Going to events with dogs

[GutsNGlory]

[QUOTE=Ready To Riot;8482988]
Penny oaks in May is going to be my first horse trial of the year… Anyone know how the stalls are there? It doesn’t say anything about tack stalls either, are they available?

ETA: or how close trailer parking is to everything else?[/QUOTE]

Stalls are lime base with secure doors and wire paneling or wood between so no way for your athletic pups to jump out. Usually tack stalls are available, but trailer parking is close to the stalls and the weather will be cool enough you should be fine setting them up in your trailer. You just might bring a tarp to hang up in case of rain with your stock sides - we never know around here that time of year!

[Ready_To_Riot]

[QUOTE=GutsNGlory;8483232]
Stalls are lime base with secure doors and wire paneling or wood between so no way for your athletic pups to jump out. Usually tack stalls are available, but trailer parking is close to the stalls and the weather will be cool enough you should be fine setting them up in your trailer. You just might bring a tarp to hang up in case of rain with your stock sides - we never know around here that time of year![/QUOTE]

Awesome! Thank you! I think I’ll put them in the trailer for that one. so excited!!

[Highflyer]

[QUOTE=Ready To Riot;8483095]
When I first started training dogs, I was forced to take any and all dogs (much like being a horse trainer starting out). Time and time again, I would get dogs whose owners just refused to punish the dog for bad behavior. The typical response is something along the lines of “well I just love Fido too much to get on to him/her” no. If you loved Fido you would train Fido! Typically these people would send their dogs to me then pick them up 4 weeks later and start ruining all good behavior taught.

I didn’t expect horse people to be this kind of dog owner. I suppose I am wrong.[/QUOTE]

Ha, my experience has been that dogs owned by horse people are the worst behaved.

[beowulf]

[QUOTE=Highflyer;8483579]
Ha, my experience has been that dogs owned by horse people are the worst behaved.[/QUOTE]

you’re not alone.

[quietann]

[QUOTE=Highflyer;8483579]
Ha, my experience has been that dogs owned by horse people are the worst behaved.[/QUOTE]

And there seem to be a couple of BNRs who enjoy having ill-behaved dogs, especially JRTs. I know that a lot of people have “good” JRTs, but I am thinking of someone who thinks it’s funny to have dogs that growl, chase people and horses, and destroy stuff. There’s someone in the dressage world with JRTs like that, too.

No I am not naming names! Nor picking on JRTs!

[redalter]

crosscreek - I am SO SORRY about the cat!!!:no:

I always want to give people the benefit of the doubt. I also don’t want to name names, but last year, I was warming up, and a BNR had their JRT’s running around the warm up. Several times one of them charged my horse, and the BNR did nothing. Finally, I gave the BNR the stink eye.
The BNR snatched the dog up, offended, mind you. After a few minutes, the BNR let the dog loose again.

Another time a huge BNR let his dogs off leash to “run”. The dogs came back on command, and the bnr kept a close eye on them, but they were still loose. And no one said a word in either case.

I get that not all people are irresponsible, and not all dogs are naughty, but the ones that are like that ruin for everyone else.

And it does seem the BNR’s, maybe because they are at more shows, or whatever, seem to be among those that are the repeat offenders.

[RacetrackReject]

Do events no longer have doggie jail? I remember at Camino, unleashed dogs were turned in and the owners had to pay to get the dog out of jail. I think a local rescue/shelter ran the jail to raise money for their organization.

[dkcbr]

[QUOTE=gardenie;8481722]
I see this as an offshoot of just a cultural change in general that does not bode well for having animals in general. Humans are getting increasingly inflexible on both ends of the spectrum. Dogs and horses are going to get loose and do things they shouldn’t. On one end of the spectrum, if you want to live in a zero defect world, the horse world, which by in large is an animal friendly one, isn’t it. On the other end of the spectrum, if you want to bring your dog, don’t think the world is responsible for your dog. And though I am a fan of crating as a safety and training tool, I see too much crating and not enough exercising in general of dogs. Dogs aren’t TV’s. I have also seen a tied up dog get killed because he was laying under a neighboring vehicle unseen. Bring your dog with a plan to events that allow it, and be a good steward. Vote with your feet if its important and don’t go to events that don’t allow pets.[/QUOTE]

I do agree that anyone bringing dogs to an event must have a plan and be a good steward. Absolutely.

Unfortunately, all it takes is one incident to sour folks on having dogs at events and become what you would possibly call “inflexible” thereafter.

