J... Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 And I'm still sulking about it... cos I stupidly persisted instead of putting Darcy back in the car, and it finished with her completely not listening (admitedly easy to do cos I've lost my voice :D ) and finishing on a bad note. Admittedly we did an ok obedience session afterwards, but nothing startling. We worked on some contacts, she offered her first ever seesaw 2o2o contact, without me even asking for it. We worked on big rewards for correct tyre performance (she's started to go under the tyre in the past week or so, possibly copying some other dogs who have done it???? ) but she scored gravy beef and plenty of praise for doing it correctly today. Then we got to the jumping course.... and things turned to sh*t!! On our last training session before our first jumping trial. Which is why I persisted.... on a course that was higher than novice rating. :D Such a fantastic confidence building session that it was, now I'm contemplating whether I pull out of jumping and just do gamblers for the trial experience, and wait til the next local trial in October... Should have just stayed in bed and got over my rotten cold Anyone want to share some sh*tty training stories and make me feel better Any advice welcome also Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 Don't worry I had a majorly sh*tty end to my day at the dam (ET training on the bike) with Geordie after we got rushed by a large Staffy with bad manners and an owner who didn't even try to call it back!! Sorry not training, but we can wallow together. Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted June 3, 2007 Author Share Posted June 3, 2007 Ah that sucks when that happens doesn't it - I'm quite paranoid about finding places where other people don't tend to go for that very reason Happy to have a fellow DOLer to wallow with :D When are you planning on doing your ET? I want to do it with Darcy, but no point training for it at the moment cos she's not 2 y.o until December and I don't think they hold them in the warmer months??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridgie_cat Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 well we had an awesome day today (we passed into grade 4 which = trialling class at our club )... but I can relate from the other night when Lana made the same mistake on the weavers maybe 10X?? argh!!! really easy set up too but she kept missing the same one! Hard to end on a good note when they just wont do anything good... and even harder to stay positive at that point! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 Ah that sucks when that happens doesn't it - I'm quite paranoid about finding places where other people don't tend to go for that very reason :D Happy to have a fellow DOLer to wallow with :D When are you planning on doing your ET? I want to do it with Darcy, but no point training for it at the moment cos she's not 2 y.o until December and I don't think they hold them in the warmer months??? Yup I am starting to run out of places as well.... ET in five weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t(AD)pole Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 How does the saying go? Bad rehearsal, good performance...something like that. Don't worry too much about it. If you were ready for the trial when you entered one bad day at training doesn't mean you should scratch...Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted June 4, 2007 Author Share Posted June 4, 2007 Thanks T(ad)pole :D I've thought about it quite a bit over the past day and I've started to see the good come out of it... I've realised that Darcy is starting to become more comfortable with distance work and I can control her quite well direction wise but I need an emergency brake, especially when it comes to the temptation of tunnels and super-tough call-offs! Going to talk to a few club members later on in the week and see what they think re: scratching. I'm not convinced going just for the experience of competing is a great idea at this stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 FP - what was it that went so wrong in jumping? I'm probably completely off-base here, but you mention that your girl had been going under the tyre in the last week. Now jumping not going well. Is it possible that she is a bit skeletally uncomfortable somewhere and her "not listening" relates to some sort of avoidance behaviour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted June 5, 2007 Author Share Posted June 5, 2007 Erny - It wasn't the jumping that caused the problem - 6 (jump) went straight into the tunnel, but was actually a call-off to go into the other end as 7. It wasn't a novice level course challenge, a fellow clubber believes it was closer to open/masters level challenge. Didn't help that the course setup was a bit rough and the tunnel was closer to 6 than it ever would be in a trial situation. I knew I was going to have problems with it - stupidly I persisted. She "normally" has an pretty good call-off even in the face of a tunnel, but as she starts to work a bit of distance I'm losing a bit of control on the brakes so to speak. Given she's so fast, I don't want to discourage her willingness to go a bit of distance As for the tyre - I had been jumping her at 400 mm for about two months given her age, her height class is 500 mm. We've been practising 500 mm level jumps at home for several weeks and every now and then she'll pull one down but its more cos I've cut a corner. The tyre being a little harder to jump through, and there being this big open space to go under it, well, who wouldn't? Maybe her understanding of what constitutes "good tyre behaviour" is different