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The Mental Game of Dog Sports

Discussion in 'Other Sports' started by Silaria, Feb 18, 2016.

  1. 2GoodDogs

    2GoodDogs Forums Enthusiast

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    Calliesmom! :lol:

    My dogs have a rock solid down on command, a good stay, and all I have to do is add stock? :razz:

    Blame it on the youtube Matthew Twitty posted about Brian Cash's dog. too Funny!!!! Brian never left the ATV and his dog brought in about 300 sheep, all with whistles. :)
     
  2. Calliesmom

    Calliesmom Moderator

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    glad that I could make you laugh- cause I did when I read your post last night:lol:

    a BC I assume?
    and like all well trained dogs in anything, they make it look so very easy.......:pop

    shelties can lose their little minds around sheep so unless you've been proofing that down and stay around sheep, don't count those chickens just yet:winkgrin:
    Cran is not doing a down with the sheep or the ducks- either he does a sit or stand stay. most shelties don't have the BC power to maintain stock control in a down. Honestly, I'm always surprised when he does what I ask and things go the way that they are supposed to. If only I knew more and could help him out more, he'd be definitely ready..... but I'm still so clueless......:gaah
     
  3. labgirl

    labgirl Forums Sage

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    Now I wonder which little dog this reminds me of? Oh yes, the Sparrow:winkgrin: Sparrow has not had a clear run in ages, just when I think we are going to get it, it all goes pear-shaped. And like you people keep telling me she will get there and be amazing when she does, its just hard when each run is, at the best a 5-faulter, and most often a big, fat E. And yes, at training she is doing such hard stuff, it just goes to pot when we are out competing. However, each show I see little things that have improved, and today at training she did 12 closed weaves and that triumph will keep us going for a long time!!! I believe we can achieve great things, and I have to remind myself that one of my favourite agility handlers, who is top level and qualifies for Crufts and Olympia every year only trains once a week, because until recently she worked full time. It is not about the quantity of training, but the quality:wink2:
     
  4. Calliesmom

    Calliesmom Moderator

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    the mental aspects of dog sports................
    I guess I'm not as competitive as some of the other people in this thread. I so very rarely look at anybody else's time or score. only our q matters to me. what I do look at is if none of the 16" class qd, then it probably wasn't all me that we didn't q either.

    I do get nervous and I'm sure that is an issue for us... Dixie has needed one q to get into Masters Std for a while now- at least since last Oct if not longer....
    so I'm sure it's pressure that I'm putting on myself and her- and then we manage to mess up in ways that I never pictured...

    we've only been in Masters JWW since Jan and while Dixie only qd on Sunday in JWW, she was the only 16" to q so she got first place too. I really never expected to get any placements after moving to Masters because it's pretty competitive and I know that we aren't the most skilled team out there.

    I guess I actually have a little more confidence in rally and obedience because except for a few exercises that we are still working on, I know that we can do all of the stuff that is expected of us in those rings. and honestly, Cran is just too pretty to watch when he's heeling so I'm always thinking about that instead of other stuff.
    so long as I can keep straight which dog I'm running and what we're supposed to be doing, we'll be all right.....
     
  5. Silaria

    Silaria Forums Sage

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    :lol: Based on what Calliesmom said, 2GoodDogs, you may be better off looking for Treibball instead of traditional Herding. In Treibball you do stand, pretty much, in one place, the handler goal area. If there isn't any Treibball in your area, you may have to pioneer it!
     
  6. labgirl

    labgirl Forums Sage

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    Just to put in some context, when I watch videos of Enzo I find myself so impressed by him and comparing him to Sparrow and wondering why she can't get her contacts that nice, or her turns that smooth. So we are all the same.

