Ah the trials of trialing....

[MontanaRott]

Well they call them TRIALS for a reason! We went to an obedience TRAIL today(3 1/2 hr drive) and boy oh boy, just when Phil thought he proofed for everything imaginable, Guerin pulls a new trick out of his hat.
Outside of the ring before it was their turn, Guerin was so on, focused, attentive, heeling like a pro. People who have seen them at other trials said oh boy he is on his game today. Yuppers, JINX!
So they go in, greet the judge, very nice older man. Set up in the start position, get the ready, and they are off. Down the side of the ring, gosh Guerin has never looked better, right turn, UH OH! HE GRABBED THE LEASH! (he has NEVER done that,working, fun match, or trial) Phil keeps going, thinks, "ok he will REMEMBER he is WORKING and we can salvage this thing." Halt. Phil halts, Guerin keeps tugging on the leash! Comes out in front of Phil, dances and prances and tugs the lead. Phil GLARES, Guerin GRINS, hops around tugs the lead, judge says, your dog is having a bad hair day, Phil leaves the ring GLARING. A friend of ours standing ringside says, "taking him out to read from the bible to him?"
Phil takes him outside for a "meeting" Guerin is PERFECT!
Sigh.
Well we won three really nice prizes in the raffle.

[Luvs]

Oh No, Shirley has Guerin been talking to Akasha??? You just described Akasha's performance to a "T" the day after she got her third leg (at least she waited until she had her CD ) I am so thankful that from now on, we will be in the ring without a leash for her to play with. Of course I am sure she will come up with something new, don't they always?

[Ilovemypuppy]

Sorry...but I had to laugh when I read this I am sure Phil was upset..but Guerin was having fun !

Obedience training is where "Sit Happens!"...the ring is where "Sh#t Happens!"


Onwards...they are a great team

[MontanaRott]

Originally Posted by Luvs

Oh No, Shirley has Guerin been talking to Akasha??? You just described Akasha's performance to a "T" the day after she got her third leg (at least she waited until she had her CD ) I am so thankful that from now on, we will be in the ring without a leash for her to play with. Of course I am sure she will come up with something new, don't they always?

You are not kidding! Just when you "think" you have seen it all, out with a new twist they come! Well we have 4 more tries in the next month, so we shall see what he thinks of next! We laughed all the way home, I mean really what else can you do? A St Bernard, right before Guerin, got the zoomies during the off lead heeling and got a big laugh as well.
And Stevie is really enjoying the rope tug we won in the raffle. It will be a cold day in heck before Guerin the leash tugger gets it!!

[MontanaRott]

Originally Posted by Ilovemypuppy

Sorry...but I had to laugh when I read this I am sure Phil was upset..but Guerin was having fun !

Obedience training is where "Sit Happens!"...the ring is where "Sh#t Happens!"


Onwards...they are a great team

We laughed outside of the ring and all the way home. It really was comical. Thanks for the boost!!

[Judi W]

Hint please. Anytime something like this occurs, don't just stand there like a tree, say something!!!! You are allowed an additional command during heeling. The strongest voice (not volumn, but strong) with Gurin, "heel" is perfectly acceptable, would have cost about 3-5 points, recalled Gurin to his business, but kept Phil in the ring. I don't even care if he still would have been excused, it disabuses the dog of the idea that the handler is some helpless, debarked person. Please pass this on from me. It makes my temples throb to see a handler become a helpless mute in the ring. Even if the dog is on an exercise that does not allow a second command. Let's say the retrieve and the dog just stands there staring. Give that second command. It would be a zero - which you are going to get anyway, but doesn't leave the dog thinking they are associated with a helpless voiceless person.

The rules do not allow discipline, but as long as you stay with a regular command word(s), tone of voice is a difficult thing to fault. (and most judges have competed and they will sympathize)

[MontanaRott]

THANK YOU Judi! That is what we talked about and wondered about and now and IF that butt head does something like THAT again, Phil WILL use his voice and see if he can save the run!

