Sometimes change is good. Most times change is challenging. Those close to me know that over the past year I have had to endure significant change. With heartbreak comes healing and loss of the family farm in North Carolina certainly did break my heart. After donating my personal belongings to the Salvation Army, I loaded up my dogs, cat, guns and clothes into my 1995 Ford F-150 and headed west. Change brings opportunity.
I've seen this type of loss break people and turn them into a force of negativity. Why me they ask. What did I do to deserve this. Oh the tragedy....the humanity.......How will I ever endure???? Damn those people for doing this.........etc......etc....etc........... They swirl in a whirlpool of negativity, never getting out until it sucks the life blood from them.
Not me..........not I. There's too much out there in the world to do and see and feel and experience and appreciate to be held back by change.
Opportunity has knocked. Sure, you can get pissed off when life hits you full force and a certain amount of time can be spent going thru the negativity, the anger, the madness, the sense of distrust, the blame game. But there comes a time to just get on with it and pick yourself up by your bootstraps and forge ahead and turn the lemons into lemonade, make a bad thing good, and never be defined by anyone or any one thing that has happened to you.... especially that one really bad thing.
I remember when I was in the police academy in my twenties and this 55 year old drill instructor named Bob Weathers pretty much just ran all us 23 year olds into the ground. We couldn't breathe....as he put it "quit sucking in all the air" and just as we arrived at a city park he had us all lay down on the grass. He towered over us and in disgust said "Just lay there and die." "Just give up." "Just die."
There are very few instructors I remember by name, but Bob Weathers is one of them.
It could be the death of a loved one, a financial loss that is beyond repair, divorce, estrangement from family, loss of your heritage or any other significant event that will leave you laying in the grass sucking in air. You can just give up and lay there and die or you can take opportunity to pull yourself up and continue on.
I got up off that grass that day and every day since then. And when the wind gets knocked out of you, you got to take a little time to find the air, breathe and then continue on.
When you do, you come back stronger.
This is a time for new beginnings and it is here, in the west, the land of opportunity that I find mine. Surrounded by good friends, good people, and the life of peace and solitude that most yearn for, I find a rejuvenating presence that allows me to continue my work in training dogs and handlers and expand my training into more disciplines. I also have more time to document and write about my training and its results. That means more information for the student.
Here comes the lemonade..................
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The Sign Says "No Swimming" unless of course there is scent there!
Jonni Joyce
Jonni Joyce is a nationally recognized Master Trainer of Police and Search and Rescue Dogs. Her extensive canine handling and training background coupled with her ability to communicate with both canine and student makes her training advice exceptionally valuable. This is her blog..............
Upcoming Events
- Private Training - Open Dates, email Jonni at jonnijoyce@wildblue.net
- Wilderness Training July 24-26 Ft. Collins, Colorado
- Water Search August 15-16, Pittsburgh PA
- SARKAMP September 16-20, Fombell PA
- Trailing Dog Handlers Course October 9 - Nov 6, South Dakota
- Trailing Dog Bootcamp, Oct 12-16, South Dakota
- Scent Discrimination Exercises, Oct 24-25, South Dakota
- Land Cadaver, Oct 2-4, Arkansas
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The Sign Says "No Swimming" unless of course there is scent there!
This is Working Dog Country!
Welcome to my blog. I've been teaching adult students since 1991 and I always am humbled by the law enforcement and search and rescue canine handlers and trainers who come to me for professional guidance. These individuals have dedicated their lives to the service of human kind. Often working long hours with little compensation, they strive to make a difference in a world that offers little comfort in trying times. It is an honorable profession, that of a canine handler. Be it behind the badge or beneath the vest, these dedicated individuals and their canine partners make the world a better place. My role in all of this is to provide guidance in a very uncertain world with this challenging endeavor. Join me now as I pontificate about the world of dogs and their service to human kind. In honor of those who serve a higher calling than themselves.............
Here's Jonni...........
- Jonni Joyce
- West River, South Dakota, United States
- I've spent the past 21 years training dogs. I've handled everything from a dual purpose patrol/narcotics Belgian Malinois to a single purpose Explosive Detection Labrador Retriever. I've been a line officer, canine handler/trainer/master trainer, Sgt., and detective. I had the privilege to assist the US Secret Service with Dignitary Protection, an assignment that became quite challenging after 9-11. At times philosophical, but mostly blunt, I motivate handler and dog alike by demanding the best from both species; each with their own faults, together a combined strength that brings justice to the world. I live on the prairie of South Dakota away from the cell phones, instant messaging, traffic, population, and the madness of civilization. It is here, amongst the prairie winds that I work and train. It is here that time stands still and the wearing of a watch is not necessary for the sun and moon define your day and the dogs always know the time. It is here where souls are revitalized, canine training is maximized, and learning becomes the key to success. An invitation is extended to those who desire to escape the madness and experience the truth between themselves and their canines.