# Epic BH Fail



## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

So Nix and I tried for our BH today, and as the title says, we failed. Spectacularly. 

Everything I was worried about, he did fine, the things I was not worried about, he blew and big time. 

Seriously, it was like the dog had never been asked to heel before. Oh yeah, and during the off leash portion, he left and peed on a tree. So yeah. 

Totally embarrassed and humbled. Ah well. 

The judge was amazing. I really expected about 1/2 through the on leash portion to be excused. But he came over and gave me some lovely words of encouragement. But my nerves just totally got the best of us. 

Lots of lessons learned. And the judge had some lovely words about Nix during the critique and was very encouraging about trying again. Which I absolutely will. 

But Mr. Nix is going into boot camp now. Time to really amp it up I guess. No more Mrs. Nice guy trainer. 

Now, it is 5 o'clock somewhere.


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

Its amazing how they can pick up on some subtle change and just know when they don't have to mind. You know now that he'll do that, I bet you get a good routine next time.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

I'm sure the judges see a lot of that.And the poor handlers just want to crawl in a hole.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

Oh yeah. I am totally embarrassed. But it's the journey, this is my first time doing any type of sport in nearly 20 years. I have certified plenty of SAR dogs, multiple times. But I just got so nervous I could not collect myself and my dog knew it. 

And next time will be better. It could not be any worse. So there is that to look forward too. LOL.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Who was the judge? 

I have seen the human nerves do some amazing things in trials. It is surprising at times that any of us pass and our dogs still recognize us as their normal person.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

gsdsar said:


> And next time will be better. It could not be any worse. So there is that to look forward too. LOL.


There you go - you got that out of the way! It's only up from here.


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

> But Mr. Nix is going into boot camp now. Time to really amp it up I guess. No more Mrs. Nice guy trainer.


Its not 5 yet, so someone showed me a good little trick with my Rott. I'd have a prong in my pocket, heel him on the fursaver and as soon as he lost any attention, I'd stop, put the prong on to get his attention back, then take it off and go back to the fursaver. He figured I could always take out a prong as easy as a toy.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

lhczth said:


> Who was the judge?
> 
> I have seen the human nerves do some amazing things in trials. It is surprising at times that any of us pass and our dogs still recognize us as their normal person.


Not sure. A German guy. He was super. And he nailed it. My handling and my nerves got the best of us. I did not give the dog any reason to follow me. Totally a failure on my part. 

I am now THAT person that people will be talking about and shaking their head about for years to come. It seriously looked like I had never trained my dog. I mean it was THAT bad.


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## gsdluvr (Jun 26, 2012)

Steve Strom said:


> Its not 5 yet, so someone showed me a good little trick with my Rott. I'd have a prong in my pocket, heel him on the fursaver and as soon as he lost any attention, I'd stop, put the prong on to get his attention back, then take it off and go back to the fursaver. He figured I could always take out a prong as easy as a toy.


Hey, good one! Unless they push the envelope to see if you actually will!! LOL!


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## gsdluvr (Jun 26, 2012)

gsdsar said:


> So Nix and I tried for our BH today, and as the title says, we failed. Spectacularly.
> 
> Everything I was worried about, he did fine, the things I was not worried about, he blew and big time.
> 
> ...


I am very sorry to hear that, but you are far from alone!! 

A new friend of mine did beautiful OB with her Mal. She also failed the BH because of nerves. If I do try for it in February, I am going to have the same nerve problem. 

What training did you do that you would like to change? You said "No more Mrs. Nice Guy Trainer".


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

gsdluvr said:


> gsdsar said:
> 
> 
> > So Nix and I tried for our BH today, and as the title says, we failed. Spectacularly.
> ...


My boy is a pretty handler sensitive dog. So I give very few corrections, I wait him out too often when he loses focus. I have allowed him to get distracted too many times without consequences. 