[debbiej]

sorry, I'm laughing....
the visual is too cute. Is there any way to proof against a wild hare?
I can laugh cause I'm a long way from expecting it!!
When we are closer to being able to enter any kind of trial at all, I probably will sympathize. right now my trials involve my patience.

[diddybopper04]

MontanaRott, not sure there are many offered in your area, but if this were my dog, we would be taking in some show and gos so that I could correct this in the ring if it happened again. I would prime the dog for it by getting him really up before you go in the ring so that it's likely to happen again.

Good luck!

[MontanaRott]

Originally Posted by diddybopper04

MontanaRott, not sure there are many offered in your area, but if this were my dog, we would be taking in some show and gos so that I could correct this in the ring if it happened again. I would prime the dog for it by getting him really up before you go in the ring so that it's likely to happen again.

Good luck!

Diddy we do every fun match every time there is one. He was WAY up before he went in the ring yesterday but behaving and working with no problems! That is the one thing Phil said that caused him to freeze, he was SHOCKED. This was nothing the dog has ever done in a fun match or a trial before. We have a fun match next Sunday so we will see what he does. He is young and very immature so we are not totally surprised he got goofy.

[frontierrots]

Bea's reward for doing good is to leash tug. Because of this she also has a stop command. If she ever does this in the ring I would tell her "stop" and take the deduction because as Judi said, I don't want her to think we can fool around

[MARYDVM]

One of the companies that sold obedience patches (CD, CDX, etc.) also sold a patch that said "NQ He never did THAT before" for folks with a sense of humor.

[MontanaRott]

Originally Posted by MARYDVM

One of the companies that sold obedience patches (CD, CDX, etc.) also sold a patch that said "NQ He never did THAT before" for folks with a sense of humor.

LOL! That is funny! I suppose there are breeds out there that do not think and thus make it easier to gain that CD! Ours however is not one of those!

[Judi W]

A couple of things. This was your dog's effort to destress himself and/or his handler. Can you even begin to imagine how unnerving it must be for the dog to find that his partner has suddenly become some sort of alien being whose every muscle is tense, whose voice sounds different and who moves in a stilted manner? Many dogs will begin a comedy routine in order to relieve stress. (not saying for sure that is what happened, but I would not be surprised).

Remember that you can give a second command and if in an exercise where one is not allowed, do it anyway - what is to be lost? Make the tone and words meaningful, use the dog's name at this point prior to the second command. In order to stay within the rules, do not step towards the dog, nor bawl him out, nor curse or anything that can be called discipline, but also, don't leave the ring with the dog thinking the world has turned upsidedown.

[MontanaRott]

Originally Posted by Judi W

A couple of things. This was your dog's effort to destress himself and/or his handler. Can you even begin to imagine how unnerving it must be for the dog to find that his partner has suddenly become some sort of alien being whose every muscle is tense, whose voice sounds different and who moves in a stilted manner? Many dogs will begin a comedy routine in order to relieve stress. (not saying for sure that is what happened, but I would not be surprised).

Remember that you can give a second command and if in an exercise where one is not allowed, do it anyway - what is to be lost? Make the tone and words meaningful, use the dog's name at this point prior to the second command. In order to stay within the rules, do not step towards the dog, nor bawl him out, nor curse or anything that can be called discipline, but also, don't leave the ring with the dog thinking the world has turned upsidedown.

You know Judi, we talked about it alot today, and that is what Phil was feeling that Guerin was destressing or feeling how happy Phil was with him and how relaxed Phil was and got a bit carried away. Phil was very happy relaxed and very loose in the ring, more so then usual, and he was feeling today that Guerin picked up on that and just got a bit silly. Now that he knows he can use the second command and the world will not come to an end he will if the need arises in the future.
Guerin was still in full on play mode when they left the ring so he sure did not get the idea HIS world was askew! And outside the building he worked so sharpley Phil was wishing for a do-over! They are green and learning and with more experience and maturity, they are on their way to being a great team. No harm, no foul I guess, just another learning experience!