Oh my this is perfect thread, I was waiting for HAHA club&meetings
Icy here.
My mom really drives me crazy. I'm trying to do my best, running like wind, following her direction, but sometimes it's too much, so I feel like barking right at her face.... and I do bark. She does a lot of turns, but really doesn't know anything about right timing, so sometimes I get confused and knock down some jumps. She is also kind of maniac and nervous when running, so there's no consistent handling I could depend on. She needs better focus and chill out.
Me here.
Don't be so hard on your mommy. You know, you had your chance to try and run with different handlers, with some of my friends and you always made two steps forward, but then quickly turned back and ran away back to me. So YOU chose me. Bear with me please
It is a 12 step program and the first step is admitting that I have a problem. "Hi, I'm Helen and I am a really bad bad agility handler"
2. quit blaming the dog for my mistakes.
Ok, maybe sometimes I blame him..... BUT then I think about our run and always admit it was 100% my fault. I promise I won't blame him anymore
3. remember the course at all times.
I'm quite good at this..... unless there are a lot of tunnels lol
4. quit waving my hands around like I am landing aircraft.
I'm trying but my dog is kind of like a concorde lol i need to make sure he sees what i mean
5. support the obstacles I want my dog to take until she is committed.
Yep, this one is one of my biggest sins. I'll try to work on it, promise.
6. don't expect the dog to know to turn if you are still pointing your shoulders and feet at the off course jump.
Ooops, yep. It's bad, I don't even realize I'm doing this..... I wish I had more videos of our runs, so I could do some analysis
7. don't over rotate your shoulders and then stand there if you don't want the dog to run past the right jump and take the A frame.
Fortunately not such a big issue for us either. It's my salvation and curse at the same time. My pup is SO observant and attentive (even at his incredible speed) that I can usually turn him away from the wrong obstacle.... BUT also when I do one tiny wrong movement, he moves at the wrong obstacle LOL
8. Don't tell your dog to turn while in mid air over the jump because you know she'll do it and drop the bar.
Yep.... I should know better. Especially when doing blind crosses, i turn my shoulders too much or look back at him (geez she doesnt trust me enough) and he sometimes drops bars. I need to work on this one,too.
9. don't do jack rabbit starts and stops try be be smooth in your acceleration and decelerations.
yep smooth and fluent movement, writing this one down, too.
10. Don't rush and crowd your dog into the weaves so she can't find the entrance.
*blushes* Im SO sorry!! (she's such a maniac) I'm trying not to rush or push him into weaves, but just last weekend I did it.... yes. I ran too fast like crazy and he ran like crazy with me, not even noticing weave poles LOL. Yep LEARN TO SLOW DOWN AND CONCENTRATE, NO PUSHING THE DOG
11. precue your front crosses so your dog knows where you are going.
Actually..... do you mean verbal precue? I might be doing this, but not sure what is meant here. Tho, I don't do a lot of FCs
12. Trust your dog, she is better at this than you are.
Absolutely, if he had a better handler, he could be competing at big championships..... I have no doubts, he's really talented.
It's especially sad, because my poor doggie really refuses to even try and run with someone else, .... I'd love to see him run with someone who's got better handling skills
Few days ago I was translating interview with one judge and one of his answers made me laugh.... he said that dog has only one handicap - his handler
so true!!
I'm glad I could join HAHA club!
She is making me join Horrible Agility Handlers Anonymous Or HAHA.