So for example today, I had a difficult time even getting him to give me attention at basic position. There was a good crowd, including kids playing soccer, I don't blame them. It's my fault I never told him how to respond to that. Normally in training I would adjust my position, or tap my shoulder, cajoling him into focus. In a trial I couldn't do that. So I would have to start off without him focused. And we just never connected. It just went down hill from there. 

In training, if we were heeling and he lost focus, I would switch up pace or direction to get him back, with lots of noise. In a trial, couldn't do that. 

So pretty much, I have been "asking" him to focus and heel, instead of commanding it. And today, when I needed tha focus, he had never been made to give it, so he easily blew me off. And without the ability to give even a minor correction or do my "normal" things, he just kept blowing me off.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

lhczth said:


> Who was the judge?
> 
> I have seen the human nerves do some amazing things in trials. It is surprising at times that any of us pass and our dogs still recognize us as their normal person.


Harald Hohman was the judge. Just learned his name. I can't say enough good things about him.


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## gsdluvr (Jun 26, 2012)

lhczth said:


> Who was the judge?
> 
> I have seen the human nerves do some amazing things in trials. It is surprising at times that any of us pass and our dogs still recognize us as their normal person.


Well said!!


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

gsdluvr said:


> lhczth said:
> 
> 
> > Who was the judge?
> ...


Yes. My nerves got the best of me. I "gave" up half way through. I knew we were tanking but I could not think straight enough to get it back. It just got worse and worse. I have cried like 20 times since I got home. The judge tried really hard to get me back on track. But I was so humiliated and frustrated that nothing got through to my brain. 

It just sucks because it looks bad, it looks like I did not prepare at all. And to me that's disrespectful to the judge and everyone else at the trial. But I did prepare. Just not as well as I should have. My dog DOES "fuss". He has learned it. But I did not prepare him for a trial as o should have. HUGE GIANT HUMBLING lesson learned.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

What can you do to lessen your nerves? Do you have an opportunity to go through practices in a similar setting with a lot of noise and distractions? What do you do to stay calm when you go for SAR titles? Why is this different?


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

LuvShepherds said:


> What can you do to lessen your nerves? Do you have an opportunity to go through practices in a similar setting with a lot of noise and distractions? What do you do to stay calm when you go for SAR titles? Why is this different?


SAR is different for me and different in the way it's "judged". It's not about total focus and patterns. I am uber comfortable with my handling skills. I am a good trainer and handler. I know this. But the "judging" just got the best of me. Also in SAR, we can generally reward and talk to our dogs as we do obedience. But obedience is a very small part of testing. 

I did practice, on the trial field, a few days before the trial. And he did fine. Not perfect, but definitely passable. But for whatever reason, I was unable to make "that connection" with him today. I forgot my fur saver, so he was on his flat collar, which is no excuse, but he he has never been asked to perform in just a flat collar. So that made me even more disjointed, expecting a not so perfect performance. 

I messed up today. I don't blame my dog, the trial field, the judge, the spectators. I thought I was prepared. I was not. And dang did it show. Dang did it show. 

As a very experienced working dog handler, it's been very humbling. And maybe my failure will help someone else? Maybe others will see that it's ok to fail? It's not life and death, and this sport is not easy. And it's ok. We will try again, we will keep training and we will get better.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

My first Rally trial, I was working two dogs. The first was Arwen (who went on to get 3 first places for a CD). But when I got to the start line, the judge told me she couldn't have tags on her collar. I should have known that. It flustered me. My fault. I ran back to the car and got a slip collar, and ran back while they waited for me. Running is NOT my forte. 
I knew I had a dog that could run that course off lead and blindfolded, so I tried to breathe and get myself under control. I was also third as well as first, and my other dog also had a collar and tags, so I would need to switch the slip collar onto him, and I wasn't sure it would fit him, and I blew right past a sign and disqualified myself. 
Thankfully the judge let me know what I did and I did not do the same thing with my boy. But I felt downright stupid for missing that sign. I felt I let the dog down. She could care less, really. It just meant going to another show for her final leg. No biggie. But still. 
And yet, yeah, got that first NQ out of the way. And while I NQ'd a couple of other times, mostly we do really good. 
The thing is, AKC and it sounds like your venue too has some really great judges. I love going to shows and competing. The lady who did Arwen in her CD, don't know her name, but she was spectacular to us newbies. She had a black eye patch and a big hat, and I thought we were done. But both Tori and Arwen liked her just fine. So we did fine with her. Another poor dog was losing it. She actually took the hat off and had them try again without the hat.
The point is, that with these people bending over backwards to be nice to us, I don't understand why everyone isn't out there flooding dog shows, obedience, rally, schutzhund, whatever. Training should be fun, and, once we have realized the worst -- the dreaded NQ, showing is lots of fun too. 
Suck on a mint, and take that dog back out, and step out confidently, you'll probably qualify on your next trip.


