dallygirl <kwickwick RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> is it wrong that im looking forward to it so much.
Absolutely not!!
> i work my dogs as in training every day and they always seem to enjoy
> practice in agility and obedience but what if they dont actually want
> to do their stuff in the ring???
The only real difference for your dogs between training and trialling
is going to be YOUR attitude. If you are terrified when you walk into
the ring, they are going to pick up on it and learn to hate showing.
If you walk into the ring with the attitude "Wow, this is great! This
is the most fun we could possibly have EVER!!" they are going to pick
up on that too and you will be well on your way to success.
I learned this lesson myself the hard way - it was SOOOO important to
me to have my first dog do well that I ended up with major problems
with him stressing in the ring. It took me about 3 years to a) first
readjust my head to the fact that qualifying wasn't life or death,
that the reason I was there was to have FUN with my beloved dog, and
that I was doing him a disservice by not having my "ring nerves" under
control, and then b) to retrain him that the ring was a fun and not a
scary place to be. Though it was a lot of work, it was worth it - he
ended up finishing his CD with a national specialty high in trial.
I'll give you an example of what I'm talking about to try to make
this more concrete. Once, when this same dog was quite old (I think
it actually may have been his last trial) I made the mistake of getting
a picture of him taken shortly before we were due in the ring. The
photographer was having the dogs pose on a table, and my dog slipped
as he jumped off. This upset him badly. By that time we were such a
team, so in tune with each other, that I knew exactly what he needed
to get over his fright. I found a quiet corner of the show and actually
laid down on the ground beside him and cuddled with him for about 15
minutes, right up until it was his turn to go into the ring. And do
you know what? He turned in one of his best performances ever - he
was truly stellar that day. And that was because I knew that what
would settle him down was some comforting and cuddling from his mommy.
Another dog might've needed just a "c'mon, let's go, don't be silly";
others might need to do some tricks for treats to distract them; yet
other dogs might've done best with a walk around the show grounds to
get some petting and sweet-talk from strangers. But for my dog, the
needed thing was physical reassurance from me. Does that make sense?
It is all a matter of knowing your dog and knowing what s/he needs.
So my advice is this: when you go out there to trial, forget that it's
a trial. Forget that qualifying or placing is an issue at all. Focus
on your DOG totally - how is s/he feeling? What does s/he need to be
having fun? ALWAYS be delighted (and I mean truly delighted, not faked)
at everything your dog does in the ring, even if it's a mistake - my
own experience is that when a well-trained dog makes a mistake in the
ring it's usually because they're either nervous or trying too hard,
so don't be even a bit disappointed - both things mean that your dog
is really really trying to please you, and that's a GOOD thing, not a
bad one. And remember too that there will always be a next time to do
better.
In short, whether or not your dogs enjoy trialling is 100% up to YOU.
Teaching them to enjoy it is just part of the entire training process.
And when you look at things this way, you can't lose, because you can
ALWAYS work on your own attitude. Make sure that your dogs' enjoyment
is your #1 priority, and you will end up with dogs that love competing.
I hope that helps,
Dianne
>> Stay informed about: competition,is it just for me? 
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