Me, Myself... and Other Things About... Me

 

Shiloh

My horse, Buck

So, this is my first blog post, so I figure I could just tell a bit about myself. I am Canadian, and I'm proud of it :) I am a junior handler in dog agility, in which I train my dog, Shiloh in. Shiloh is a hard-headed, loving, Husky mix. She is my first dog, and first agility dog, and she has taught me a lot about life in the two years I have owned and trained her. I have learned a lot about loss and love since meeting her. She has taught me to show my best side in the worst of times, she has taught me to be brave, and most of all, she has taught me the power of patience. You see, I am a red-head, and I have three older brothers, two of which are Gingers. My one brother and I are very stubborn, and we both have a VERY short temper, so we don't always get along very well. As we grow older, it gets better, but we still have issues from time to time. But my temper used to be so short, I would explode with anger the moment anyone said something that I didn't like. Since I have started working with Shiloh, I have learned to hold myself back, and relax. I have learned to see both sides of the story and have a little patience. So many people I know think it is so insane that I can put up with Shiloh, but I love her, and I love what I do, so I stick with it. Still, I have more patience with animals than I do with people, but I have some certain talent that many don't have, to connect with animals. I like to think I can communicate with them in a way most can't. But through Shiloh I have learned that communicating with animals is all about body language. I ride horses too, not regularly per say, but I have one at my grandpa's farm, and I can read him so well it sin't even funny. What I am getting at here is that I think I can get along with, and have more patience for animals because I can communicate better with them, but with humans I get frustrated when they don't know what I am trying to tell them with certain body signals that they don't usually pick up on, and that I no longer realize I'm using, but animals do. Some think I'm just some crazy girl that is overly-obsessed with dogs and horses, and whatever other animal I obsessively talk about, but I say I have a gift that they can choose to appreciate, or they can ignore it. I have been bullied about dog training, but that makes me want to work harder to achieve greatness and prove people wrong. I have been told too many times to give up on Shiloh, but that is why I love my instructor. Many people disagree with her ways, but what they don't realize is that she means everything to me, I KNOW I could not have gotten to where I am without her. I would not be the handler I am, I wouldn't have the confidence I have. She believes in Shiloh and I when so many think I should just leave Shiloh and get a different dog. I have so much respect for my instructor because she respects me. She helps me when I need it. People don't realize what an amazing handler, and trainer she is. She is tough sure, but that is because she believes that her students can achieve greatness. She doesn't beat around the bush, she gives it to me straight, she doesn't just tell me to get up when I fall, she tells me to get off my ass, and try harder next time, because seriously, that is what I need! Too many people beat around the bush, but my instructor tells me what I need to know, and I know that had I started with almost anyone else I wouldn't have gotten here. Anyways, enough of me ranting about how people don't understand how much I love who I learn from... and Hope you have fun reading my blog :) Check me out on Youtube, annidog11 :D