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## gsdluvr (Jun 26, 2012)

gsdsar said:


> My boy is a pretty handler sensitive dog. So I give very few corrections, I wait him out too often when he loses focus. I have allowed him to get distracted too many times without consequences.
> 
> So for example today, I had a difficult time even getting him to give me attention at basic position. There was a good crowd, including kids playing soccer, I don't blame them. It's my fault I never told him how to respond to that. Normally in training I would adjust my position, or tap my shoulder, cajoling him into focus. In a trial I couldn't do that. So I would have to start off without him focused. And we just never connected. It just went down hill from there.
> 
> ...


So at this point, will you correct with a prong collar or??? when you train?


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

gsdluvr said:


> gsdsar said:
> 
> 
> > My boy is a pretty handler sensitive dog. So I give very few corrections, I wait him out too often when he loses focus. I have allowed him to get distracted too many times without consequences.
> ...


He is used to the prong. I just failed to use it when it was appeantly most needed. So yes. I will be putting the pressure on him a lot and telling him to work through the distraction instead of asking.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Great judge. I did Treue's SchH3 under him many moons ago. He is tough, but extremely fair. He is also very supportive.


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## gsdluvr (Jun 26, 2012)

Thanks for your answers. All this info is very helpful. I forgot to ask....how old is your boy?


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

gsdluvr said:


> Thanks for your answers. All this info is very helpful. I forgot to ask....how old is your boy?


He is 2 1/2. And after all of this I still love him to pieces. I let him down today. Next time.


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## gsdluvr (Jun 26, 2012)

gsdsar said:


> He is 2 1/2. And after all of this I still love him to pieces. I let him down today. Next time.


No way. You sound like a terrific handler. I think he's lucky to have you. It is always our fault when things happen. Plus, you are thoughtful enough to realize your "mistakes" can be very helpful to others.... like me. 

I bet next time you guys will breeze through it. Best of luck to you and thanks.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

gsdluvr said:


> gsdsar said:
> 
> 
> > He is 2 1/2. And after all of this I still love him to pieces. I let him down today. Next time.
> ...


Thank you actually. Talking through it has helped me come to terms with it. I see my mistakes, I will fix them, we will pass next time. Still licking my wounds, but tonight he and I went to a Halloween party with boat loads of kids and had a blast. He is a phenomal dog. Now I have to get him there on the trial field.


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## d4lilbitz (Dec 30, 2013)

It's the "My dog never did that before".....I trialed at that trial for my BH too! I went in the 4th pair (with Joyce). Trial nerves are crazy...I got so worked up that I made myself sick last night lol. I really liked the judge. He really gave good advice to everyone and was very approachable. Definitely get back out there : ) Not sure when you are planning to try again, but the DVG club I belong to is also holding a trial November 22. It's in Waldorf, MD.


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## G-burg (Nov 10, 2002)

Hang in there Sam.. Yes, it sucks, but it now shows you what you need to focus on with your boy.. If you were that stressed and nervous, I can only imagine what Nix was thinking.. But I also know he has nice heeling and attention..

Take a deep breath and regroup.. Boot camp for the dog and Xanax for the handler!!


