K9 Detection Collaborative - Let's Talk Fluency

Let's Talk Fluency

03/08/22 • 55 min

Today, Crystal, Stacy, and Robin talk all things fluency.

“Fluency” can be described as “a performance measure which refers to speed and accuracy of responding.” Another way to put it is as “the fluid combination of accuracy plus speed that characterizes a competent performance.”

In the realm of dog training, fluency can be considered the third and final “stage” on the road to mastery. The first stage is competency, the second proficiency. Once a trainer has achieved proficiency (usually this is when they attain certification for a particular skillset), the final step is to demonstrate that the dog can exercise the behavior they were trained to exhibit in any given context. In other words, the key is for your dog to perform consistently regardless of the search area and distractions therein.

“Beware the trainer that thinks they know it all.” It isn’t only the dog that needs to demonstrate fluency, but the handler as well. Our hosts break down how handlers typically make decisions at the competent, proficient, and fluent levels.

Ultimately, our hosts contend that, “Until you’ve reached a fully generalized set of skills, you’re still competent or proficient. Fluency is always something to strive for.”

Key Topics:

An introduction to fluency (0:50)
Finding a match between the skillset of the handler and the skillset of the dog (3:21)
The definition of “fluency” (5:17)
What does it look like when a dog is not fluent? (10:37)
Defining the intermediate steps toward fluency that drive your everyday training (16:10)
Different levels of fluency (24:04)
Ensuring that you do not create handler dependence (29:14)
Remembering that you, as the handler, are the limiting factor (37:21)
How to become a fluent handler (41:23)
Can proficient handlers and dogs “succeed”? (50:46)
Our hosts’ closing thoughts (52:37)

Freebies mentioned in this episode: www.k9detectioncollaborative.com/monthly-freebies

Resources mentioned in this episode:

K9 Detection Collaborative Episode 5: Let's Talk About Pressure

You can follow us for notifications of upcoming episodes, find us at k9detectioncollaborative.com to enjoy the freebies and tell your friends so you can keep the conversations going.

Jingle by: www.mavericksings.com Instagram: @mavericktastic

Audio editing & other podcast services by: www.thepodcastman.com Instagram: @the_podcast_man

Today, Crystal, Stacy, and Robin talk all things fluency.

Ultimately, our hosts contend that, “Until you’ve reached a fully generalized set of skills, you’re still competent or proficient. Fluency is always something to strive for.”

Key Topics:

An introduction to fluency (0:50)
Finding a match between the skillset of the handler and the skillset of the dog (3:21)
The definition of “fluency” (5:17)
What does it look like when a dog is not fluent? (10:37)
Defining the intermediate steps toward fluency that drive your everyday training (16:10)
Different levels of fluency (24:04)
Ensuring that you do not create handler dependence (29:14)
Remembering that you, as the handler, are the limiting factor (37:21)
How to become a fluent handler (41:23)
Can proficient handlers and dogs “succeed”? (50:46)
Our hosts’ closing thoughts (52:37)

Freebies mentioned in this episode: www.k9detectioncollaborative.com/monthly-freebies

Resources mentioned in this episode:

K9 Detection Collaborative Episode 5: Let's Talk About Pressure

You can follow us for notifications of upcoming episodes, find us at k9detectioncollaborative.com to enjoy the freebies and tell your friends so you can keep the conversations going.

Jingle by: www.mavericksings.com Instagram: @mavericktastic

Audio editing & other podcast services by: www.thepodcastman.com Instagram: @the_podcast_man

Previous Episode

Getting to know Crystal Wing

Today, Stacy and Robin chat with fellow co-host Crystal Wing, who has been training dogs since 2006 and has been involved in protection sports over the years. She is the Training Director for the Evolution Working Dog Club located in St. Louis, Mo. and a certified trial helper through GSDCA for IGP and training decoy for Mondioring.

Our conversation centers around Crystal’s focus on engagement as being foundational when it comes to dog training of any kind, alongside her conviction that imagination is your most powerful tool as a trainer.

