Training But Not Competing

[JulesP]

Who here enjoys the training but has no real desire to compete??

For me I find the fun goes out of it when I start thinking about working towards competing. Wondering how to keep the fun going and keep the pressure off myself and in turn the dog.

[Gamby]

If anyone knows the secret Please let me know.

I enjoy training, seeing my dog responding to my body language, toys or food rewards.

It is so good to see the dog happy, working with me as a team, maybe that's what I should do instead of competing, train him for tricks or doggy dancing or whatever.

[sidoney]

That is me, mostly. If I have a choice between a seminar and a competition, I'd go to a seminar. I enjoy the satisfaction of private achievement.

Mind you I've done very little of either over the last year.

[poodlefan]

Doggy dancing is a competition. So are frisbee, lure coursing, earth dog trialling and a bunch of other things you can train your dog to do.

I find competiton is what drives me to train harder and to insist on a higher standard of performance from both the dog and me. It's not about beating anyone for me, its about measuring what I can do against an objective standard.

Sure it makes you nervous but the satisfaction of achieving in competion makes up for it.

We get the odd "I dont' want to compete, I just want to have fun with my dog handler" in agility. I don't have a problem with that but I do have a problem when that becomes the excuse for people who don't want to practice or train to a standard. We've got people at our club who been training for years and have never entered a ring but they still are happy to work at it.

Sometimes changing your objectives WITHIN the competitive envrionment is what can make it more enjoyable. Going into the obedience ring, determined to make it a positive experience for your dog, is a great start.

[alanglen]

Well I completely love my training and enjoy my competition days! I do enjoy training more than comp days but we learnt to have fun in the comp days but not taking everything too seriously! I don't own a dog sport mad bred so we work to our own standards and levels and have a blast doing it! My grls love the games and the rewards and really aren't fussed about me getting a ribbon! Mind you we do the best with teh more relaxed attitude. It's all about fun!

[J...]

Is there a reason why the thought of trialling puts you off?

I never planned on trialling in obedience at all, and resisted the push of several instructors to have a go at it. Then I watched/stewarded my first ever obedience trial and decided that 1) it wasn't as scary as I thought it was and 2) it was actually a lot of fun!

Its not just the trialling itself, I have a lot of fun at agility trials - you get some great laughs, quite often at your own expense and I especially enjoy the smaller trials and those 2 day trials where you can camp on site.

Quite a lot of people I've trained with are quite happy to just play at it, but the bug has bit a few lately and they are having a go at the club trial for that home ground advantage!!

[sidoney]

The reason I don't trial ATM is that it takes pretty well a whole day each time, and I don't have that. That's also the reason I'm not going to seminars.

[skip]

I am more interested in agility now but did obedience for a while. I only did it as i thought it was fun and its good for the dogs. And they injoy the interaction with me and others. Have just gone back to obedience training as agility training isn't on anymore.

There are a few there who want to trial but most people just enjoy it at a lower level. We are a small club. But it sounds like you are talking less about people who are happy to do it for fun only and more about comps making you nervous so its not as much fun.

Poodle fan is right. People who do agility, dog dance etc still get nervous as they too feel they are competing. I was always nervous when I did horse competitions and I'm just the same now I do it with the dogs. I found after heaps of comps with horses that experience helps. With the dogs I just try and make it fun for them as well as take a little step forward each time. When you tackle a new skill or attempt a higher level you are sure to learn something even if its just what to work on for next time. Its natural to get nervous. Makes actually getting there more interesting. If I found it easy it would be less exciting.

And if (when)I get nervous I tell myself - that what I'm doing in not such the big deal I make it in my head. Enjoy the moment and my dogs company.

[Tapferhund]

"We get the odd "I dont' want to compete, I just want to have fun with my dog handler" in agility. I don't have a problem with that but I do have a problem when that becomes the excuse for people who don't want to practice or train to a standard. We've got people at our club who been training for years and have never entered a ring but they still are happy to work at it."