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

I came a bit late as a spectator to that trial so I missed your "performance". It is one thing to hear people chuckle under their breath after the fact about what happened. It is another thing to hear what happened from your point of view. I am so glad that you posted about what was going through your mind. Our pup is trialing for his BH in the DVG November trial coming up here in Maryland. We can all learn something from each others successes and failures.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

Boy. Sure is nice to hear I was actually being laughed at. The imagining was better. Gotta say! 

Good luck in November.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

There's a trial in December at Greater Philly.  Plenty of time to clean up his act.


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## osito23 (Feb 17, 2014)

I trialed for my first BH (actually first anything dog sport) this February and remember how nervewracking it was. I'm sorry things didn't go well yesterday, but now you know what you need to work on for next time. Good luck


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

gsdsar said:


> Boy. Sure is nice to hear I was actually being laughed at. The imagining was better. Gotta say!
> 
> Good luck in November.


Don't let it bother you. I expect people to laugh at me when I have those moments. Good and bad, its all supposed to be fun so I like to laugh about it afterwards too.


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## Lobo dog (Sep 19, 2014)

gsdsar said:


> Not sure. A German guy. He was super. And he nailed it. My handling and my nerves got the best of us. I did not give the dog any reason to follow me. Totally a failure on my part.
> 
> I am now THAT person that people will be talking about and shaking their head about for years to come. It seriously looked like I had never trained my dog. I mean it was THAT bad.


Haha I had a similar experience a few months ago. I signed Lobo and I up for a Rally and obedience competition; going into the ring I knew we were not going to be amazing but i thought we had a good chance at getting a title, boy was I wrong. In Obedience he was putting pressure on the leash and I nerviously kept giving him collar corrections...after about the 5th one the judge stopped me and reminded me that I am given a penalty for every leash pop and that i needed to stop in order to get a passing score, then when it came to his sit/stay while I walked around the room he held it for about 18 seconds but just before I got back to his side he bolted out of the ring to play with the other dog's  

I was upset but I knew that our stronger category of rally was coming up, so I devoted myself for over an hour to just studying the sign set up, then I walked the course about 4 times and one of the woman there whose dog has earned her RA5, was kind enough to even pretend to be my dog as I walked the course with her. I felt totally confident that we would do well...but on the third sign in Lobo just snapped and started jumping all over me and nipping at my pants. We were again excused from the ring and I walked out crying because I was so disappointed that all my new German shepherd club friends saw our epic fail and must have been thinking "Why did she even bother trying to title him? She obviously hasn't even practiced and her dog is out of control". 

Thankfully even the judge said that handled Lobo's behavior well and that I looked like a seasoned handler even though it was my first experience in the ring. I can't tell you how frustrated I was that after spending three nights a week for months in group classes and after all of our preparation that it all turned out so utterly embarrassing. Lobo's training is there but I am waiting until he matures mentally before again trying to put him in a situation that requires obedience and focus


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

LOL! The last time I was at anything resembling a trial, a fun match, I signed up for two runs at Rally with Moofie. The first we were both a little off. The second run he did great -- until we were leaving the ring and he snagged a cone and was happily taking it out of the ring. 

There was some chuckling at us, I am sure.


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## Black Kali (Aug 31, 2013)

I passed BH with Kali in first trial but not without laugh!  I trained her by myself so I couldn't predict how would she react on a trial. She was placed in down position while other dog was working and as soon as the handler said "Heel!" to his dog Kali start running to me and placed her self in perfect heel position... of course everybody burst to laugh. She executed every command that handler told to his dog (and stayed by my side). 

Luckily that was only mistake she made so we passed but i was super embarrassed! :blush:


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

gsdsar said:


> Boy. Sure is nice to hear I was actually being laughed at. The imagining was better. Gotta say!
> 
> Good luck in November.


Did I ever tell you about when Jax put me on my back at an agility trial? At the judge's feet?

Yeaha...they teach you humility in a BIG way. :wild:


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Steve Strom said:


> Don't let it bother you. I expect people to laugh at me when I have those moments. Good and bad, its all supposed to be fun so I like to laugh about it afterwards too.


