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COACHING NEWBIES
I recently began working as a dog trainer at two prisons with a program called Pixie’s Pen Pals. Years ago, I worked with this organization for eight years and one of the prisons I’m going to now was on my roster in the past (with six team members still on board from when I used to work there!), while the other location is a new one for me.
The new-to-me prison is a men’s prison and the program was started there by another trainer with a similar training style to me. Change can be hard for the inmate handlers, who have grown accustomed to Ani’s instruction and style, so I’m trying to be very mindful of the coaching I provide. I’ve welcomed them to ask questions or express any concerns if my instruction doesn’t jive with what they’ve learned thus far, while also mentioning how useful it can be to add new training ideas to their toolboxes.
I’m also very sensitive about providing feedback in a way that doesn’t make an inmate handler feel embarrassed or vulnerable in front of their team. I’m heavy on reinforcing the things I like and gentle with suggestions on what they can do to improve in a specific area. Whenever possible, I open it up to the team to offer suggestions on how to reach a certain training goal, rather than automatically decreeing the steps I think are best.
It’s really not all that different from when I work with my private training clients. I reinforce them like mad for all the stuff they do well, join them in trouble-shooting in a collaborative way, and provide easily digestible steps to help them reach their training goals.
I have to say, I really like hearing how other trainers communicate with their students and often pick up new ideas that way. Sometimes, it’s just a tiny detail in the way something is communicated that can make a big difference. Please share any “a-ha” moments you’ve experienced in your communication techniques.
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3 Replies
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This is so cool. I used to work in a prison program. I remember one time making a suggestion to the handlers/trainers about how to advocate for their dogs in a particular way, when they were walking the dogs amongst the general population. Fortunately, we all had a great relationship going at that point, and they immediately objected, and all agreed my idea would not have the intended effect. My eyes opened to the fact that prison life has its own rules & norms. What worked for my clients on the “outside” was not an option to these guys.
So I did the next thing I could think of which was to invite them to brainstorm together, just like you are. It ended up being a team-building exercise, to talk together about how to handle communicating what their dogs needed in a way that would work for them with their peers (and staff, who were the actual problem).
In that context, when I did need to give one handler specific feedback in that environment, I tried to make it as private as possible. Pride and shame rule loudly on all of us, but I think especially for those who are incarcerated. I tried to let them succeed as much as possible, praise them publicly and only critique in private.
Similarly, I remember two private lesson clients where the married male-female dynamic was tricky and the husbands were not very supportive of the wives’ efforts to train. In those moments, my best technique was to physically place myself sideways to the husband, not in front of him, and ask questions designed to get his opinion on the situation and by carefully guiding the conversation, essentially reinforce the ideas that headed in the direction I thought they needed to go for the success of the dog and family.
When I took a course called Motivational Interviewing years later at the state psychiatric hosptital where I worked with adults in custody training service dogs, I found the techniques to be very helpful to systematically guide people toward the best answers for themselves as you reinforce “change talk” and help them come to their own solutions. I think this could be very helpful working with all of our clients! It does take concerted effort and some extra time, but the results are worth it because the person doing the changing has come up with their own solution, rather than having to decide if they like “my” idea.
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@catherine , thanks so much for posting this. I’m going to need to read more on the topic of “change talk.” That sounds like something really valuable. ????
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Yeah, it’s great stuff – here’s a quick outline. https://motivationalinterviewing.org/understanding-motivational-interviewing
motivationalinterviewing.org
Understanding Motivational Interviewing | Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT)
Understanding Motivational Interviewing | Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT)
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