# My dog never did that before!



## nathalie1977 (Sep 4, 2006)

We participated in a "mock trial" last Sunday just to practice doing the BH in front of a lot of people... and it was bad. I mean, we passed according to the judge, but it was not good... not what Freyja is capable of doing. To my standards, it was a disaster.

She basically could not focus on me... seemed quite nervous and out of sorts. She got better toward the end of the routine, but she blew TWO exercises... first, she stood during the sit out of motion (! I haven't even taught her to do that), and then during the recall, she 'forgot' to sit in front of me and did a finish at full speed, looking quite pleased with herself.

It was like I had another dog.

At that point, I just shrugged and laughed. It was truly horrible.

One mistake I made was not to play/tease prior to entering the field... my bad, I didn't know. It was also rainy and very windy.

The killer is that an hour later, the group broke for lunch so I went and did the routine again, just to get a good routine done before going home. The sun was out by then. It was pretty close to perfect... I have video to prove it.

Anyone have any stories like this? I need a little assurance that this has happened to other people. At this point, I'm a little scared that the same thing will happen next weekend when I have the REAL trial.


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## Vandal (Dec 22, 2000)

> Quote:It was like I had another dog.


Yeah and for her it was like she had another handler.

When people are nervous they look totally differnt to the dog than normal. You listed all the things that happen most often to nervous handlers. Your voice was probably different than what it is normally leaving her to wonder what that was you said during the sit out of motion. Most dogs forget to sit when they are mesmerized by the nerves of the handler. Practice keeping your voice and your body language the same as it is in training. You are going to have to try to stay focused or she won't be able to either. Your dog is a mirror of you. Your nerves are affecting her, it is that simple. Just relax and try to slow down to an easy 70 mph vs 120.









It's just a BH...it's just a BH ...it's just a BH


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## CherryCola (Apr 24, 2006)

I'm sorry you had a bad experience









I think the advice Anne gave you was great. Dogs (especially the GSD in my opinion) are quite sensitive to your mood and body language. I've been there myself. We've never done a trial or anything, but we've had some big problems when I've been walking her. And I realised that everytime she acts up when we're out, it's because I've tensed up or got nervous or uncomfortable (I have high-functioning autism and social situations are quite difficult for me) and I think she really picks up on all of that. The trouble is, is that it's a vicious circle, because the more she acts up, the more frustrated I get which just makes her worse









My advice would be to just relax and have fun with it. Just write it off, forget and move on - dogs really do live in the moment, I doubt Freyja is worrying about it and neither should you


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## G-burg (Nov 10, 2002)

Nat~

That happens to A LOT of handlers! So your not alone.. Our nerves, like Anne said can sometimes do funny things to the dog.. 

That's why I take each trial, training session as a learning experience to improve my skills.. What I might need to work on or not!! 

Definitely get her up in drive before you step onto the field!!

Good luck with the Bh.. I'm sure you two will do just fine!


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Hey, sounds like Freya and you were chanelling OUR BH!!! 

That is not bad, for a BH, but of course, it irks to know that your dog can dog better! Keeta pretty much did the same things - and I needed three commands for the recall, and I know it is because my voice was cracking, I was so nervous


I'm not even going to mention the humiliatingly disastrous attempt at our first TR1 . . . . but, we learn, at my second attempt, I only entered Keeta to make sure that we had enough dogs to round out a full trial, and it didn't really matter to me how we did, well, she did the best track out there that day! I'm sure the change in my attitude of not caring that much, just doing it for the experience and to help out the club made a big difference in how she responded.


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## Vandal (Dec 22, 2000)

I guess I didn't answer the question Nat asked. Yes, everyone has that happen in one form or another, if they haven't, maybe they are part fish with no nerve endings. 
I was so nervous my first trial, I came down with a bad case of the dreaded wurlies. You know when you are so nervous you get light headed and think you might faint? Yep.
It messes up the communication you have with your dog when you are nervous. For them, it is like trying to listen to a radio thru that static that your nerves are causing. Also, even for people who don't get really nervous, there is a distraction factor that comes into play when there are lots of people around. I still have to make a point to get around groups of people when I train to work on that distraction factor, not only for the dog but for me.