This past Spring I personally witnessed a trainer’s dog run into the ring, chase a horse, the horse kicked up and out, the kid rider fell off, the horse then ran around bucking and kicking out, eventually running out the out gate loose on the showgrounds until we caught it. This kind of spectacle definitely moves me a bit more toward the inflexible end of the spectrum. Ugh.

The only thing worse than a loose dog at an event (or horse show of any type) is one tied on a long line so that someone else leading a horse cannot safely wend their way past it. I’ve seen this both at the trailer area and at the stabling area. Ugh.

And nobody is “inflexible” if they don’t enjoy stepping in dog crap. :no: Ugh.

The onus is on the dog owner/handler to be conscientious, safe, and cognizant of others who may be endangered at worst and inconvenienced at best by the presence of the dog.

But I am sure most of us agree. And as someone else noted, all of the COTH dogs are perfectly behaved at the shows.

[FrittSkritt]

I feel like more and more people nowadays are so self-absorbed and tend to have the mentality of, “Oh, but not MY ____.” Fill in the blank… kids, dogs, etc. It’s like the 2-year-old who was sitting behind me on a plane this Christmas, slamming the tray table up and down, standing on his seat, and at one point grabbed my hair. Parents sat there and did nothing. Either they a) just don’t care, or b) don’t want to apply the same standards of basic manners to their own children because they simply do not “see” the bad behavior, because their precious pumpkin NEVER misbehaves at home!

I was at Surefire last year and a BNR’s notoriously mean Daschund comes waddling up to the house, starts rooting through the trash, growls at people standing there, and picks a fight with one of the organizer’s dogs. BNR did nothing to apologize, just laughs and says, “Oh, she’s just not very friendly!”

Seriously? :rolleyes:

[seabreeze]

Dogs charging and chasing horses in the warmup? Crazy. My horse isn’t a “dog person.” Such behavior would end poorly for Mr. Dog if he got too close to my fella.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

COTH had a very funny article on JRTs a few years ago with this relevant quote:

The Jacks are the nightmare of every dog school instructor, and perhaps the accepted fact that they “don’t train well” is one of the reasons for the popularity they enjoy with horse people. After all, when you spend all day schooling horses, you have little energy left to train the dog. If the dog is known to be virtually untrainable, you can shrug, sigh, and apologize for your unruly dog while feeling confident that everyone understands that things are beyond your control.

https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/tbt-affliction-called-jack-russells

A friend of mine has a JRT that she is training for agility but she’s not into horses in support of the article’s thesis

[crosscreeksh]

In all fairness and honesty…Jack Russells CAN be trained to mind and be good citizens!! For years we had 4 JRT’s (all related by blood or marriage) on our horse farm/TB Training Center (along with two large German bred, GSD’s personal protection trained) and I can say they were all well behaved, non-hostile to humans, cats and horses!! Any dog (or child or horse) is only as good as their trainer/owner!! When a dog owner feels they are “priviledged” and don’t need to follow rules, social manners and niceties…their animals act accordingly!! No matter what the breed!! I have limited tolerance for “anything” with bad manners!!

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

@crosscreeksh–I agree, my friend’s JRT is a sweetheart. High-energy but she wanted that since she is so into agility and he is also great with kids. I’ve actually never met a JRT that I disliked and some of them, contrary to the stereotype, are quite mellow.

[IronwoodFarm]

[QUOTE=seabreeze;8486243]
Dogs charging and chasing horses in the warmup? Crazy. My horse isn’t a “dog person.” Such behavior would end poorly for Mr. Dog if he got too close to my fella.[/QUOTE]

Seriously, can’t you get a yellow card fro this sort if behavior? Maybe the TD is not handing them out enough. Something like dkcbr is definitely grounds.

Sorry, but I hate dogs at horse trials. And JRTs are in a special class. My mother owned a JRT and I can tell you that when she was dying, she asked her three daughters which of us would take him. There was silence. He was the most obnoxious, awful, and badly behaved dog ever. We paid one the nurses to take him and the darned dog lived to be 22 years old and ornery to the end.

[fordtraktor]

Yeah, I also don’t think it was the other trailer’s fault for running over an unseen dog tied so long it could get under their trailer. How were they to know? I have tied my dog at my trailer before, no issue with that but he only got enough rope to stay with MY trailer.

And it’s no use saying we ought to be “flexible” with dogs getting loose because that is absurd. I took my dog to shows for years and years and he never, ever “got loose.” If you take a dog with you it is your job to ensure it doesn’t get loose and endanger other competitors. Which a loose dog does.

I love dogs and hope to take my dog places where it is allowed, too. OP should be fine with hers. But I hate nothing more than some loose dog barking at my young horses when I am trying to ride.

