I think my dog is bipolar. We went to the Triune Kennel Club trial this weekend with mixed results. Her first run-standard, was a little out of control at the beginning and the end but nice in the middle with awesome weave poles. Then off to jumpers which was smooth and controlled but not as fast as she can be. But she got a Q and 6 MACH points (it was also MXJ leg#2). Today we started off in standard once again. It was a mess. She started slow, stopped in front of a jump and refused the teeter like she was afraid of it. Then went off course, slowly gained speed and enthusiasm but really the whole experience was a bit painful. I was not looking forward to jumpers but tried it anyway and what do you know, she did great. She looked hard at some of the off course traps but came when called and ended up with another Q and 6 more points.
So basically I'm happy about the good runs but super frustrated since I don't know what dog I'm going to have from day to day or even from one run to the next. If she just consistently acted like she didn't like agility that would be one thing, but when she has episodes like this (and only at trials) it's just hard to tell. I get more nervous about how she's going to act than any other part of the trial. If she was always having fun but making mistakes that would be ok. That we could work on. But sometimes I'm just not sure what to do with her.
But I guess since I don't have another agility dog we will just keep plugging along and see how it turns out. Hopefully she will eventually realize trials don't have to be stressful. Because her stress is stressing me out! It's just supposed to be fun. So now I get to spend two weeks wondering how she will be at the next trial.
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Summer
4 months ago
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9 comments:
Totally what I am going through with my 3 year old. Just plugging along also.
Congrats on your Q's!
I can relate to your frustration. I keep hoping that my dog will be less stressed by trials too.
Could be pain of some kind. Muscular problems can be intermittent and hard to diagnose. Trialing every weekend and/or daily practice can wear any dog down. My instructor had exactly the same problem with her Sheltie. She gave him 3 months off and starting doing daily massage. He's back to enjoying himself again.
Just a thought.
We've already been down the "what if it's pain road" and everything checked out ok. Thanks for the thought though!
Dogs are just so hard to figure out. Who know why they do the crazy things they do. Congrats on your "Q" runs! I wouldnt let it get you down. We all have are off times, even silly dogs. Diana
( yea listen to me ,who is extremely upset about her dogs weave poles. Maybe I need to take my own advice. LoL )
Now you know what life with Fudge is like. I never know from day to day which personality he'll show.
Yip. Same here. Only my dog does it in classes too, not just trials. 4 years old and I'm already having to think about retiring her. I do have a second agility dog, but she's not nearly as talented as the stressed out one is.
Ditto exactly what Sara said!
But also if you worry about which Legend will show up, she will feel that you are worrying. So try not to! (much easier said than done, I know!)
Legend IS quirkly, but extremely lovable. A lot of dogs, especially rescues, have quirks we will never understand.
I think there is one other thing going on. Zodiac is the most stable and consistant competition dog I have ever seen. Very few dogs are like him. Legend is very different but you are still extremely successful with her. It may not feel that way but that is really the truth.
You are a wonderful trainer and about the best handler on a course I have seen. I think you ought to relax and realize you are doing a great job and sometimes no matter how hard you try, the result is out of your hands.
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