This exactly, I made a mess of my first rally run, people laughed, I did too, not a big deal, learn from it and try again. We came back the next day and did well in front of the same people.


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## Vaks (Dec 30, 2011)

I fail my first BH to :/ and I fail my first IPO1 lollll


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## d4lilbitz (Dec 30, 2013)

gsdsar said:


> Boy. Sure is nice to hear I was actually being laughed at. The imagining was better. Gotta say!
> 
> Good luck in November.


 
We have all been there...like others said, don't let it bother you. For my first BH, my lab did a couple things where I was ready to kill her. Of course in training she would be perfect...so I had no idea she would do it in the trial....well she did! In the end we are human and they are animals, no one is perfect and we all make mistakes!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Every time I train, it is a lesson in humility. I'm trialing this coming weekend, and I just heard the S word will be coming to a world near me. Just add to my stress level, Mother Nature.
We can only control our nerves to a certain extent. I saved a fortune cookie's 'fortune' and it is in my training box.
"Courage is Fear that has said its prayers" I try to keep that perspective.


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## d4lilbitz (Dec 30, 2013)

onyx'girl said:


> "Courage is Fear that has said its prayers" I try to keep that perspective.


What a great quote! Good luck this weekend : )


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

Thanks everyone. It has been a big help getting this off my chest and hearing other stories. 

I am slowly beginning to laugh a bit about it. And Nix and I have been doing some back to basics today. Need to rebuild a foundation that was never as strong as I thought it was. So ok. I can do that. 

Hopefully next time will be better, again, it really couldn't be worse. Maybe next time he will actually "fuss" instead of drag me down the field like he was tracking. LOL. Jerk.


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## d4lilbitz (Dec 30, 2013)

gsdsar said:


> Thanks everyone. It has been a big help getting this off my chest and hearing other stories.
> 
> I am slowly beginning to laugh a bit about it. And Nix and I have been doing some back to basics today. Need to rebuild a foundation that was never as strong as I thought it was. So ok. I can do that.
> 
> Hopefully next time will be better, again, it really couldn't be worse. Maybe next time he will actually "fuss" instead of drag me down the field like he was tracking. LOL. Jerk.


That's all you can do, when in doubt back to basics : ) Also, not sure if you remember the judge had some really positive stuff to say as well about Nix! "He shows great drive and temperament...once you two are able to work more as a team, you two will do very well..." It was something along those lines, but it was a good compliment to Nix!


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## G-burg (Nov 10, 2002)

> Boy. Sure is nice to hear I was actually being laughed at. The imagining was better. Gotta say!


Not something I wanted to read... And makes me have less respect for those that were doing this.. I could go on, but I won't! As I know what you and your dog are capable of doing!!


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## osito23 (Feb 17, 2014)

G-burg said:


> Not something I wanted to read... And makes me have less respect for those that were doing this.. I could go on, but I won't! As I know what you and your dog are capable of doing!!


It is disappointing to read. I don't know what people said about my BH. I had terrible handler's nerves and was not sure what to expect at my first trial. Being the only unexperienced girl handler in my 20s with the only show line in the trial did not help. But we went out there, completed all the exercises, and learned what we need to improve on when we go back out for our IPO1. What stands out to me the most about the trial was after our critique a lady I had never met before came up to me, shook my hand, and congratulated me. A few others came up and congratulated us and encouraged me. That's the way it should be.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

> Boy. Sure is nice to hear I was actually being laughed at. The imagining was better. Gotta say!


Might have been the sort of chuckle that implies, "but by the grace of God there goes I".
We find funniest what we relate to. It didn't sound malicious at all. 

I smiled reading everyone else's stories. It would not surprise me that we will have our own story to add to this thread after November.