Poodlefan.....I have to agree with you.......and I also find many of those who do say , "I dont' want to compete, I just want to have fun with my dog ".......generally say that because they CAN'T raise the bar in training their dog to a higher standard.......and they are generally the ones who think they know it all and like telling others how to do it.

IMO...if they can't walk the talk....they are not worth listening to.

[rastus_froggy]

I do both agility and obedience, but only compete in agility. The dog I compete with in agility is a total lunatic and I love working with her and competing with her. I do obedience with my boy who is a fairly serious kinda dog, I will not trial with him in obedience (as much as the instructors try and encourage me to) as I personally do not enjoy the obedience, and I have even been told that I am not enjoying it because Im not doing it right. Maybe that is the case, maybe the way our lessons are being delivered is just not inspiring or maybe I simply just dont find it exciting enough for the type of person I am???? Who knows??? I also kinda feel that I dont need a judge to tell me that "Yes your dog is good and can walk next to you and do things on command" Not sure why it is different with agility though maybe Im just strange.

All I know is that I love working with all my dogs.

[piper]

Who here enjoys the training but has no real desire to compete??

For me I find the fun goes out of it when I start thinking about working towards competing. Wondering how to keep the fun going and keep the pressure off myself and in turn the dog.

That would bem e and is why Piper has her CD took 3 years to get after her first leg cos I only did 1 or 2 trials a year) , is trained for CDX but I'm not interested in actually getting it, her AD and some of her ADX, her JD and some of her JDX. The only thing I have kept working at in regards to competing is herding where we are close to an intermediate title and aim to continue. For some reason that I can't put the fimger on I find herding different.

Other that herding I just prefer to train.

[Arya]

I totally love competing and win or lose, I find it pushes me to be a much better trainer and gives me goals to work towards and is just generally great fun. I've me a lot of great people thru it too. But in a comp my goal is not necessarily to win or even pass - though those come with the very best we can do and are added lovely bonuses if we do- but to try to achieve the very best, perfect performance (which will be a while before we get close to LOL) in that particular stressful situation that is a big test of us both. I love it. BUT... the truth is, the really 'golden' moments with me and my dog come when we are working alone and are both enjoying ourselves immensely. So I can well understand that for lots of people, the competing thing is not the deal, training and having fun is. And it is all good imho

[leopuppy04]

I find competiton is what drives me to train harder and to insist on a higher standard of performance from both the dog and me. It's not about beating anyone for me, its about measuring what I can do against an objective standard.

Me too. I have to have a goal to work toward and the competitions give me that. I find them a little stressful, but not as much as what I used to - this is after all fun! I'm actually really excited about entering obedience again soon!!!

You saw me at the agility trial Jules - don't take it too seriously etc... and have a good laugh when the handler 'fluffs' .... I have fun and the dog has fun, which is after all the most important thing!

[Cosmolo]

I would probably fall into the training but not competing actegory for the time being. Here are my reasons-

Agility trialling- something i would like to do but have found myself to be extremely time poor in terms of trialling on weekends. I can train during the week at variable times so i can still train but having clients who all want weekend appointments limits my trialling options!

Obedience- Disillusioned with both the trial content (which i think is impratical and not a true test of a dogs ability) and some of the bitchiness encountered that i can do without- would deal with the attitudes of a minority if i really wanted to trial but don't so choose not to have to deal with it.

I don't think it is a sign of not being able to raise the bar- its certainly not in my case as my dogs are constantly challenged in a variety of ways and have what i consider to be excellent obedience. My moments of pride come when i get compliments from clients and strangers alike on the behaviour of my dogs and improvement they see in my previously 'terrified of everything' dog.

Taperfund- 'walking the walk' doesn't always mean the dogs have to trial. I consider one of my dogs in particular to be exceptional and not having a title on her makes no difference to the skill level i (and others who can recognise it) know she has.

[Cosmolo]

One other thing- there are some things i train for that have no test or trial but because my dog enjoys it so much,as do i, i do it just for us e.g. Scent Detection with a number of target odours.

