Silaria
Forums Sage
Why do I do it?
Like everyone else said, to see where I am with my training and what skills we need to improve or add to our "bucket of tricks". I use trials as a measuring stick for my skills. Each level I advance in a particular venue adds different challenges.
It also helps me identify skills I didn't know I needed.
Edan is my first agility dog so when I started training I didn't know a thing about the sport. As I've advanced through the sport I learned I needed to train distance, the concept of layering, obstacle discrimination, obstacle independence (which I'm still trying to get on the weaves), timing of commands and cues. Sure, some of this might come up in training but not necessarily.
Training is also a fairly sterile environment compared to a trial environment. Just because a dog can perform in training doesn't mean they truly knows the job. A dog doesn't necessarily generalize well so presenting differently built obstacles in a different building, or outdoors, can throw a dog a curve ball they don't know how to handle.
Even if the dog does know their job, the handler is different - more nervous/anxious, unsure, etc. - which the dog can also feed off of. Part of trialing is learning to control and conquer this so you can be a successful team.
It really is a competition, but it's competition against yourself moreso than against the others. It's you and your dog + all your emotional stress against the clock. How well you do depends on your training plus how well you control an environment that is mostly out of your control.
So, all that said, the TL;DR (too long; didn't read) version of this is - because it's a fun set of challenges.
Like everyone else said, to see where I am with my training and what skills we need to improve or add to our "bucket of tricks". I use trials as a measuring stick for my skills. Each level I advance in a particular venue adds different challenges.
It also helps me identify skills I didn't know I needed.
Edan is my first agility dog so when I started training I didn't know a thing about the sport. As I've advanced through the sport I learned I needed to train distance, the concept of layering, obstacle discrimination, obstacle independence (which I'm still trying to get on the weaves), timing of commands and cues. Sure, some of this might come up in training but not necessarily.
Training is also a fairly sterile environment compared to a trial environment. Just because a dog can perform in training doesn't mean they truly knows the job. A dog doesn't necessarily generalize well so presenting differently built obstacles in a different building, or outdoors, can throw a dog a curve ball they don't know how to handle.
Even if the dog does know their job, the handler is different - more nervous/anxious, unsure, etc. - which the dog can also feed off of. Part of trialing is learning to control and conquer this so you can be a successful team.
It really is a competition, but it's competition against yourself moreso than against the others. It's you and your dog + all your emotional stress against the clock. How well you do depends on your training plus how well you control an environment that is mostly out of your control.
So, all that said, the TL;DR (too long; didn't read) version of this is - because it's a fun set of challenges.
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