Memorial Day

I went down to Mom's today, just to spend a day with her and my aunt. We visited the cemetery where Dad and my grandparents are buried. They had 150 veterans' flags on display. I'm not big into cemeteries but with 25-30 mph winds snapping the flags, they were really pretty.

This is Dad's flag (yeah, I know, it looks like all the others but it does have his name printed on the binding). It was the first one as we drove into the cemetery. I asked Mom if she walked around and looked at the name on 150 flags before she found it. She said no, she just got lucky and found it right away. It's in a different place each year.

Silly Brindle kitten in a bag at Mom's.

Back to work tomorrow, launching the Crazy Week From Hell: agility class Tuesday night, obedience match Wednesday night, obedience class Thursday night (with promises of chocolate cake for Logan's U-CD, right Johnette?), leave for Ames on Friday afternoon, agility trials Saturday and Sunday. I'm leaving the House Elf a detailed list of things that need to be laundered and packed by Friday noon.

And don't forget Hickory Park barbecue and ice cream Saturday night!

Iowa Renaissance Festival

Marsha and I went to the Iowa Renaissance Festival today. I am a festival newbie, always wanted to go but never managed to get it done. It was a lot of fun and  . . . um . . . an eye opener! 

The performers were in costume and so were a lot of the people who attended. It was worth the price of admission just to watch the people!

Marsha and I made a list of the different "styles" of costumes. They included, but were not limited to: Renaissance (obviously), Scottish/Celtic, pirates, fantasy (fairies, elves and the like), samuri, Tinker Belle, the Three Muskateers, gypsies, harem girls, old west saloon girls, a possible Smurf, something I think was a Hobbit and let's face it, there were some folks who looked like they had just wandered out of a "People of Wal-Mart" e-mail. Hey, individuality is good thing. It was rainy and crummy for most of the day, which limited photo opps of odd people but we had a good time anyway.

This is a komondor, right?

Well, whatever he is, he was at the festival.

He was quite be-ribboned.

Yes, this guy is blowing a fire ball.

These folks were having a good time showing off their finery.

The lady in the blue dress on the right was nearly showing off a few other things as well. She was one wobble away from a major wardrobe malfunction.

It seemed in vogue to bring your dog(s) to the Renaissance festival. There were many dogs there. Some of them wore costumes, too. 

Jousting was the highlight of a rainy day.

Stress and the Obedience Dog, Part IV

Training To Prevent Ring Stress

Successfully preventing and/or eliminating show ring stress starts in training. The preparation you give your dog in training is more important than anything else, including what breed your dog is, where you got him, how long you’ve had him, how old he was when you started training him, whether you came from a background in competitive sports as a kid and a hundred other factors we’ve all managed to drag into the equation at one time or another.

But it’s not enough to simply “train.” Everyone in dog sports “trains.” Some train a lot. Some train a little. Yet many are still plagued by dogs who stress in the ring no matter how much "training" they've had.

When it comes to training theory, everyone has their own personal beliefs — totally positive, use compulsion, use lots of food, use a little food, don’t use any food, only use toys, ear pinch vs. motivational retrieve, correct, never correct, clicker, shaping, etc., etc.

Please let me make it clear I am NOT going to get on my soapbox and say “X theory is the ONLY way to train and if you train your dog using any other method, you are dumber than a loaf of bread and you deserve what you get.”

One thing this sport has taught me is that there are no hard and fast answers. While I have certain strong beliefs about what works and what doesn’t, I have seen exceptions to every one of them. Although I have enjoyed a reasonable amount of success in obedience, I don’t feel I’ve achieved enough status to the point of being able to distribute advice with the absolute conviction that THIS IS HOW YOU SHOULD DO IT.

There ARE folks out there who have attained that status and deserve every accolade they’ve earned. They are the trainers who want more than to simply Q and when they go in the ring with their dogs, it’s a beautifully choreographed performance where the dog and handler enjoy every moment of their teamwork. Their scores reflect the dedication they’ve put into their training. I’ve watched them at the NOI and am in awe of how their dogs work. I want to learn from them and will take every chance to do so.

So another disclaimer — everything I’m writing is based on MY experiences with MY dogs. It’s not the gospel but it is the truth as I’ve lived it and I’m sharing it in hopes it will help other trainers make some discoveries that will improve their training/showing and the relationship they enjoy with their dog.

Another reason I hesitate to say there is ONLY one way to train is that I seem to train each dog a little differently. My own training methods seem to be a journey of discovery, always evolving to meet the next challenge which is usually a problem of my own creating.