I don't know what to tell people as far as how to control nerves. It just seems to go away after a few trials and with confidence but I think believing that your dog can do it and realizing that everyone watching would be in the same boat as you if they were out on the field might help. I can't recall watching a trial and hearing people hoping someone wouldn't do well. All of the spectators seem to sit on the edge of their seats pulling for the people out on the field, so, the crowd is really nothing I would be concerned about.

While you can't give handler help without losing points, I think it is very important to try to be the same person the dog sees in training. I have seen people go into a trial and change everything they normally do. Mostly, they look like they joined the military. Their posture becomes very tense, they never look at their dog, they shout the commands, forget to praise between exercises and the dog stands their wondering what is the matter with them. When people are nervous their heart rate increases, the tone of their voice changes, ( that's a biggie), and all the subtle things they normally do as the handler just goes away. Also, to the dog, nervous can look an awful lot like angry. People who lose their temper in training really pay the price if they get nervous in a trial. All dogs have seen their handlers get angry at some point, so that can also play into things a bit as well . Maybe practicing saying the commands on the way to the trial will help. Try to keep your voice the same as it is in training.

When I played sports I remember being able to hear the spectators the first few minutes of the game. After that, the noise just faded away because I was concentrating so hard on playing. So, concentrate on the dog and you and let the crowd fade out. The only time they matter is when they applaud after you pass.

Oh, and if you have video of both obedience routines you did on Sunday, maybe watch them both and see if you notice the difference in you, not just the dog.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Oh yes, it happens to us all. My first time trialing a dog (in obedience) I was so nervous I thought my legs were going to collapse. My dog heeled three feet behind me (at least it felt that far) when we did the off lead pattern. We passed, but it was very ugly. 

I know what Anne means when she talks about going into a zone so you don't hear or notice the crowd. Funny, I can do that in a trial, but am still very aware of people when training. 

I have learned to channel my nerves into energy, at least in obedience. It attracts my dogs and makes then higher, flashier and faster. Many people get into a trial and they walk slower, become boring, talk funny, are distracted so their dogs follow suit. Learn to channel your nerves the right way.


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## nathalie1977 (Sep 4, 2006)

You know, I was thinking over this last night and I wasn't really nervous (like voice shaking, etc.) because I don't really get performance anxiety... but my mood was decidedly different... I was distracted at first, and then when she wasn't focused I was getting frustrated.

I think after I stopped caring because it'd been so bad, she did a lot better and other than her fumbling the recall (which she had NEVER done before), she had a great attitude.

The judge did say it's clear she loves to work. So that was one positive LOL.


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## Superpup (Jun 7, 2007)

LOL... I would bet that anyone who says they have NOT had this happen to them would be lying!!!







Cody and I did his BH almost a year and a half ago, he was a goofy 18mth old and I had had usual ups and downs in training. I was most worried about his sit-in-motion as in training he would occasionally think it was optional to sit and wait for me to come back and he would bolt off running around the field like a crazy puppy. We had worked on this and worked on it and on the video you can hear my TD say "if she gets passed this, they got it".. LOL.. of course Cody was PERFECT in the sit-in-motion but his heeling was akward, because I WAS AKWARD! I have never walked the way I did in his BH; like Anne said "military style"... the judge even made a mention of it...









So I would not worry about it, try to get to different places, different fields, around different people and train. Think "this is the trial" and do everything like you would do trial day. This gives YOU more confidence, your dog already has the confidence, she just becomes worried because you are nervous and worried!

No worries, she will pass and everything will be just fine!!


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## Vandal (Dec 22, 2000)

> Quote: You know, I was thinking over this last night and I wasn't really nervous (like voice shaking, etc.) because I don't really get performance anxiety... but my mood was decidedly different... I was distracted at first, and then when she wasn't focused I was getting frustrated.


