WHO'S FAULT IS IT?
WHO'S FAULT IS IT?
Many of my students zip through the Novice and Open classes with very few non-Q's and find themselves in the Excellent class way before their time. After a while, the body language starts to change and they begin to place the blame for the non-Q's on their partner instead of squarely on their own shoulders. There are only two reasons for a non-Q:
Many of my students zip through the Novice and Open classes with very few non-Q's and find themselves in the Excellent class way before their time. After a while, the body language starts to change and they begin to place the blame for the non-Q's on their partner instead of squarely on their own shoulders. There are only two reasons for a non-Q:
- You didn't send the correct message, or
- Your partner isn't fully trained. Either reason lays the blame squarely on the back of the two-legged partner!
What I have observed with my students is a relaxing of the rules of agility as they progress into the excellent class. They assume that their partner knows to get into the contact zones. They assume that as long as they're pointing to the obstacle, the dog will go there. They begin to develop sloppy and unproductive behaviors that send the wrong signal to their partner and then place the blame for failure on their partner. We all know what it is to assume something...it makes an "ass" of "u" and "me". It's time we go back and review a few of the rules that we have begun to ignore.
Rule #1...NEVER TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE DOG! They have a way of punishing us when we don't make eye contact. When you do look into the eyes of your partner, are they looking back at you? If not, it's time to do something to get their attention back where it belongs. Reinforce the target, clap, call them by name, but do something quickly to get their focus back on you or you're headed for trouble.
Rule #2...WORK EVERY OBSTACLE! A knocked bar, a missed contact, a refusal or off course could cost you a ribbon that you've already paid for. Failure to watch you partner perform every obstacle could be very costly!
Rule #3...CONTROL THE START LINE! If you let your partner decide when to begin the run, they may decide what course to take. You need to be in the driver's seat! You need to be in control, not your partner.
Rule #4...LIMIT YOUR SIGNALS AND AVOID EXCESSIVE CHATTER! As your partner progresses, they will listen less to your verbal cues and take their lead from body cues. Your feet, hips, arms, shoulders and eyes must direct your partner to the next obstacle. When practicing, if Fido takes the wrong obstacle, stop and look at your body cues. Most likely, you're not giving the correct signal. Avoid long conversations with your dog as it will be distracting to the focus of your partner.
Rule #5...BEFORE AS WELL AS AFTER A RUN, PLAY WITH YOUR PARTNER. This lets your partner know that you're excited about doing agility with them and, regardless of the outcome, you still want to do agility and have fun together. Don't ever come off of the course upset at yourself or your partner as this negative behavior will have an adverse effect on future runs.
Even the best of handlers with years of experience have off days. We all make mistakes. The important thing is that we learn from those mistakes and try to not repeat them.