I no longer enter my dogs in Hunt Tests if I am working. It is not fun. My dogs don’t like to wait so they are anxious and crying to go hunt, and no way for me to work with them in advance of my brace.
I did it for Junior Hunter with one dog but it was so anxiety provoking that I won’t test my other one at this point.
It is hard for all dogs to learn to wait patiently for performance events that they enjoy, but if you can’t work with them it is very hard. My dogs will sleep all day at a conformation show but mainly because it’s boring for them. Hunting is so fun that I can’t just chuck them in a crate and expect them to behave, or worse, to come out of the crate and listen to me.
I have never trialed before (it was more pressure than I wanted to put on myself at that point) but I have trained a bit in agility and did attend an agility trial with my trainer before I took a break to focus on my eventing. Other people have certainly touched on different aspects, but I wanted to note this bit in particular. Did you change your training methods at the trial, after witnessing what the more experienced handlers were doing? If so, that was probably very confusing for your dog on top of everything else that was going on. It sounds like you have been training long enough that your dog knows the rules of the game, and whether they are the best methods for what you want to accomplish long-term or not, they are what your dog knows. You can certainly play around with adjusting your style at home. I echo what another poster said about having a negative marker, like “Oops”, that gently lets the dog know that the behavior wasn’t what you asked for. I personally use “Nope”, which is a bit softer and goofier-sounding than just plain “No” and said in that “aw shucks, guess we have to try that again” tone of voice. It’s definitely worth having a conversation with your trainer about, too. But trials are not a time to change how you communicate with your dog, so many things about that environment cannot be controlled so your communication and your training with your dog should at the very least remain consistent.
I know you said in your thread about the puppy that you were pretty upset about the way your dog reacted. Not sure what else is going on in your life, but it sounds like you both need to hit the reset, and you need to take the pressure of off both your dog and yourself. Easier said than done, I know - but try to get back to having fun with your practice rather than aiming for specific competition goals. If even that’s too much pressure, there’s nothing wrong with taking a step back from practice and enjoying your dog in a less stressful way - teaching him new commands and games, taking a nice long hike together, or something else you both enjoy. I know I got a bit overwhelmed with my agility training (it’s hard!), and while I have yet to get back to it due to moving and having to find a new trainer, the time away has allowed me to recognize how truly incredible and smart my dog is and how lucky I am to have her.
ETA: I now see that you have a negative marker and just didn’t use it due to stress. For me, personally, I know if I’m having a meltdown, the best thing I can do for my dog is call it a day. I can’t expect her to overcome my lack of or miscommunications with her, and I don’t want her to learn to tune me out. Also good that you came to the realization about working. It just sounds like there was too much going on for you both to be able to properly focus.
Maybe, in the spirit of giving back (of which I’m all about), work one day and play/compete one day?
Remember overall this is supposed to be fun for both you and your dog. If you aren’t having fun and if your dog isn’t having fun, then maybe need to take a deep breath and step back. I get the desire for a Q but a successful Q is validation of the relationship you have with your dog.
I don’t do agility but I do compete in scent work. Nothing is more satisfying to know I got the Q. But, if I put too much stress on myself or on my dog, then its not fun.
Perhaps if I was a dog training pro and needed the Qs and titles as validation of my training maybe. But, for me, at the end of the day, I want to be driving home thinking my dog was a rock star even if we didn’t Q.
I know easy to say and harder to pull off but still something to keep in mind.
Knowing how little I know now, I knew even less when I first started. I delayed entering my first few trials, I did a few obstacles only for MANY trials, and took baby steps for a looong time while others were strongly encouraging me and assuring me we were ready.
I would prepare 100x more now than I did with my first dog, so that the trialing and technical part is pretty darn easy. Run thrus, ring rentals, FEO runs, seminars, privates with different trainers, and starting in certain venues are all great ways to prepare both of you for the ring before you hit your first “real” competition trial. The handler needs to learn how her ring stress presents and how to diminish it. The dog needs to learn to read her handler when she’s being all crazy-weird and smells funny :lol:.
I would not use a negative marker or walk of shame in the ring because I think it’s too hard to judge in the moment what is happening and I always give the dog the benefit of the doubt. I do not want to risk harming the trial CER over my mistakes or lack of training. Thinking about it, I’ve never seen someone Walk of Shame at a ring rental… funny! :rolleyes:
Any CPE trials near you, OP? They seem to be some of the most encouraging and supportive venues around my area. Sometimes AKC isn’t the most welcoming. Also, you don’t have to enter both runs and you don’t have to Do All The Things in a course. You are always allowed to wave, say thank you, and dismiss yourself at any moment.
change the situation to young, green horse and at 2nd or 3rd outing. What would you all say? Go back home, learn from your mistakes, practice some more and give it another go. But it happens to everyone who has ever competed w/ an animal doing something other than look pretty… most will say, watching someone have a bad go - “been there, down that, have the t-shirt”.