[Reddii]

When I first got our dogs and got into training I said there was no way that I'd trial - just wanted a sound dog and a good family pet. Then I got into agility a bit and caught the bug, then it was flyball, now it's herding.

With my little bitch I can't wait to get to our first agility trial and have only 2 weeks to go til our first flyball outing - WOO HOO! She will really enjoy the ring and loves to perform in front of others.

With our boy I'm not sure if we will reach that standard just yet, he's 11 months and has had a couple of set backs so we haven't done a lot with him at this stage. He doesn't get too excited, but as we have more and more fun he seems to be getting into it.

To me it is a matter of finding what you and your dog enjoy and doing it. Personally I find the lower levels of obedience disinteresting, but love flyball and agility so that is where we tend to spend our time. As for the dogs - if they enjoy a bit of a run around with some weaving pegs and jumps thrown in and you are there to help set up and pack away and you aren't getting in anyone else's way then I don't see a problem with that - just the same as a really high drive dog who goes nuts every time you get to agility and loves to work the whole lesson. (That said at 11 months the psycho dog would also switch off after about 30 minutes too.)

I guess at the end of the day I'm saying I can see it from both sides of the fence - there is a LOT of commitment involved in getting a dog to that level and sometimes it can impact on your overall life. When that becomes the case it just isn't worth it - i'm sure there are plenty of dogs that are very happy with their lot, but don't trial.

[t(AD)pole]

Even though this isn't exactly the answer you were asking for I will give my view from someone who does enjoy trialling...

Trialling, for me, is not about winning or getting the almighty Q but it is about putting all the training to the test and it gives me a level to work towards. I also find that running courses at a trial can be a bit more interesting then the jump, weave, tunnel, jump sequence set up at class. When I trial I always learn something new and find something new that we need to work on.

I have only started trialling recently but if I ever feel that trialling is getting too serious or we are not being successful then I will stop, have a break and think about what agility is all about- you and your dog working as a team and creating that team takes more then training the obstacles.

[Kavik]

I guess I fall into this category

I would like to compete but haven't gotten there yet, and since I have just had a baby, obviously have little time at the moment :D I also get nervous, and this affects my dogs performances and mine.

Not sure if I will ever get there with Diesel as he just doesn't have the desire, drive or motivation to do high level work. I have a hard time keeping his attention.

Kaos has the potential to do competition, and I would like to give agility a proper go. There is just the issue with him and other dogs when things get excited and there are lots of other dogs around, but he is improving.

Regardless of whether I compete or not, I certainly want to further their training. Herding especially looks fascinating and there is sooo much for me to learn! And Kaos really enjoys it.

[Lablover]

Wondering how to keep the fun going and keep the pressure off myself and in turn the dog.

If there is no test or competition, where does the pressure come from??????

[Vickie]

Who here enjoys the training but has no real desire to compete??

Not me, I LOVE competing.

I love spending the day with like minded people & seeing the results of various training techniques.

I love being a normal person & not a "Mum".

I love celebrating & commiserating with my friends.

I love being able to measure where I am at in terms of training by how I am meeting the challenges.

I love discovering a new challenge that I haven't yet addressed in training.

I love the extra adrenalin that both my dog & I get from a competition

I love succeeding & coming home with a card or a ribbon to say that I have met the standard set in my sport.

but mostly I love that my dog loves to be there.

For me I find the fun goes out of it when I start thinking about working towards competing. Wondering how to keep the fun going and keep the pressure off myself and in turn the dog.

I like to set myself a specific goal every time I go into the ring, it might just be a little thing that I need to work on, but if it all turns to hell (as it sometimes does), I can be happy that I have achieved something.

I also suggest to people that they come & watch some trials & basically say to them that they need to realise that there is NOTHING they will do in the ring that we haven't seen before. Trialling IS Training & it's best to treat most competitions as a training exercise.

If you set achievable goals to work towards there needn't be any pressure. What kind of pressure are you feeling? Worry about others watching? Self imposed standards?