The value of a better guess

My dog instinctively chases squirrels, rabbits, and racoons. I used to want to train her out of this. In an uneducated bid to teach her not to chase, I would hold the leash tight, attempting to keep her stationary. This never worked. The second I started walking or let the leash slack, she would pull and chase. The trainer we worked with suggested a new idea. Maybe my dog needed an opportunity to run in order to calm down. Instead of running in the direction of the prey though, we could try running the opposite way. So far, this idea has worked surprisingly well. After half a minute of sprinting, my dog is delighted and calm. She can walk steadily again. One way to think about what experts (including trainers, coaches, advisors, and therapists) do is they help you make better guesses. They’re able to do this well because: They deal with a wide breadth of clients and problems and see patterns They conduct and keep up with research They can offer a new, ideally more objective,…