Finally, I used to have a horse that hated dogs and he very unfortunately kicked a loose dog in the head and killed it once. I felt very bad but nothing I could do. I never even saw the dog, it ran up on the horse’s heels and it kicked out immediately. You let your dogs get loose at your dog’s peril, too. The dog owner was very distraught as was I, the whole thing was horrible.

[yellowbritches]

[QUOTE=Alice112;8488884]
I can understand not wanting to lose volunteers, but my dog isn’t the same as a jump judges dog. I’m not allowing my dog to sit right next to a cross country jump.[/QUOTE]
Exactly. Jump judges have many responsibilities, not just sitting there and ticking a sheet as horses jump. What does the jump judge do when there’s a fall at their jump? What if the rider or horse are in distress? What do they do with the dog? Sometimes they are sitting in their cars, but a lot of times they aren’t. A lot of times they are just sitting in the open.

And while it may be hypocritical to say this, but the “I don’t want my dog sitting at home alone all day, so I bring it with me when I volunteer” bugs me. Do you not work? My dog is used to me going to work and going out without her. She doesn’t like it, but she handles it just fine. She sleeps on the bed all day. Yes, I bring her with me to shows when appropriate (and I make time to hang out with her throughout the day), but I bring her with me to a lot of places when appropriate. I consider volunteering a job. She would be left behind (and has been left behind) when I do my volunteer job.

Obviously, this is volunteers dogs is a touchy subject to me. And I can see why some would say my argument is hypocritical. But, if a friend of mine eats it at a fence, and needs help, I don’t want the volunteer trying to figure out what to do with their dog. I want them getting to my friend and assessing what needs to be done to help.

[devvie]

Where I live, jump judging is bound to be a 12 hour day when you include travel time to the event, which I think it way too long to leave a dog home.

[QUOTE=yellowbritches;8488914]

And while it may be hypocritical to say this, but the “I don’t want my dog sitting at home alone all day, so I bring it with me when I volunteer” bugs me. Do you not work? [/QUOTE]

I don’t have to contend with this issue now, because I’m now able to leave my dog at the barn where I ride, where she is either supervised or put into a stall where she can take a bathroom break, but I have dealt with it in the past. My dog is happier there for sure, esp. in the heat. It’s context that complicates this issue though: for some it’s easy to leave them at home, for others, it’s just not.

[Saskatoonian]

Jump judging here is a full day activity too, with travel and briefing and hanging around til the protest period is up.

When thinking about volunteers and dogs, don’t forget that the flip side of your comment that people work all day is that the only time they have to spend a lot of time with their dogs is on the weekend - when we all, as competitors, want them to volunteer. That’s not to say that I think having them at jumps is a good idea - I’ve only ever done it when it was raining and I was in my truck - but the phrase “beggars can’t be choosers” comes to mind when you start talking about volunteers.

[yellowbritches]

[QUOTE=Saskatoonian;8488973]
Jump judging here is a full day activity too, with travel and briefing and hanging around til the protest period is up.

When thinking about volunteers and dogs, don’t forget that the flip side of your comment that people work all day is that the only time they have to spend a lot of time with their dogs is on the weekend - when we all, as competitors, want them to volunteer. That’s not to say that I think having them at jumps is a good idea - I’ve only ever done it when it was raining and I was in my truck - but the phrase “beggars can’t be choosers” comes to mind when you start talking about volunteers.[/QUOTE]
Trust me. I know. I have a dog that I adore and my days off I sometimes have to
choose between spending the day with her, or spending the day doing something that doesn’t involve her. Life’s about making choices. And when the beggars are being asked to choose volunteers with dogs that can prove to be a distraction or a risk, then I think it’s something that needs to be discussed.

Again, I realize I am particularly touchy about this subject. I quite possibly wouldn’t have a leg full of titanium if that jump judge hadn’t had her dog. I don’t know. Maybe I would still. I just don’t think jump judging is the best place to have a dog.

On the other hand, I really have no dog in this fight (pun totally intended), as that crash eventually led to me deciding to stick to jumps that fall down. But I do still have friends and horses I love that compete, and I do consider their safety.

[devcubber]

As an organizer, I have to explain to my 150+ volunteers to leave their dogs at home for these reasons. I have had many jump judges bring their dogs (one got loose and chased a horse on the Int course - jeezus) and I finally made a rule that is NO DOGS. For volunteers. Competitors bring their dogs, and if they are loose, it is very expen$ive to get poochie back, as our County Park Rangers patrol our park during XC and catch loosey-goosies. You could ask the organizers of the HT you plan on attending if they offer (or would consider offering) “doggy day care” at the secretary’s tent while you’re off doing horse business.