But I digress.

A person’s training beliefs may or may not change over time, depending on each individual’s capacity to embrace change. We all know someone who keeps using a training method that produces consistently undesirable results, yet she seems unable or unwilling to try anything new.

Even if we slowly discover that what we thought was the best approach to training A) doesn’t really work B) worked well for previous dogs but not your current dog or C) works okay but you wonder if there’s something better out there, it takes awhile to come to mental grips with the idea of change.

So what does this have to do with training as a way to prevent ring stress? Well, you’re gonna have to take an honest look at your training methods because you might be causing more of the problem than you ever realized and you’re causing it long before you ever get near a ring.

I know I am. It’s taken a CD, U-CD, CDX, U-CDX and UD (with a HIT, HIT run-offs, class wins and scores ranging from excellent to adequate) for me to finally come to terms with the fact Phoenix’s obedience work is not where I want it to be. He did the work and got the titles but he was doing it with less and less enthusiasm and absolutely no consistency. One day he was winning a run-off to place in a competitive Utility B class and the next day he wouldn’t even look at me when we went into the ring.

I’m a food trainer. I’ve had lots of success with food training. Can’t say I’m a purely “positive” trainer because I do make corrections. I never looked beyond the need to use food because it always worked. It worked well enough to finish two OTChs. and I figured it would work well enough to finish number three. Only it isn’t.

Let’s talk about food training. Does it work? Well, first, let’s define “food training” and then define “work.”

Most food trainers agree on the theory of “Dog performs behavior, dog earns reward.” Pretty simple, huh?

Of course, there are all sorts of way this can and does go wrong. The theory soon gets polluted to the point of “Dog performs something pretty close to behavior, dog earns reward,” “Dog performs behavior after multiple commands, dog earns reward,” “Dog performs behavior only when he darn well feels like it, dog earns reward,” “Dog performs no behavior, handler gives reward anyway.”

We would all agree this is not likely to produce brilliant results in the ring but watch any group of people training and you’ll see a lot of variations on theme.

Now, let’s define “Does it work?” In the obedience ring context, “work” equals “success,” being able to achieve your training/showing/titling goals as a confident and joyful team who is relaxed and having fun in the ring at trials. Will food training bring you success in the show ring where there is no food?

Yes. No. Maybe.

Obviously, food training works A) for some dogs B) for some trainers C) when done correctly.

Food training worked for Connor and for Jamie, at least to the degree that I needed at the time. Since I didn't show them for years and years beyond their OTChs., I don't know what the long term picture would have produced.

Food training is NOT working for Phoenix and me. Oh, it works as long as the food is available and delivered on some sort of reinforcement schedule. But when the food disappears, so does the behavior. No motivator = no behavior. But wait, wasn't I the motivator? Um, sadly, no. The food was.

What’s next? Stay tuned for the rest of the story.

(Sorry, but this has gotten too long. Again. Help. I need an editor. Oh. I AM an editor. So much for that.)

Agility humor

We got a little silly at agility class last night. Well, really, what do you expect when you put half a dozen middle-aged people out in the rain for an hour and a half? I think all of us are perfectly capable of being very serious and professional at our day jobs, but after 5 p.m., all bets are off. For some of us, the bets are off much sooner in the day.

It all started when our instructor Barb was working diligently to show us different ways to handle a sequence and the pros and cons of each way.

After observing a number of different methods, all of which included running, crossing, turning, decelerating, spinning and accelerating to accommodate the proverbial Fast Dog, Slow Dog, Crazy Dog and/or Demotivated Dog, Tracy cut to the chase and switched the emphasis from dog to handler: "Wanna know how Fat Girl would run it? Lead out!"

This instantly spawned a series of handler secret identities, all with their own special needs considerations for running a course. In addition to Fat Girl, there was Asthma Girl, Blonde Polish Girl, Arthritis Man and Arrythmia Man.

Some nights, I don't know how Barb puts up with us.

Ring Stress and the Obedience Dog, Part III

Stress and The Handler

Like they say, admitting you have a problem is the first step in solving it. When our dogs fall apart in the ring, it's unfair to place all the blame on them. Most of us deal with varying degrees of stress when we show and it can have a very real effect on our dogs' performances.

Think about what happens when you find yourself in a stressful situation like the show ring or giving a presentation at work or even going to the dentist.

Your heart rate accelerates, adrenaline churns into your bloodstream, your body temperature rises (the ring really is NOT 10 degrees hotter than the rest of the show site) and you may perspire more freely. Your muscles may tense up in response to a possible fight-or-flight reaction built into our DNA by ancestors years ago when being too relaxed or unobservant could lead to being eaten by something faster and more observant than you were.

