrained the dog and made him mentally tired or made many other mistakes and errors like these.

 Quite often I have seen handlers, even ones I have instructed for weeks, who report that their dogs are not responding as they should, or as they have in the past. The handlers come to see me again and I give them some basic heelwork for about two minutes. In that short time and distance in which they walk, I notice a few, and sometimes several, small errors. Because they have not paid attention to detail, they have become very lax and complacent. Their dogs have been smart enough to know that they can get away with careless responses, and have naturally lost respect for their respective handlers. I then work their dogs myself and they work perfectly. Why? It is because I watch and pay particular attention to the finer details. The result is this: The dog knows immediately that I have him under control, that I will not give into him in any way and that I will praise him most sincerely on every good response he makes. Food helps somewhat, so the cheaper the better. All this wins respect from the dog for me. The handler who is watching sees quite clearly how well the dog can work for me, and that the dog certainly has not forgotten any of his work. The handler is often quick to realize that the dog is not at fault, but that his or her handling has become sloppy.

 To quickly remedy all this, it is just a simple case of giving the handler refresher-course training. Once this has been done, the dog respects the owner and the good work is restored. I advise the owner to be consistent with everything and to pay attention to even the smallest of details, as they are vitally important. When this is done, the handler should have no more difficulty.

 Finally, I urge dog owners not to use food as a reward in training. This may surprise a number of people, but I say it most advisedly and most sincerely.