So, I think you will shake it off, remember why you love this sport and your dog and you will give it a go again. Just like the rest of us. Chin up, carry on!
PS- some times venting is good - hope you are feeling better already.
One thing about volunteering at agility trials - you can totally do it without sacrificing your own runs, but you have to be selective about what you do. I work a ton at trials and can do all the jobs, but I almost never sign up ahead of time. Instead, I wait till I get to the trial and check the board to see what jobs need doing, and when my runs are going to be. If I think there will be a conflict between my run(s) and a volunteer job - I don’t sign up to work. At a one ring trial, this is really easy to manage - it gets tougher at multi-ring trials, but it’s still doable. It’s all about finding a balance between doing what you need to do for you and your dog and helping the trial.
I do think that learning to chill out in a crate at a trial is a very good skill for your dog to have, but like anything else, it is something that you have to train and develop over time. (And even then, some dogs are going to be better at it than others.).
TL;DR - Volunteer, but be selective about what, when and how long you volunteer.
Yes I agree, but I also think that a new person in a sport needs time to watch, hang out, meet people, etc. As a club president, I would always take help from members/new participants, but I would actually rather they spend more time watching than helping until they are more experienced. What I think would be a super easy job might be overwhelming to someone new, and then trying to manage that and running/showing their own dog might be total overload.
I can remember going to my first conformation shows and not even understanding when I needed to be in the ring, what class came next, etc. There is no way I could have volunteered to do anything - even sell raffle tickets or set up a lunch table - at the same time…now, that seems like a silly thing to even admit. And conformation is pretty easy compared to a performance event.
So, for a beginner, it might make more sense not to combine them on the same day.
Point taken, but depending on the type of event and the particulars of that event, volunteering is a highly variable endeavor. Honestly, I can’t imagine trying to volunteer at a conformation show that one was trying to also show a dog at because, crap - multiple rings, the scheduling is all “to follow” and gah, all the grooming that you have to do right up until the last darn minute, plus the whole possibility of having to go back in for groups and (maybe) BIS! Agility, on the other hand, seems downright simple (especially at a one ring trial).
I get the impression that the OP offered to help (because club members should absolutely help out at their own trials), but probably got guilted/railroaded into doing more than she should have. And there’s a big lesson learned right there, I hope - help, but be able to stand up for yourself/your dog and say “No, I have to take care of my dog/get ready for my class” even when people are freaking about and saying that the trial can’t go on until they get help. Club member or no, you still paid for your runs and you have the right to take them.
OP, in the future, take a look at the schedule - see if you can come in early or stay late and offer to help work first or last class of the day (assuming you’re not running in both of those) - those are very often times when the club does truly need the help, but might be easier to work into your dog’s schedule. Around here, you often get bonus volunteer bucks for working either of those classes, because they’re harder to staff, since a lot of folks want to come late and leave early.
Awwwww OP. I do hear you and for the most part the answers here have been supportive and helpful and you have taken all this in the spirit of being a teachable student and willing to learn. I suggest you take a deep breath, work
at making his work fun and take pressure off yourself. You will get the fun back, so put this behind you and take
it all less seriously. Your personality probably finds that impossible.
We have a Boxer who loves agility but is hilarious, turning the curse into freestyle rather than perfection - but at this level she is pure fun. If people can laugh, it lightens the atmosphere.
My first trial with my youngish Standard poodle did not go well haha. (I had done a couple trials with my other 2 dogs, but they are both pretty ‘mom’ oriented and they are small so easier to direct even if they are running ‘fast’ and we can ‘fudge’ things a bit)
We competed NADAC so our first event was Tunnelers (a course only made up of tunnels). First course my standard was a little WEEEE but he was actually looking (extremely hard!) for the tunnels. We didn’t Q the first course cause I didn’t catch him in time to keep him from going into a wrong tunnel, but we did Q the second course. He was WILD but he was LOOKING for the tunnels.
I thought, ok, if he’s going to look hard for the equipment we’ll be ok. We might not Q but hopefully we can make it through a course relatively unscathed.
Went to do our ‘regular’ agility type course. My dog pretty much took off BOLTING around the ring having a grand ole time. I randomly got him back and managed over one jump, then we got to the A-frame and I thought ‘ok since this clearly isn’t going to go well, I might as well train my contacts’ I have been to a few trials and see people schooling things in the ring so thought that would be the best course of action.
So I schooled that contact (he ran past it the first time down so I just called him back onto the base, held it for a second, then moved on) we haphazardly made it to the dog walk, and again he ran past the contact the first time so I popped him back on the same as I did the A-frame.
I heard the judge say “thank you”, but in my frazzled mind I just thought she was saying that I didn’t Q and I was just going to continue towards the exit trying to direct him to the obstacles but pretty much just making my way out. I hadn’t realized that I had gone against the rules by schooling 2 contacts (I had read the rules but when you’re dog is gayly galloping around the ring your brain doesn’t remember every single rule).