 I think if someone followed us around all day with a video camera we might be able to comprehend just what amazing creatures of habit we are. The dogs see the things we do that proceed the other things we do. They aren't watching the TV, the computer and all the other stuff we use to distract ourselves, all they do is watch and listen to us. Therefore, they become more in tune with our behaviors than we are! They learn to recognize the tiniest little change in our moods and behavior. Some people think dogs can actually read our minds and while maybe that is possible, I think it is more a change we show in our body language when we are thinking about doing something. 
When I work dogs as the helper, I mimic moods by thinking it and my body reacts to my thoughts. It is something that most people cannot see but the dogs sure do. The people are left wondering why their dogs react differently to me than other helpers and that is what it is. So, you have to become very aware of what your mood or demeanor is in training and keep that attitude consistent in the trial. If you can do that, your dog will look like she does in training....which can be bad or good ...depending on the training.


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## nathalie1977 (Sep 4, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: lhczth
> Many people get into a trial and they walk slower, become boring, talk funny, are distracted so their dogs follow suit. Learn to channel your nerves the right way.


Yes, that's one thing I definitely did... when she'd mess up or lag, I'd slow down instead of speeding up, especially in the group. I gotta walk faster.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

Nat, 

This reminds me of a person/dog I used to know - the first attempt at a BH, she was so nervous, she failed. The second attempt she took *something* and was blitheringly incoherent....the dog was happy happy and never did a better routine!!!! The judge told her the dog was a bit too happy and needed some correction! This was a dog who was NEVER focused or happy in OB...because the handler was so bad and nervous...so it was ironic that the judge thought the dog was too happy - no one had ever seen this dog happy prior to or after that trial.

Lee


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I haven't done SchH with Kenya but I *always* get nervous trialing with her! Even when we do well, I'm so nervous I feel like I totally bombed, b/c it just *feels* different. One time I was the last one to go on a course so as soon as I finished, the people that placed were supposed to go back in the ring but I wasn't sure b/c I had just finished, I was so nervous I was sure we bombed, but the judge said we Q'd so I would at least get that ribbon. Turns out we got 98/100 and won based on time, lol! So you just never know!

For me, it's really important that I walk every course or pattern over and over and over and over WITHOUT my dog. For a BH or FO that means doing it alone until I don't have to think about it, b/c I'm the type of person that will get nervous and freeze so I need it to be second nature. For rally and agility, this means that I use the full alloted amount of time for walk-throughs and I memorize the course so I don't miss a sign/obstacle or have to keep looking for them.

I used to be a balance beam and uneven bars specialist in gymnastics, talk about nerves! But for me it's just always there. I have to find ways of dealing with my nerves b/c they aren't going away. In fact, I found in gymnastics that if I was too comfortable, I lost focused. I have to channel my nerves into focus. As far as how that translates to my dog, be extra conscious of new/different body cues I might be throwing out b/c I'm nervous.


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## Superpup (Jun 7, 2007)

Good points Lies!! I like what you said about Focus!!! We gotta focus on the task at hand and forget about everything else, if you focus on your dog and your dog only, don't even think about the audience etc, maybe it will be easier... heh... I know easier said than done!!








And I agree completely with Anne, the dogs do read our bodyclues or little hints we give them all the time. For some reason one of the cues I have given my dogs is that when I sit on the couch and have the laptop on my lap, when I am done with it, I close the cover and both dogs get up! EVERY single time. when my husband does this, they do not get up! Interesting right?


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## nathalie1977 (Sep 4, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: SuperpupFor some reason one of the cues I have given my dogs is that when I sit on the couch and have the laptop on my lap, when I am done with it, I close the cover and both dogs get up! EVERY single time. when my husband does this, they do not get up! Interesting right?


Yup! Freyja does the exact same thing. She assumes it's "Freyja time." LOL!


