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Ann | Obedience Coaching

@the_discerning_dog

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Good training doesn’t happen by accident.
Online Coaching • Courses • Community
Multi-x Nat’l Champion | Patty PSA3 #35
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I wish I could say the last one hasn’t happened to me…twice.

😅😅😅 by @the_discerning_dog

SPRITE
PSA1 Obedience 99/100

No one is more surprised than I that of my Patty progeny, Spritey turned out to be my points dog in the Level 1 🙃.

I’m excited to share my training sessions leading up to trial and handling elements I keep in mind on the field in my online community this coming week. Interested in learning more? Link in my bio! by @the_discerning_dog

SPRITE PSA1 WHD

Day One OB 99/PRO 210 WHD
Day Two OB 97/PRO 211 WHD
High OB, HIT, HOT, HCT

I was adamant about wanting to work Patty forever. I bred her with that very notion in mind, and I’m incredibly proud of the dogs she produced.

But “forever” comes with its own pain points - especially when it means learning to live with a forever without her.

Stepping onto the trial field again with Sprite felt daunting for many reasons, but none more than the guilt I’ve carried over the last few months.

There’s an ugliness in looking at Sprite and finding myself searching for Patty instead. I haven’t been able to forgive myself for it, but I haven’t been able to stop, either.

Since losing her mother, all the similarities that once made me smile have only reminded me of Patty’s absence.

I saw a lot of Patty in our showings this weekend.

But I also saw a lot of Sprite.

And the familiar moments I thought would break my heart brought a grin and laughter instead.

She is not her mother. But she’s not not her mother.

I’m grateful to be slowly learning that I can hold both truths without diminishing either one.

The conclusion of the trial rendered me speechless at the kindness shown by @crystal_coast_psa @lepinskik9services and @3.bullies.and.a.blonde. I was gifted beautiful canvases of Patty, many presented by the very decoys pictured who had been such a huge part of our journey.

There aren’t really words for what it means to see the lives she has touched, enjoy these photos, feel her presence, and have a piece of her legacy preserved in such a tangible way.

A weekend I approached with dread turned into something I’ll forever treasure. What a profound gift it is to have such remarkable people and dogs in my life.

📸: @joshua_chayer_photography by @the_discerning_dog

A bit late - but still worth celebrating - a month with Weezer!

He has been such a joy to work so far, and I can’t thank @wilderose.working.dog for trusting me to get started with him!

If there’s something that fills my cup, it’s all things puppy foundations - and I’m thrilled to be able to share them all over again with you in my new online membership platform.

Check out the “Puppy Diaries” section and follow his journey!

Have a new puppy of your own? Ask questions, gain insight, and share your own sessions in the “Off the Field” section.

Link in bio. by @the_discerning_dog

I wont say I have a problem.
(But I also wont say I *dont* have a problem.) by @the_discerning_dog

Ambition is a wonderful thing. But if we’re never stopping to recognize how far we’ve come, we risk spending our entire lives chasing a future we will never let ourselves appreciate.

Celebrate the little milestones as much as the big ones.

Because there was a time when all that you’re living now was exactly what you were hoping for and working towards.

There is only defeat in chasing shifting goalposts. by @the_discerning_dog

Ready to take your training to the next level?

I’ve taken a new approach to The Discerning Dog membership to create a space that goes beyond simply accessing training content.

I want to give you a closer look at the process behind the training — not just the finished product, but the decisions, troubleshooting, and progression.

You’ll find educational resources, detailed training breakdowns, and opportunities to ask questions and share your own training journey.

Because the goal isn’t just to give you more information. It’s to help you understand how to use that information to make better decisions with your dog.

Whether you’re building foundations, working toward your next title, or trying to untangle a skill that just isn’t coming together, there’s a place for you here.

Good training doesn’t happen by accident. And I’m excited to help you be more intentional about yours.

Ready to get started? Link in my bio! by @the_discerning_dog

If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry. by @the_discerning_dog

For the love of all things dogsport, stop spending more time worrying about the wrong things than you do training the right ones. by @the_discerning_dog

Something has been in the works for the better part of a year.

For a long time, it was just an idea held together by tape, glue, and a fierce sense of optimism. And somewhere along the line, it started to take form into something real.

Patty was there for the beginning of it.

She was the inspiration behind this business long before there was a website or a community. She’s been woven into everything I do, and was part of the reason I wanted to build something around thoughtful training, high standards, good stewardship, and the idea that there is always more to learn.

She got to see the very first pieces of this project come together. She isn’t here for the finish line.

There is something deeply painful about that, but through the years I’ve come to realize that this isn’t just a business I’ve been building. It’s become a lifestyle built around the dog who taught me so much about training - and more than that - what it means to profoundly enjoy the dog beside you.

Patty may not be here for this next chapter, but she is still just as much a part of it now as she was in life.

She’s in the things I believe about training.

She’s in the standards I hold myself to.

Shes in the way I want to help other people understand their dogs.

So, after months of work, I’m getting very close to being able to share what I’ve been putting together.

A new chapter, but in a lot of ways, simply a continuation of her.

If you’re already a member of the online community, you’ll be hearing more this week - I can’t wait to share. And for the rest of you, well, you’ll find out soon enough too! by @the_discerning_dog

It’s one of the quietest ways we carry them with us.

In the places we return to. The things that make us stop and look. In the little moments they used to be so much a part of.

Every year we’ve taken a trip to the beach, she’s been with us. And this year still felt like no exception.

I’m realizing that missing her means finding her everywhere. by @the_discerning_dog

One thing I’ve loved about developing my online community is having a place to document the actual process of training my dogs.

I have so much appreciation for the finished behaviors. But I have even more appreciation for the messy middle - the in-session troubleshooting, the small adjustments, and the way behaviors come together over the course of several sessions, while routines and understanding develop over the years.

It’s such a joy now to look back over each dog’s lifetime of ups and downs and hear myself detail what I was seeing, what I was considering, the decisions I was making, and why. Being able to look back from a different perspective, with the same dog in a markedly different part of their progression, never fails to leave me with a sense of awe.

But in making room to document so much of my own dogs’ journeys, I’ve realized that I also want to make more room for the people following along to document theirs.

To have a place to share the process, not just the finished product. To look back on where you started, what changed, what you learned, and how your dog progressed along the way.

That’s something I’m excited to make a little more room for going forward.

For my dogs, for my own training, and for the people who are working through their own dogs and their own goals alongside me.

Because there’s a lot to learn from the finished picture. There’s a lot to learn from each other. And there’s even more to learn in all the different paths we take, and everything it took to get there. by @the_discerning_dog