You know people are watching you and judging your actions or they might do something unpleasant to you (dentist!) so you may have unusual facial expressions and different posture/body language as you try to appear big and bold or wish very hard you could disappear. Stress is obviously more than just “all in your head.” It’s a very real, physical thing.

Stress is not necessarily a BAD thing. It makes us more alert and focused. It may give us a little extra edge. But if you have too much stress or don’t know how to channel and manage it, it can really screw things up when it comes to showing because it changes the picture your dog sees in regular training where you are not a stressball. As you walk into the ring, you may become very strange indeed.

Depending on your level of experience or what you perceive to be “at stake,” you may look so uncomfortable and unhappy your dog may think YOU want to get out of the ring. (Although I loved the point several readers have made about being such newbies that they didn’t know enough to be nervous and worried! Good for you!)

It’s over simplifying things to say “It’s just a dog show, don’t get all freaked out.” Yeah, we all know it’s JUST a dog show, but we also know it’s way more than that! It’s a sport we are passionate about. We want it to be fun. We want to be successful. We want to show the world how awesome our dog is. We don’t want to look like idiots.

Here are a few things that have helped me deal with my own stress level in the days leading up to a show and the hours and minutes before we go into the ring.

• First, define your goals. What do you want to achieve with your dog in the long term (his entire career)? How about short term (the next few months)? What do you want to achieve in the ring today? Breaking your goals down makes them feel more achievable and not so overwhelming. It takes the pressure off. You don’t HAVE to be perfect today in order to still make progress toward your end goal.

• Have a plan. I’ve found that having something specific I want to accomplish in the ring at any given trial, something I have planned to do in advance, makes me feel more like our run is in my control, not like the judge is calling all the shots and I’m only reacting. It can be something as simple as remembering to smile during signals or working on your heeling footwork. If you’re a bit of a control freak like me, this helps A LOT. Even if you fail on the score sheet, you can still feel successful because you did what you set out to do.

• Are you prepared? Being prepared will go a long way to relieving nerves. Training should give both you and your dog the confidence to work as a team no matter where you are. That’s no guarantee you are going to win or even qualify but going into the ring with a mind full of doubts is just asking for trouble.

• Take pressure off yourself. Your dog doesn’t care if he wins the class or NQs. He just wants (even if it doesn’t show at the moment) to have fun with you because you are his world. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Imagine something absolutely ridiculous, like everyone wearing Royal Ascot-style hats to show their dogs in or an exercise where the dog has to herd frogs and have a good laugh.

• What can you learn from your dog today? Instead of going into zombie handler mode, think about what your dog may be telling you at the show, both in and out of the ring. What can you learn from him to make showing a happier and/or more successful experience? What can you change in your training to make you and your dog a better team? Thinking about your dog gives your brain something constructive to do.

• Keep a positive outlook. Speak positively about your dog and how you think you’ll do in the ring. Instead of worrying about a less-than-ideal ring set-up, think about how you could re-create it in training next week. Choose your friends carefully - avoid those people who are chronically unhappy about everything from where they parked to the order of judging in their class. Seriously, if you show long enough, you’ll start to recognize these people. Run, don’t walk, away! Crate with friends who know how to laugh.

• Success breeds success. Think back to a show where everything went right and you had a great time. The weather was great, all your friends were there, your dog was awesome and there were excellent vendors. Remember how you felt that day? Make THAT your happy place and go there as often as you need to. Mentally relive your successes, don’t dwell on failures.

• Reading list: It’s certainly not a new release but Jane Savoie’s “It’s Not Just About The Ribbons” is a great read. It addresses the mental aspect of training and competing and how to develop a positive outlook and get through frustrations and setbacks. There are probably more books available along this line but I really like Jane Savoie’s because they are based on human/animal teamwork.

The next stress post will probably be the most important one: training to prevent stress. It may take me a couple of days to get it written because there are some things I want to say very carefully (to make them clear, not that they are in any way bad thoughts) and they’re still rattling around in my head in a very disorganized order.

Obedience humor and stuff

As if we needed an excuse to eat 

more chocolate at obedience trials. 

But if that's what takes . . .

Free chocolate aside, it was a good day.

For the first time in my life, I deliberately flunked a qualifying run in order to make a correction in the ring. It wasn't exactly a correction. It was more like support or encouragement. Or keeping a questionable behavior from disintegrating further.

