Chin up, Cheryl! (very long, sorry)
Hi Cheryl,
I've been pretty busy with work to get to the forums until now, but I finally got a chance to see how you and Koji did last weekend. I'm sorry it was such a disappointment for you, but I've been there (A LOT!) and I'm thinking I'll still have such weekends. We've had more than our share of trials where we've had a 1/10 Q rate (thank god for jumpers or tunnelers on those weekends!) I thoroughly feel your pain.
If I may be so bold... I think you and Koji are doing great! I remember the first few runs in NADAC that I watched you two run, and you've come a very long way. He's still a very green dog regardless of how many trials you've run. Remember the GOOD things that happened (great waits, good crosses, etc.), and work on those things that you can work on. No matter how often you work on something, there will always be some scenario you haven't thought about that changes things to the dog (and adds to your practice repertoire). You as a team need to work on how different positions/entries/footwork affect how you two run together.
What I saw consistently with all of the videos was that Koji is a very exuberant, happy sheltie wanting to go FAST and wanting you to tell him where to go, NOW. His bopping out of weaves and jumping off tables and flying off contacts are all basically symptoms of the same thing... he wants to keep running, and he wants you to TELL him where to go or else he tells you off. It's a very common problem that you see in NADAC in many dogs, experienced or not. The handler/team are not in sync, and the dog NEEDS to know where to go, and you aren't providing that information in a timely manner. Where you gave information early/on time, Koji was very smooth and happy. The second you stopped giving information (or he perceived a change in information), Koji was on his own, and he let you know it. Also, with him being so green, his obstacles aren't as reliable as you'd like, and your frustrations display that. Independent obstacle performances takes LOTS of reps and time... don't beat yourself up on that. Just keep working.
When you run a smart, fast dog, YOU as the handler have to figure out how to remain connected.
I have similar issues with Alva... contacts, weaves, tables all slow him down, and HE DON'T WANNA!!!! We've had to work diligently on making those obstacles really cool so he wants to do them completely and it's taken a long, long time and many crappy trials. It finally feels like we are coming together, and I'm learning to trust him more. There are still weekends where weaves completely suck (where the weekend prior, they were spot-on), where he blows contacts, or like at our last trial, where he avoided the table like it was the plague. I adjust my handling based on what his tendencies are that weekend...
I probably don't need to tell you this, but... working hard in class does help in trials, but there is nothing that simulates a trial atmosphere. I've learned the hard, frustrating and expensive way that the only way I could work through some of his issues was to eat runs at trials. Alva never blew contacts in class, but in a trial, Superdog arrived and flying was par for the course. That's one reason I love running in NADAC... I could train a contact (for an E) AT A TRIAL. I could work on how I moved, and made him slow down enough to THINK. If he did his contact, he got his reward and finished the run. If he flew off again, we stopped and walked off. He HATED THAT! He also didn't get treats and was ignored. Being the smart sheltie that he is, he then decided to AVOID the contacts altogether so he wouldn't get "punished". All this time, his approaches to contacts and his touches were perfect IN CLASS. It took a long time (over a year) for him to figure out that doing the contacts correctly IN A TRIAL meant he could keep playing. Since I don't have instant vocal encouragement, I believe it took us much longer to work through those issues than people with a hearing dog would.
He's so much more reliable now. I'm learning to trust him more so the long frustrating road was worth it. Now, all I need to do is stop dead if he blows a contact or ignores a command, and he knows, uh oh, and starts to think, again, and we continue playing because the connection was re-established. Thinking on course is part of his job, and he's finally figured that out. We need to be a team, and he's now starting to trust ME more, too, which is pretty cool to see. Lately, anything we've messed up on has been on me, and I know it. I praise him to high heaven if he took an off-course that I caused, because he did what I asked of him. It's taken ME a long time to behave positively in those situations, and not send negative vibes to my dog who DID IT RIGHT, and keep the game fun! Just because mom was a butthead doesn't mean HE was... he deserves to feel happy and encouraged, and it creates more trust for better and faster runs for the future.
Good luck to you in future trials... I hope to see you and Koji at a trial soon! NADAC at Rohr this weekend... send us good vibes for nice contacts in TnG
-Dayle
Mom to: Alva--CL2,CL3-F,H,S;
O-NCC,S-NJC,NAC,S-Tn-N,Tn-O,O-Wv-N,Hp-N; CGC
Orville--CGC
Wilbur,Misty--sweetest shelties waiting at the Bridge