    Take a step back and enjoy that little guy. If necessary, do like I am and enter anysize or run NFC, so you can focus on having fun without the pressure of running for placings or titles. Enzo has a lot of time ahead to achieve all the things you want, but don't lose your love for this game by trying to push too hard and too fast. I am exactly the same as you, I am always looking at the next title, the next win, the next level of competition. However, I am learning to take each run as it comes, to focus solely on going clear and to shut out everything else. This is why I don't watch people run before or after me, so I can't see how they are doing and then either knock myself down (because there are a lot of clears and I probably won't get placed) or put pressure on myself (because everyone has faults, so all I have to do is run clear to win). When I enter the course I have no knowledge of who is doing well, or who is not. When I leave I don't ask for my time or watch others (except my friends). As long as I have gone clear I am happy, but whatever happens I tell Merlin or Sparrow they are amazing and that they ran so well, because I love playing this game with them and wins are just the icing on the cake:wink2:

    Ps. Enzo IS going to be a star and you have a fabulous journey ahead with him x
     
  7. Silaria

    Silaria Forums Sage

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    Edan has CD class on Monday. With Keiran I have Rally class on Monday (after Edan's CD class), Agility class on Wednesday, and Treibball class on Saturday. Unfortunately, because of other things in life, I have very little time to practice any of it. Thankfully both dogs are very smart and retain what they learn so we don't have to go backwards. I'll admit, it's also discouraging when your dog (Keiran) has little to no concept of staying in heel. My fault entirely because we don't practice enough but when I see it it's like a sledgehammer to the head reminder we don't practice enough and time is difficult to find. It's one heck of a cycle.

    Like you, as much as I'd like him to be titled like his puppy peers, it's not going to happen. He'll get titles eventually, in our own time. I need to keep reminding myself it's about the journey; it's about the journey. Any number of things can change in an instant so I have to remember to enjoy the bonding and growing together as a team. That bond IS why I started agility in the first place and no ribbon or title can replace that. Knowing and saying that doesn't make it easier to remember at times.


    I've learned to do a lot of these myself. Most of our trainer run bigger dogs and don't necessarily understand the difference between handling a big dog (20 inch+) vs. a smaller dog (>=16 inches).

    As for watching others run, I do watch others run, especially games like Full House, Snooker, and Jackpot where you make up your own course. There have been times where I have changed my approach to the games based on watching others after I've already walked one course. Usually if I'm going to make a change and run something I didn't walk it's because the path is clearly supeior (smoother) than what I had planned. There have been many times where I ran something completely different from others because it presented the best course for my dog. When it comes to numbered courses, I do watch if there's a particularly difficult sequence and I want to see how others handled through it. Normally I don't change my handling but I may pick up an idea or two to try in practice.

    Edan didn't compete until he was nearly 3 years old, about 1 year after we started training. I look back at some of the things we did in that first trial now and know we weren't ready. Edan was my first dog and I was anxious to get into the agility ring with him; impatient may be a better word. I made mistakes with his training that I'm trying not to make with Keiran.

    Edan was also super easy to train, Keiran not so much. Sure, he's brilliant and will work with me but he also has an attitude when he doesn't want to do something. Getting him comfortable jumping 12 inches is actually suprisingly difficult though I think I've figured out it's a confidence issue and have gone back to some basic jumping skill exercies he can do with ease at 8 inches. I'll admit I was/am frustrated I can't get him to consistantly work at a higher jump height; the jump height he'll need to be able to work at because of his size. Now that I know it's confidence, I believe I can work through it and help him.

    Thankfully no one is pressuring me to enter Keiran. In fact folks from the club, to their credit, help keep me grounded and from doing something stupid, like entering him when he's not really ready. That said, I do plan on entering him in Teacup Agility the next time I get to trial. Why? Because Teacup has For Exhibition Only (FEO) runs that cost all of $5.00 and the beginner courses don't have weave poles. My ONLY goal is to get him on a course to run with me. If we don't run in sequence, fine; if we only do 6 out of 12 obstacles, fine. I just want to get him out to play with me, play being the key word. Keiran's been on all the Teacup equipment already and I'm comfortable the smaller equipement will be safe for him.


    Ashley, I have the same issues every year at the Petit Prix (Teacup Nationals). Somewhere in the stress of the weekend something goes wrong and I have a meltdown. (Not good when a venue judge, even one not judging, has a meltdown.) I wanted to pack up and go home because "we are better than that". Yes, that's an exact quote I said after a particularly bad run one year.