“Training is simple,” says Crystal, “but it’s not easy. Good training is good training and it doesn't matter what sport or what area. It’s all about having clear criteria. It’s about the foundation of engagement. [...] With engagement as that bottom relationship piece that builds everything else, it doesn’t matter what I’m doing with my dog. That’s where it all starts.”

Asked about the secret to successfully incorporating play into dog training, Crystal says that it’s important to read the dog and go with what they want to do, not what the handler wants to do.

“All of the play that we create, creates all of our obedience. It’s all started through play which creates engagement which then channels right into obedience. Play is work. Work is play. It’s all the same thing.”

Key Topics:

About Crystal’s four dogs and her foray into dog training (1:12)
What to know about dog bites (8:03)
Why the “introverted” Crystal acts as a decoy for dogs (11:12)
Decoys versus helpers (13:24)
What Crystal applies her search and rescue work from her protection background (21:20)
Defining “IGP,” “Obedience,” “Protection Phase,” “Mondioring” and “PDC” (24:10)
Learning from the best (29:45)
Crystal’s “creative bank account” and the art of dog training (38:32)
“Without great rewards, what’s my only option? I have to go to punishment.” (46:33)
Crystal’s advice for those who want to incorporate more play into their dog training (48:45)
The biggest mistake people make when playing with their dogs (53:00)
Crystal’s closing thoughts (56:29)

Learn more about Crystal at www.facebook.com/EvolutionWDC.

You can follow us for notifications of upcoming episodes, find us at k9detectioncollaborative.com to enjoy the freebies and tell your friends so you can keep the conversations going.

Jingle by: www.mavericksings.com Instagram: @mavericktastic

Audio editing & other podcast services by: www.thepodcastman.com Instagram: @the_podcast_man

Next Episode

Let's Talk About Pressure

Today, our hosts Stacy, Crystal, and Robin pick up where they last left off with their prior conversation about fluency. They discuss what it takes for a team to grow past the first two of the three stages of dog training mastery, namely competency followed by proficiency.

The road to true fluency begins once a trainer or handler realizes and embraces the fact that “you don’t know what you don’t know, until you know that you don’t know it.” One can’t grow in a vacuum. Our hosts encourage everyone to find the right group of fellow trainers who can guide them to that next level of mastery.

Trainers ask for a lot of physical and mental maturity out of our dogs for them to go out and do the job that they’re going to do. Yet, they have to deal with pressure from multiple sources to meet certain demands in a limited window of time, including financial limitations as well as expectations from one’s agency.

An important factor to consider, then, when looking to buy a working dog, is to find a courageous puppy ripe for development into a confident and versatile adult. From there, it is vital that a trainer develop a progression plan—a roadmap—as a visual to help the dog get from point A to point B.

Ultimately, always stay in pursuit of excellence. Take the time to reflect on each stage of training with your dog and be willing to tweak your method as you both progress. “If your dog was happy, engaged, and successful, that’s pretty darn close to fluency for whatever you’re doing.”

Key Topics:

How a trainer or handler can know whether they have reached fluency (2:17)
Escaping the habit of “good enough” (4:30)
Gaining a holistic view of your dog’s progress as well as your progress as a handler (6:53)
Becoming aware of your training philosophy/framework... and their limitations (12:28)
Teaching your dogs that stuff can be anywhere (23:57)
Dealing with pressure (25:00)
“Just because they can doesn’t mean they should.” (29:29)
Training a dog to be versatile (31:44)
The pressure of rehoming a dog (42:54)
The importance of having a progression plan in place (49:14)
Evaluating your training through reflection (52:25)

Resources mentioned in this episode:

K9 Detection Collaborative Episode 4: Let's Talk Fluency

You can follow us for notifications of upcoming episodes, find us at k9detectioncollaborative.com to enjoy the freebies and tell your friends so you can keep the conversations going.

Jingle by: www.mavericksings.com Instagram: @mavericktastic

Audio editing & other podcast services by: www.thepodcastman.com Instagram: @the_podcast_man