Smudge has decided that he is going to advertise for a new handler - well at least I think he should do!! I'll explain why...............
Last season we had an issue with contacts in the ring. He was getting them, but they weren't anywhere near as consistent as they were in training and they certainly weren't as I wanted them to be (a complete stop in a 2 on 2 off position with a nose touch until verbally released). So all winter we have worked really hard on proofing them further, keeping them consistent and maintaining criteria no matter what the situation. Great I thought, we are really getting somewhere. Nice fast independant contacts - in training. All I had to do was maintain that performance in the ring, so in the coming season if ever I wasn't happy with them in the ring, I wouldn't carry on, but would ask him to correct himself then praise and leave the ring.
Or so I thought. Yesterday we had our club monthly competition. And what did I do???? I let him carry on after a dodgy contact!!!!!!!!!!!!! Arrrgggghhhhh!!!!!! Someone slap me!!!!!!!!!!! How can I ever expect him to have perfect contacts if I constantly change the boundaries??? I tell you, if only that poor dog had a decent handler!! He got both contacts, but they weren't perfect and I know that if I accept this now, we will end up slipping again and back where we started. But if I cant do it in a silly monthly comp how will I ever do it anywhere else?? I really do not know what goes on in my brain sometimes. I spend ages explaining to people at club how important it is to be consistent so your dog knows what is expected of them, and here I am not practising what I preach!!
Soooooo, at the show next weekend I have given Paul full permission to severly tell me off and confiscate my dog if I let him away with one contact :-) We will see!!
It is freezing again, and they say it might snow here tonight. I do hope so! We haven't had snow for years in Jersey!! Here are a few pictures from our walk today on the sand dunes. The dogs love it here as there is just so much to explore and the surroundings are changing all the time.
The view from the bottom.
Maisie sporting her extremely luminous winter coat!
If you look carefully you can just about see our lot at the bottom of this dune. And four sets of paw prints!! 
And the view from the very top!
If you look carefully you can just about see our lot at the bottom of this dune. And four sets of paw prints!! And the view from the very top! 
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3 comments:
Don't beat yourself up Louise. Just keep at it. I have been in exactly that position with Naughty Niamh. I spent a big part of last year re-training her contacts and then kept letting her down in the ring by moving the goal posts albeit without meaning to :) It took me almost as long to re-train myself as it did to re-train Niamh but it did click and now comes naturally to me and well as Niamh! Good luck and keep enjoying Smudge, that's the most important bit!
They look like they are having the time of their lives!! What great fun!! x
If you ever get rid of Smudge, I will have him, please! He is goergous! Unfortunately we all make the same mistake again and again. I am sure the time will come and you will learn to control yourself.
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