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## baxterbrown11 (Mar 23, 2009)

I had that. Got so nervous, heart pounding, choked on my words and she lagged some. I was scared to death and my dog knew it. I went also to another club field, bad, then we could hear dogs from a kennel in the background barking non stop.
She would have been fine if I hadn't been so nerved up. She had a perfect recall before the trial, but decided to look at me from about about 15 ft. away,stopped dead in her tracks and turned her head sideways like are you alive???!!!lol. I almost started to laugh, and I think she sensed me lightening up at that point. Judge said tell her to heel again. She came flying around me then looked up and said oh yeh I went too far. Came back around me and did perfect heel position. Other than freezing to death at a high of 14 degrees. I think we did great. 2 teams failed, 2 teams passed.
Great learning experience


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## Vandal (Dec 22, 2000)

> Quote:For some reason one of the cues I have given my dogs is that when I sit on the couch and have the laptop on my lap, when I am done with it, I close the cover and both dogs get up!





> Quote: Yup! Freyja does the exact same thing. She assumes it's "Freyja time." LOL!



Right, now take it a step further and consider what you do in training that preceeds each command. May explain why Freyja went straight to the heel position on the recall if you think what your body language may have been telling her as she ran toward you. Most people kind of tense up before they command the dog to heel. So, if you were already showing that body language............. I think you get the idea. 
The dogs chain all this stuff together whether you want them to or not. lol. So if you did something different on your build up for the sit out of motion, ( setting aside what you voice may have been like), that too could have contributed to the problem. It all needs to be what the dog knows or you are throwing a wrench into the works. 
You can use these things to your advantage as well.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

I'm guessing that you were tense during the trial. You were much more relaxed afterward when you did the "let's get this right" routine. I'd guess your dog picked up on this and did her version of "what makes the woman happy" for you. --- Why do I think that is what happened? Because I have a history with Barker the Elder -- who was great when I was distracted and relaxed. But as an example when I wasn't relaxed -- We were doing fine in our first mock trial until we came to the long sit -- which she was perfect at. That is she was perfect until that day, in that place, at that time. She decided that I was always pleased with a down so she should do a down and make me all happy. Well, it worked. I almost laughed out loud! Of course it also DQ'd us but it made me laugh.


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## nathalie1977 (Sep 4, 2006)

Yep. I'm now watching my 'practice' video (I don't have the Mock Trial one) to see what I'm doing so that I can try to imitate that on the trial day.

Thanks so much for the feedback so far! I'm definitely reading all of it and thinking of what adjustments to make.


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## ltsgsd (Jan 31, 2009)

HEE HEE. I had the same thing happen to me recently in my BH. My dog looked like a million bucks the weeks before the trial. I wasn't nervous on trial day just excited. The big mistakes I made was not keeping the same routine as training and I did not take my dog out and get him focused before hand. He did everything fairly well, he just looked like he had been forced to be out there. Several people came up and wanted to know what had happened to my dog. I politely told them "me"


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## nathalie1977 (Sep 4, 2006)

Well, my nerves definitely got the better of me today.







Combined with her being in heat, high temperatures, and being dead last.. I basically had no control over her from the get-go so I DQ'd myself before the judge did it for me. It was as if I had never trained my dog for anything before.

I wasn't alone... 5 other people failed different things.

I did talk to the TD and a few other people about what I need to work on, so I'm just gonna keep pushing and working on getting better before I try it again. *sigh* and I will wait until she is DONE with her heat.


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## Slamdunc (Dec 6, 2007)

Nat, do you do your obedience with a toy? When you practice the routine do you have the toy out where the dog can see it? Just curious. 

Jim


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## jesusica (Jan 13, 2006)

I am so sorry Nat!


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## nathalie1977 (Sep 4, 2006)

I have been practicing the routine without a toy... just building drive at the beginning, then tossing it behind me and doing the routine.

Of course, here's where nerves come into play. What did I do today? I built drive, then HANDED the ball to my husband. She kept looking his way to get the ball.