Phoenix started to trot in slowly from the drop on recall. Yes, technically it was a trot, so technically it was fine and not scorable. It also looked like it could become a walk-in pretty darn easily. So I told him "HURRY!" and clapped my hands and jumped around a little. He hurried, he wagged his tail and he made it totally worth throwing the run.

After that, his attitude sparked up a little bit and he gave me some nice work.

Nice.

I really hate that word.

Nice is fine. It really is. Some days, I will happily take "nice." But I want dazzling, spectacular, amazing, brilliant . . . well, you get my point. Fast, happy, animated, driven, confident . . . yeah, all THAT!

Nice is a single scoop of vanilla ice cream. I want a banana split with three different flavors of ice cream and chocolate syrup and nuts and a cherry.

Today we were nice. Maybe tomorrow we'll be a little nicer. Maybe we'll be enjoying banana splits in a couple of months.

So today was a success: I wanted to catch Phoenix at just going through the motions and let him know I needed more effort than that.

I feel good about ME, too. I worked at not being so formal while warming up and between exercises in the ring and concentrated on treating our run like a training session or fun match. I know it helped me be more relaxed. We played more in the ring. We played more outside the ring, too, just for the sake of playing, something I admittedly haven't done a lot of in the past.

Had a friend video us and oh boy . . . not only was Phoenix obviously showing stress (although much, much less than last weekend in Utility, confirming my suspicion that he is more comfortable and confident about the Open exercises and that makes a big difference) but he is also very much not 100% engaged with me in the ring. He was on task during the exercises but did a lot of gawking at the crowd, judge, stewards, etc. between exercises . . . which meant he was thought he had the option of disengaging. Ack, I didn't realize he did it THAT much. Yet another thing to put on the training list.

We'll go back and give it another shot tomorrow. Hopefully they refill the magic winners' chocolate bowl.

Fun news, Kate and Orbit finished their U-CDX today by winning Open A, following up on their first place win and HIT from yesterday! And Peggy was there with the love of Phoenix's life, DeeDee. They shared a malinois moment in the parking lot. For a bit, Phoenix thought he was large and in charge. Really, dude, Dee is ready to test for her SchIII. She could put the smack down on you so fast you wouldn't know what happened. Ah, well, you could just see the little red valentine hearts floating above them.

Then we went to two local greenhouses, in search of miniature roses that apparently do not exist and came home to putter around in my flowers.

I planted this bowl of pansies back in April 

when it was so cold I thought spring would never come.

My favorite lavender columbine.

Weekend project - the handler!

Thanks, everyone, for your comments and thoughts the last few days. I appreciate you all taking the time to share them.

Phoenix and I are entered in a local UKC trial this weekend. We’re going to do Open. He has his U-CDX so there’s absolutely nothing on the line and I want to use the weekend to work on ME in the ring. My friends and I have talked about this extensively - am I nervous when I show?

No. I wouldn’t call it “nervous.” I’ve shown in obedience trials since I was 11 and have always enjoyed it tremendously. I’ve finished two OTChs and shown at National Obedience Invitationals. I love to be in the ring with my dog and I don't care who is watching so “nervous” in the traditional sense is a non-issue.

Am I the same person in the ring that I am in training? Probably not and I’ll admit it.

I’m excited and a little tense, definitely. There’s a pretty good adrenaline rush going. And I know I tend to analyze every step of our performance in my head while we’re working (great heeling, fast sit, oops, there’s a lag, ugly turn, oh nice recovery) which is okay but I’d like to STOP IT (that’s what video is for, for studying after the fact) and live in the moment and stay connected with Phoenix instead of thinking about what the judge is marking and what kind of score we’re working on. It’s a bad habit I’ve slipped into.

I wouldn’t call myself a super competitive person, someone for whom second place equals losing, but having a sharp working dog and earning high scores have always been important. They still are, but I need to get my ring focus back on Phoenix so he feels supported and connected to me as part of a team (that's a hard concept to put into words) versus two separate beings just getting through the exercises. 

I’m also curious to see how Phoenix works this weekend because A) he’s very comfortable with the Open exercises and B) it’s a very quiet trial, one ring, in a familiar building and I will probably know every single dog and handler entered - in other words, it’s the total opposite of last weekend’s 10-ring circus. I’d like to get Phoenix to play with me in the ring between exercises. Definitely don’t want the judge tapping his pencil on his clipboard, waiting for us to get set up, but I know this is an area that needs work if I want both of us to be relaxed and not feeling any (self-inflicted) pressure.

I’ll definitely be taking notes for next week’s Stress and the Handler post.

Have a great weekend, no matter what you're doing!