to mine I certainly appreciate your comments though - we have a great doggie muscle/chiro person locally and I have been thinking taking Darcy along for a regular session to make sure she's all okay and stays that way :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiechick Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 OK, the bad news - even at Masters level you will still have sh*tty days at agility training ! (and trials too) The good news - you get to take your wonderful dog home with you no matter what happens - your dog loves you and doesn't know or care if they Q'd at a trial or not. Sometimes I think the question is not if the dog is ready to trial but is the handler ready to trial? I agree that it is not a good idea to enter just to get trial experience if you are not ready, but you have to do it sooner or later and there are still a few options on the day : 1. If you run in the morning and decide that it would not be in your dog's best interests to continue in the afternoon for any reason, then don't. Take your dog off for a walk, play together and have fun so that it was a fun day out for your dog ,spending time with you. 2. If you are running a course and your dog starts to turn off/shut down, don't complete the whole course. Run to the last few obstacles and finish on a high - most novice courses will give you a nice straight run home with 3 or 4 obstacles. Big party at the end. 3. Having a go will give you your best indication of whether or not you truly are ready to trial - no matter how prepared you are it is impossible to simulate trial conditions in training and there will always be issues that you hadn't thought about that rear their 'ugly heads' at trials. No one says you have to enter another one straight away. Chalk the first one up to experience and then have a break for another few months if you think you still need to work on things. 4. No matter how good or bad your run is, no one will remember it except for you ! Want to share a quote with you that I love (about 'trial readiness' )- it is from a US competitor and judge, Paige Port, who kindly gave me permission to quote her in the dog club newsletter that I edit , so I'm sure she won't mind me repeating it here : " When can you, the handler, walk into the ring not caring about a Q, not caring about what other people will think of you, not caring about being embarrassed in the ring ? Are you willing to accept the blame for any mistakes and give full credit to your dog when things go well? When can you go into the ring with your best friend by your side, with the sole purpose of making sure your friend has the most fun they've ever had, no matter what you have to do to achieve this ? Can you come out of the ring, no matter what happens, happy, smiling and thanking your dog for playing this game with you ? If you can, then you're ready ! " Good Luck with whatever you decide - where is the trial , might see you there ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted June 5, 2007 Author Share Posted June 5, 2007 Kelpiechick - that is some of the best advice I reckon I'll ever get, especially the bit at the bottom from Paige Port - that bit just bought tears to my eyes because thats exactly what its about. It was exactly what I need to hear - a big to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Darcy gave me the finger at training last Wednesday night and gave me a wonderful day of trialing on Sunday - we got our first ever Masters Jumping Q. Dogs don't hold grudges. Just make sure you learn from it and go to your next training session a little wiser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BittyMooPeeb Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 I can sympathise feralpup. I had what I thought was a great day of training on Wednesday, till the instructor said "you've got a great dog there, pity about the handler" . The bad part being of course that it is true :D . Still, *I* have fun (and I've improved a lot - Imust have been awful to start with) Great advice Kelpiechick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted June 5, 2007 Author Share Posted June 5, 2007 :D BMP I'm speechless!! That's a terrible thing to say to anyone But you're right, we do it because its fun, if its not - well, time to find a new hobby Congratulations on your Masters Q Poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShellyBeggs Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Great advice Kelpiechick!!! Sometimes I think it helps to remember that ........its a game and as the saying goes, you are not playing for sheep stations!! this will not change world peace and it will not cure cancer..... But....it's about fun, bonding with your best mate and doing something together! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leopuppy04 Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Feral pup - isn't the trial a week and a half away yet? I've had some horrible training sessions with my dog on the week of a trial. Not to mention - the times we have had some great runs in training he has been horrible at the trial! So don't weigh up the night's performance on whether or not you should compete! I also find that our first run is usually the worst and following runs get better and better . Go out and have fun . I was nervous, but I came out of the ring after having a great time and usually with me watching the other dogs/ handlers go before me, I get antsy to get in there myself :D. Oh and in relation to the tunnel - come across that call-off TWICE in a Novice jumping trial - they like putting it in coz they are mean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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