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## Slamdunc (Dec 6, 2007)

That's why I was asking. If you are going to hand the toy off ; you might want to do a "slight of hand" so the dog doesn't see you handing it off to another person and thinks that you still have it. That is good for a trial, but you can hide the toy and do your routine rewarding the dog at the end. I wouldn't practice the routine with out the toy, I would vary when the dog gets the reward. This way the dog never knows when to expect the toy. Break each exercise down into it's fundamentals and work on one aspect of the routine at a time. I rarely put the whole routine together when training. For example, I might go and work on the sit out of motion for several training sessions. Next I might work on the down, heeling, the group or the "voraus". Every training seesion is planned with an expected outcome. 

FWIW,

Jim


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## nathalie1977 (Sep 4, 2006)

that makes a lot of sense.







Thank you!


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## bergwanderkennels (Mar 26, 2009)

Hugs to you! 
Mine was in November! after 3 weeks of being sick I did 3 weeks of practice at a new boxer club to prep for my very first VPG. 
It was 3 weeks of a nightmare and a very embarrassing test! 

I was tracking not every day for 3 weeks but lets say 4 to 5 days a week out of 7! Our tracking was good and I thought on point.Every one telling me good good she is ready. 

Wow it was so windy that morning #1, #2 we had to walk against the full force wind! This was of course on the first leg of my track! Also the first track with no bait laid! She FAILED! Poor girl tracking is her favorite and you could tell she was depressed afterwards because she could not find the track. 

Actually only 1 dog passed the tracking and this was a german pointer,
the other dog that should have passed broke the down after tracking and tried to attack the judge (Automatically disqualified). and the other dog also had trouble finding the track failed. SO I was not alone anyway)

I did not understand what I was being told so I thought she did not pass I was finished.. Ah nope I forgot about good sportsmanship thingy! I had to finish the test! 

The Ob part? At this point we were both off and most of our points off were my fault as I just did not have my heart into it at this point! 

The bite work?
Well the helper tried to make her look good, but when you are a bad helper nothing makes the dog look good!

I kept getting told to just be happy when the dog passes and not to get down because of a low score. Ah when I know we can do better? When we did do better on the VPG A? 

Now I have coming up at the end of april another test date but I want a little higher score so I am thinking of putting off the test once more until the fall so we have all summer to practice and perhaps 1 more week long seminar with Bernhard Flinks. 

Sorry this is so long but funny also is all the boxer people here keep saying Hella is almost 6 years old and all the problems I should just accept and not try to fix or retrain out of her! But Bernhard when I asked him and the GSD people seem to disagree (Maybe the GSD people just like more challenging problems) 

So you may have been a little more nervous during the mock test then afterwards adn this she felt from you!


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## djpohn (Jun 27, 2003)

We always just casually (and so the dog doesn't notice) drop the toy on the way to the field and let someone pick it up after we are gone.

I was once told that some people play "tug" with the leash as a reward as your leash is in plain sight if you strap it across your chest or they know it's in your pocket. 

Every one fails at some point, so now that you've done the worsest the next time will be great!


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## Mark B (Feb 3, 2009)

We always have to remember they are animals. Not machines. ANything can happen. So many times my dog blew me off. Twice after the dog didn't down on the send out the judge said to me "your dog is giving you the finger, he said F U" LOL. I told him Platz, he turned around, stood there, looked at me and started wagging his tail LOL. In the same trial he went around the jump to get the Dumbbell. He doesn't do that. Plenty of times i been a part of the "My dogs never done that before" club.

Mark
http://www.ultimatekanine.com


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## nathalie1977 (Sep 4, 2006)

I think that's a very important point.


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## SchHGSD (Dec 20, 2001)

Hi Nat, I watched your BH attempt that weekend, you shouldn't be too hard on yourself.

She was amped and ready to go out there, thats for sure! 

I'd follow Anne's advice, she helped me years ago deal with performance nerves, and I am much better now.


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