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## Lynn_P (Mar 17, 2004)

Sam, next time.. you will have it. We all have been humbled, that's for sure. Novak almost failed his IPO 1 OB, the only thing that saved us was his solid retrieve work. When leaving the "long down", he decided to go over to the fence we were next to while the other handler was getting ready to do the send away. Only thing that kept us on the "passing side" was the judge didn't see me grab Novak when his back was turned. And no I wasn't cheating.. it was just a reaction. Recall he blew right past me thinking about the ball at the end of the field for the go out.. took 2 commands to get him back.. His send away, he almost made it to the end of the field before my third command for the "platz".. I knew we had failed (in my mind), but the crowd got a chuckle out of it... and I did too. Those "my dog never did that before" moments we all have had. Novak's similar to Nix with that "independent attitude".. and at least with Novak.. if I continue to his IPO 2, I know I will have to go "boot camp" on him too. Glad you are finally starting to "let it go" and smile. Nix is a great dog, you great handler. As they kept telling Merlin this weekend at the seminar "****'s going to get real" now. Hugs to you. :hug:


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## Traveler's Mom (Sep 24, 2012)

I can only sympathize and share my experience.

I bet your dog didn't run off the field, thru the parking lot dodging people and dogs, then hop into your vehicle parked 3/4 mile away. Yup. That was my first experience.

The second experience was maybe worse. This time I was handling my dog and the dog in the down was a female apparently either side of her heat. Let's just say he wanted to check her out.:angryfire:

Yes, we finally got his BH 

Lynn & Traveler


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## ChunksDad (Jan 6, 2014)

I had a similar experience with my BH and my dog's change in obedience with out the prong or E collar on. I was lucky to pass but Chunk kept up with me w/o looking at me for 60% of both the on and off leash portions. He even stopped to smell a little scent patch but then caught up with me to finish the off leash portion. I was angry, felt humiliated and wanted to shoot him right there... I resolved to keep my nerves in place which I have done since then and changed a couple of things in training:
1. I rarely use the prong, leash or the harness so that he knows that he has to work with or with out them.
2. We had only been to the trial field a few times before the BH so I joined that club and train in two places. (The two fields are where his trials will most likely take place) He is handler sensitive and can be a nervy dog in some ways... New fields can cause this too.
3. I use golf as an example to govern my nerves for the most part. It's a competition between you and the hole not the judge, gallery or other players. I do my best and focus on the dog and my leadership.... There are some nerves but you can use them to your benefit.. getting fired up but a calm controlled energy..
When we went for our IPO1 We had improved and he worked closer with me and now that I am about to trial for the 2 we should be even better...
I have found that most of his problems were operator error not K9 issues so the more input you get the better you two will perform together.. 
BTW - Anecdotally I have a training friend who was going for his 3 with his dog and every time the dog got on the field for obedience he would pick a time to go running around the field like he had lost his marbles... This dog was an incredible performer then one day he lost his marbles.. He passed early last year and is a great competition dog.. Everyone, even the top guys in competition have similar frustrating times with there dogs..
Best of luck to you, I'm sure you will work it out..

Phil


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## gsdluvr (Jun 26, 2012)

Congratulations gsdsar! You really started a terrific post. Look how much interest and info you created!!

Your familiar story really rang a lot of bells and has been super helpful! :thumbup:


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

gsdluvr said:


> Congratulations gsdsar! You really started a terrific post. Look how much interest and info you created!!
> 
> Your familiar story really rang a lot of bells and has been super helpful!



Thanks. Hopefully my total humiliation will turn into a funny story I can share. I already am. It's all good now. I have a plan of attack and training. 

I have told people for years, dogs are here to humble us! And boy do I know that's true!! 

Thanks everyone that shared their own horror stories. It makes me feel so much better to commiserate rather than wallow! 

In the end, it's about getting out there. It's about getting your behind on the field and trying. There can be no true success without failure. Fall off the horse, cowboy up and get back on. 

This won't be my last failure, but it will hopefully be my most spectacular!


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## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

Foundation,foundation,foundation.....so very important. Also, if your dog won't heel reliably off leash with distractions on the training field to draw his attention, then I tell my students they aren't ready for BH. Cause nerves and anxiety will always be factor until you are veteran at this....and now for you even more. You cannot proof a dog without some form of correction and dogs need to be proofed as part of finishing foundation....good luck!


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