Walk of shame

[Sealtainn]

LOL...so I guess the real question should be.

How many people have NOT done the walk of shame I bet you probably get no responses

I don't like the thought of there being any shame involved.
There should be no shame... not by you the handler or the dog.
If I felt that way I should find something else to do.

Every time in the ring adds experience.
Forget about thinking in terms of Q'ing, or getting a perfect run... these will come in time. Your goal for a run can be anything you set it to be, not how others are judging you.

Instead enjoy the mishaps, and bloopers for what they are - if you hold onto video, a year or two down the road you'll look back differently.

Sure, there may be times when carrying your dog off the course is the best thing for you both, but there is no shame in recognizing that's what you need to do at that time.

 

[danisgoat]

I don't like the thought of there being any shame involved.
There should be no shame... not by you the handler or the dog.
If I felt that way I should find something else to do.

Every time in the ring adds experience.
Forget about thinking in terms of Q'ing, or getting a perfect run... these will come in time. Your goal for a run can be anything you set it to be, not how others are judging you.

Instead enjoy the mishaps, and bloopers for what they are - if you hold onto video, a year or two down the road you'll look back differently.

Sure, there may be times when carrying your dog off the course is the best thing for you both, but there is no shame in recognizing that's what you need to do at that time.

True in theory......but have you tried it

The feeling is terrible and embarassing, but sure does make you want to work harder and be better the next time

 

[SheltieChe]

I don't like the thought of there being any shame involved.
There should be no shame... not by you the handler or the dog.
If I felt that way I should find something else to do.

Every time in the ring adds experience.
Forget about thinking in terms of Q'ing, or getting a perfect run... these will come in time. Your goal for a run can be anything you set it to be, not how others are judging you.

Instead enjoy the mishaps, and bloopers for what they are - if you hold onto video, a year or two down the road you'll look back differently.

Sure, there may be times when carrying your dog off the course is the best thing for you both, but there is no shame in recognizing that's what you need to do at that time.

Ohh, person after my own heart.
Reframe the moment. Your dog gave you beautiful feedback. Neither me or agility were as much value as environment.
Take it for what it is, dog is not being stupid, willful, independent, blows you off.. It is what it is, I have a hole in my training and I appreciate my dog showing it to me. What is my plan of action for fixing that hole? Can we have fun?
No frustration or shame need not be there.

 

[Sharon]

Ohh, person after my own heart.
Reframe the moment. Your dog gave you beautiful feedback. Neither me or agility were as much value as environment.
Take it for what it is, dog is not being stupid, willful, independent, blows you off.. It is what it is, I have a hole in my training and I appreciate my dog showing it to me. What is my plan of action for fixing that hole? Can we have fun?
No frustration or shame need not be there.

I personally dont like seeing the dog walked off course because I honestly don't think they know why they are being walked off.I have seen dogs taken off for a missed contact and the person so upset and I have seen dogs shut down because they are stressed and the person getting mad at the dog.The list goes on.I have though walked my dog off when he was younger have never did it again.

 

[Sealtainn]

True in theory......but have you tried it

The feeling is terrible and embarassing, but sure does make you want to work harder and be better the next time

I don't make a habit of it but I have done it with my baby dog, but I made sure she knew it was not punishment & I was not upset or frustrated or embarrassed.

Things can happen in any run -- keeping perspective on the bigger picture helps build a winning team.

 

[Justicemom]

.Instead enjoy the mishaps, and bloopers for what they are - if you hold onto video, a year or two down the road you'll look back differently.

.

I had that experience with my JRT/beagle mix Jazz in obedience. There where many times I wished the floor would have opened up and swallowed me whole. I retired her from obedience when we got a 0 in Open(both Jazz and I were happier after that).

Jazz passed almost 4 yrs ago on Dec 7 and last month I was looking at a video of her last time in UKC Novice C. It was alot better than I remembered(actually not bad) and her recall over the jump was brilliant. Amazing how time changes things in our minds.

I have never taken my dogs off the agility in a trial but then both Justice and Ember had UDs before they ever competed in agility and listening is what they did best. Even Diva has a solid drop and recall so if she gets really out of control I just down her and let her reboot her mind. I haven't needed to do that for a long time.

 

[corbinam]

I have never walked my dogs off mid-course for a mistake that they made. I once walked off WITH Bentley because the course was just too hard for the both of us and I got frustrated. But, he didn't know the difference!

However, I don't have a problem with people who use that method the correct way. I have seen dogs who refuse to settle at the start line, and if they get too stimulated, the handlers have been instructed (by excellent trainers) to turn around and leave, and remove attention from the dog. It has worked for those people.

But, a caveat to that is that this method is only for select dogs. It is for those dogs who don't care about the details, not those who are trying and have not been correctly trained and proofed.

 

[nellie123]

Only once...for a NT where she ran out of the ring.

I don't think I will ever take Nellie out of the ring for anything bad- missed contact, etc. She wouldn't know why she got taken out. I think that the only times I would take her out would be for a NT or something similar.

Although, not all NT runs are 'walks of shame' This weekend, I saw a woman with a very high energy sheltie have the dog do the first 4 obstacles (ending with the weave poles) Once the dog finished the weaves, she (the woman) Ran out of the ring with the dog and gave her tons of treats and lots of praise.

 

[k9kreationz]

I've done it a lot. For Koji though, I know it doesn't really seem to bother him. I usually walk off because he's over stimulated and when he's like that, no amount of punishment brings him down.

In my case, although it's embarrassing, I'd rather walk off versus trying to run a course where either he's not focusing at all or I'm just way off my game. It's not really fair to either one of us. It usually frustrates us to keep going, versus walking off. So in my instance, walking off is the nicer thing to do.

It's also nice when I have walked off at NADAC and people have said "good call" because you know you're not doing something bad...even though it feels like that. Since it was my first venue, it was nice to be supported in a decision that made me feel like I was a bad handler.

 

[ortegah]

Oh indeed! Sometimes it's just necessary. I know I set us back a good year by not pulling him when I should've. Sometimes it just reinforces the bad behavior when you let them finish their crazy course.