    This past year at the Petit Prix we had an AMAZING run in one of the distance challenge games. Edan was one of only 5 dogs to complete all 6 of the distance challenges only to loose all the points because of handler error. When I walked the course I COMPLETELY missed one of the jumps and incurred not just a 5 point off course and 10 point failure to perform but did not get credit for 1 of the distance challenges loosing 5 point bonus for that particular send AND failed ot earn 30 point bonus for completeing ALL the sends. My points in the game came to a whopping 10 points instead of the 60 points it should have been. It probably cost us a top 4 finish in our class also. I was devistated but Edan got the biggest party right there at the end of the course because he did exactly what I asked him to do; all of it! It was the hardest thing in the world to do... put my disappointment, and anger at myself, to give Edan the reward he truly deserved.
     
  8. Silaria

    Silaria Forums Sage

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    This is the sort of thing I mean when I refer to the 'mental game'. How do we deal with these nerves as well as other external pressures, real or imagined.

    I'll admit I have my moments when I get very competitive; usually when I'm closing in on a title moreso than working on the early legs of a title. For example, right now I'm working on a C-ATE in CPE which requires 3000 points (which is 20 required qualifying legs in every class) plus another 2000 points of my choosing. We are so far off from the C-ATE that I don't feel a lot of pressure to do anything but run and do the best we can. When I get within a few points/legs of the title, I know my demeanor will change. I'm aware of that behavior in myself and do my best to combat it with deep breathing, lavender oils, and focusing on Edan's best interest but it's not easy.

    Like you in AKC we found every way from Sunday to NQ a Standard course. It took Edan 2 years to get out of Excellent. At one point he had 2 legs in Excellent Regular AND 2 legs in Excellent Preferred and couldn't get that final Q to move into Masters. Once in Masters we got stuck at 5 Qs and couldn't earn any more in a year.

    Edan's not retired from AKC agility because he's already ticking the top bar of the 12 inch triple and it's not worth risking injury. Even so I STILL think about trying to finish his MXP but to get 5 legs could take us another 2 years or more and I have to keep reminding myself it's not worth Edan's joint health.
     
  9. take4roll10

    take4roll10 Moderator

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    One word... prescription. :wink2:

    I'm a nervous person in general. I don't like being the center of attention or having all eyes on me, so I do get very anxious waiting our turn in an agility trial. At every trial when I'm a nervous wreck, I say to myself, "why did I do this? I'm never doing this again." And then I go home and mail in another entry. :lol:

    To try to calm my nerves, I try to focus on warming up Bailey and distracting myself by chatting with friends. Of course like everyone else, I'm too hard on myself when I mess up or when my dog runs off and barks resulting in a table refusal. :mad:

    My dog LOVES agility. Literally cries in class when she is waiting her turn. After a long break, she will pull me into our training facility. But unexpectedly, she suffered a few health issues / scares over the passed few months. There was a point when we thought she would never do agility again. It broke my heart, I cried over the thought it. This all happened just few days after an incredible agility weekend, when we hit the halfway mark towards our MACH. Thankfully, my dog didn't have what the vet original thought she did, so she is okay to continue agility for now. She still has a few health problems and most likely her agility days will be cut short. We don't know how long she can do it for. It sucks for me because I really enjoy the sport and my dog absolutely loves it. She is so depressed without it. This really gave me a whole new perspective on agility competition. I don't care about the Q anymore. I don't care about the MACH goal. I just want my dog to be able to do what she loves for years to come. Of course I still have that competitive side to me, but we're going to take it easy and hopefully not have any health setbacks.

    So if you're ever really nervous, frustrated or angry, just remember you have an awesome dog and you just never know when it could all be gone.
     
  10. 2GoodDogs

    2GoodDogs Forums Enthusiast

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    Awesome advice take 4, this has been a very good thread. Thanks everybody for good stuff to chew on....
     

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