Are you ready? By Laurie Albright
One of the most common questions asked in my competitive classes is “how do I know when I’m ready to go to a trial?” The answer is always “it depends”. Don’t you hate that?! But it’s true. It depends on what your motivation for going to the trial is. Are you going to get ring exposure and experience for a dog that you know isn’t ready? Or are you going to try for a first place ribbon, or even a “High in Trial”?
If your goal is ring experience, I’m not going to say “don’t go”… that’s an individual decision. As long as you can ensure safety for your dog and everyone around you – fine – it’s your entry fee. I would however, encourage you to go to a “fun match” instead. At a fun match, you simulate the whole picture of a ring experience for your dog: there’s a judge, ring stewards, standard equipment, everything looks like the real thing. The difference is that you can help your dog. You can reward, you can fix problems, you can play with your dog. If something goes seriously awry – you can redo it. You don’t have those opportunities in a “real trial” or a sanction match. Be careful you don’t take the “not really ready” dog to too many trials without being able to fix things – they’ll soon learn what you can and can’t do there.
If your goal is to perform well, show off what a great dog you have and even take a shot at one of those really cool ribbons, you have to look at your dog’s performance a little more closely. Before you send in that big entry cheque, evaluate your dog dispassionately, (have someone help you). I know – you love your dog and he/she’s always perfect, but step back and pretend it’s someone else’s dog and take a closer look. The questions to ask are: Can my dog perform all the exercises quickly and accurately at least 95% of the time? Is my dog mentally and emotionally mature enough to handle the “ring stress”? Am I confident enough to handle the ring stress and not pass more onto my dog than is strictly necessary?
If your dog cannot perform the required behaviors in your familiar training environment – he will not be able to perform them in the ring. Things just don’t get better because everyone is watching you. Trust me on that one! If your dog can do the behaviors reliably at a familiar place, start taking your training out away from the places you always go. What happens to your behaviors there? Do you have to back up a few steps and help your dog to be successful? That’s great! You know you’re not ready to trial – but you’re on your way! Your dog is not “ready to trial” until he can perform all the required behaviors happily and easily in a completely new environment with lots of distractions. (This is one of the things that makes training fun – lots of people get to see how cool your dog is as you travel all around town looking for new places to train!)
Then there’s the question of mental and emotional maturity. Different breeds “grow up” at different rates. As a general rule, the smaller the dog is, the more quickly it matures (there are always exceptions and variations to all of these rules). If you have a toy or pretty small dog – it will probably be “mature” by the time it’s two – a big dog, maybe not until three or four. Sorry – that’s just the way it goes. I see a big difference in my performance dogs between two and four years old. At two, they can do the behaviours anywhere, but they are easily distracted and feel the stress of being in a competitive environment. By four, they can still do the behaviours, but they take the noise and distraction of a competition in stride and they can keep working with me through it all. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t compete with a young dog – just be understanding of they strain you’re putting on them and help them cope with it. If it all falls apart in the ring – remember that your dog didn’t send in the cheque and needs your support to feel comfortable next time you enter a trial.
Finally, are you ready to trial? If you become a “bag of nerves” and the butterflies are threatening to escape from your tummy the hard way – perhaps you need the practice you can get at a fun match. You may still feel the stress at a match, but you have a lot of tools to reduce how much that affects your dog. You can break into a game of tug, reward with treats (“Okay, Mom’s lost her mind – but she still gives me cookies when she’s in a cold sweat, so it can’t be that bad!). If you need to practice, do it! Even if your dog doesn’t need it – it’s a partnership out there and your end of the leash counts too!
We all want to get our young dogs “ring ready” and get out there to play with them. Be patient. Make sure you keep training and trialing fun for you and your dog. And no matter what happens out there, remember that you are taking home the same great dog you went in with!