09/05/2024
https://www.facebook.com/100063672846233/posts/1053866943412391/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v
To Trial or Not to Trial?? 🧐
Trial opportunities can feel few and far between in Montana. We spend a lot of time training our dogs but don’t always have the opportunity to test them. When a trial comes along, it feels like a great opportunity to “see” where the dog is, right? Maybe enter for real? Maybe enter FEO (For Exhibit Only)? Surely you can’t go wrong, right?
Well, not so fast there, buckaroo! Let’s break it down and ask some questions...
* Has your dog worked distractions in containers successfully?
* Can your dog solve converging odor problems?
* Does your dog understand inaccessible odor?
* Can your dog find elevated hides??
* How does your dog react in new environments?
* Did your dog struggle at the last trial level you participated in? If so, why?
* Does your dog understand source?
* Do you understand what your dog looks like in odor and do you understand your dog’s sourcing behavior?
* Do you understand when and how to step in to support your dog?
These questions seem silly, maybe even insulting to some, but the truth is that if you can’t answer these questions and you proceed to throw your dog into the deep end without support, you might be doing more harm than good.
In blind scenarios the trust between handler and dog can erode quickly. This often looks like handlers not trusting the dog’s alert, or dogs wondering why their handler won’t make the call after doing a song and dance at source. It can take a lot of time to repair this problem.
I am a big believer in the saying: Practice Makes Permanent (yes, I mean permanent!). In any dog sport, if there are foundational issues with your dog and you push the dog unsuccessfully at higher levels, that foundation will indeed crack and start to crumble.
Good training is about creating a strong base and building on top of it. Many trainers are consistently assessing the foundation as we build the dog. We work the dogs at higher levels once the dog understands “all the things”, and then we come back to the foundation again. When the dog is confident in the basics, they find more confidence when challenged. And more importantly, the handler is confident all the way around because they understand what the dog is doing.
So keep your teammate at the other end of the leash in mind when you make the decision to enter a trial. Will it be a fun day of learning and challenge? Or is it going to be a hot mess and take its toll on your relationship with your dog? If you have trial fever, maybe enter a trial level where you already titled. Keep your focus on the experience for the dog.
Keep training, keep having fun, and keep advocating for your dog!