The judge very rudely and sharply snaps at me “YOU ARE ONLY ALLOWED TO SCHOOL ONE CONTACT SO THANK. YOU.!!!”
I was like… seriously? I’m obviously not an experienced exhibitor (all 3 dogs I had there were all doing intro or novice classes and we certainly weren’t polished) and you’re going to get that b*****y to me? Ya that’s really gonna attract people to do this sport, having the judge be a cow. Definitely tainted my whole day and makes me think harder about going next time when she could have simply said "just so you know when a judge says ‘thank you’ while you’re on course, it means that they are excusing you from the ring. The reason why I was excusing you is because exhibitors are only allowed to school one contact while on course’
I would have gone ‘oh whoops, I’m sorry, I will remember that for next time!’ and left feeling positive about the interaction.
So I understand the not fun feelings in the agility ring when things aren’t going to plan!
What a great discussion this has turned out to be! The idea of staying late and working after my runs rather then working prior to having to be in the ring is a good thought. The dog is infinitely patient about crate time and did simply sleep the entire time I was working at the trial, I just think that he was bored and gave up looking for me. It was definitely an unusual routine for him/us.
I should have stated that I am not a member of “my” club, just a student of the training program. I decided pretty early on that I just don’t realistically have time to fulfill the work requirements that come with membership. I’m spread pretty thin everywhere as it is and am lucky to carve out the time that I do to work with the dog and attend lessons. I want to keep it fun and not stress about work obligations–I do that enough in every other aspect of my life! And that’s ok, I’ve never been made to feel that I am any different from a member but when they put out the call that they really needed help, I told the coordinator to sign me up for what ever they needed, that I might be qualified to do. I think that was my first mistake–forgetting everything that I already established about how this was all going to fit into my life.
So I think going forward I need to just let that go and focus again on the dog and my run(s) and making it all work for us instead of trying to be superwoman. I think I need to remember to be realistic about my time and my level of experience and on why I got into this in the first place–playing a fun game with my high energy dog who isn’t content with napping on the couch and walking on a leash around the neighborhood in the evenings.
First class back this week after disaster trial and we were back on a roll. He was awesome, we both had fun, my timing was back and we were putting in good runs on challenging courses and having a ball. THAT’s the point. Not being everything, to everyone, all the time. I cannot do it all, and that needs to be ok. Because if it’s not, the whole point of this has been lost.
I signed up on a last minute basis to do two runs on one day of a CPE trial next week on my day off. Just the runs, no working. We will go regroup and have fun and I just need to get back into the ring, come what may, we will have fun.
This yes, it’s supposed to be FUN for both you and your dog If you both aren’t enjoying it, why do it? (IMO only, of course ).
In all the years I’ve done dog sports… many years ago, obedience and more recently ‘nose work’, I have not chosen to join any of the local kennel clubs. Early on, at a 2 day NACSW element+full trial, I volunteered one day (the day where dogs were entered in all 4 elements) and just came and watched the single element trials. I wasn’t ready to trial my dog so I came ‘unencumbered’
I got to watch element run-throughs at my leisure. The following day, I got to actually see dogs work the pair of elements I was assigned to (one “challenge” with nose work is the competitors get to “see” the search area, sans dog, but get to see no run-throughs with real dogs although rules vary from organization to organization (Barn Hunt you get to watch all the hunts except the dogs in your blind as they move the rats every 4-5 dogs). Got to see dogs “prep” for their element runs and then watch actual searches… how the handlers worked with their dog and how the dogs worked (yeah, I’ll admit I’m a bit of a nosework bigot ). It was nice to be able to watch and not worry about my possible run later in the day (for example).
My first AKC Scent Work trial, I did just the trial and didn’t do any volunteer work (and bless all the volunteers as the day of the trials, we have one in the morning and a separate trial in the afternoon and they were the first AKC Scent Work trials in Arizona ). I am hoping to be able to do some volunteer work, if it pans out, when we get more trials in AZ but always my trialing will come first Not because I want the Q (yes, I do) but because my dog deserves the best out of me and that may be incompatible with possible volunteer work requirements.
You should be able to volunteer without being a member and having to deal with member work requirements (ugh). If the club didn’t want non-member volunteers IMO, that would be their loss, not mine :lol:
Remember also that not only is every experience with your dog a learning opportunity for your dog but also a learning opportunity for you … what worked, what didn’t, what to do differently next time, etc. Sounds like you’ve also re-thought working runs just before going in the ring vs after class. I’ve always thought when I was riding that the warmup before going in the ring was just that, a warmup. If I don’t know how to do what I’m gonna be doing in the ring, I’m not gonna learn it in the warmup
Report back after your CPE trial and see if your learnings panned out
If you both aren’t enjoying it, why do it? (IMO only, of course 