March 28th, 2025

Regrets

This is a hard topic to talk about—because it means admitting I did something wrong. Admitting there’s a weakness in my dogs… and that I caused it.

I take full responsibility.

It was my lack of knowledge—about the breed, about dogs in general—that led to some of the faults in my girls.

Bella is probably the most affected. I love her deeply; we’re so connected I swear she reads my mind sometimes.

But her shortcomings? That’s on me.

Addi and Bella doing agility on June 10th, 2022

I bought Bella for agility, so that’s where we started. Then we discovered herding—and fell in love with it.

Bella was never super food motivated, so I used a rope ball to keep her engaged. At home, I threw that ball for hours. A tired puppy is a happy puppy… right?

Well, no. Not when you’re on a herding field and your dog leaves sheep mid-work to chase a soccer ball two fields over.

It wasn’t Bella’s fault. I reinforced that pattern. I shaped that drive.

And I’m still undoing it today.

Happy training!

Addi and The Girls