The dog musing/vent thread

WHERE IS MY REWARD DOG. Squash was a real doofus during our skijor race today and the whole experience was kind of a thinly-controlled circus.


Oh, wait. It was still fun anyway. And all joking aside, this kind of thing makes me very melancholy.

I think I'm ready to start sketching up Beau's memorial tattoo with the quote

"Happy Trails and Happy Hunting"

Sisters new dog wont stop focusing on my rat cage -_-

Eugh. Saw this attitude all the time in horses too, only 1000X worse. Lot of teenage girls who would freak out if their (perfectly nice, well mannered, competitive) horse knocked one rail out of three classes, having meltdowns at how the horse turned out to be such a "failure." And their friends would console them by saying one day they'd get that $35,000 imported Grand Prix Warmblood gelding who'd always know EXACTLY what to do and win in ALL competition. I always used to mutter to my mare "be lucky you're with me" when we saw those girls having temper tantrums and going crazy with the crop/spurs/reins because the horse forgot a lead change.

I find people who work with animals and take themselves too seriously/put way too much pressure on their animals to be perfect competitors, to be such a draining type to be around. My dad, who is not a dog competitor person at all to be fair, turned and whispered to me "it's just dog-jumping-games, get a grip!" when we saw someone almost haul off and smack her dog for botching a single element in an agility run (she held back, but you could tell she wanted to). Meanwhile, there was a giant Malamute who literally had to be picked up and carried out of the ring (I forget what happened exactly, he was having great runs before that, but something spooked him bad), and the owner was smiling and laughing and telling him he tried.

That is sad. Man, I've wanted to get my dog into agility because it sounds FUN. Of course if she was a fabulous agility dog that would make me happy, but so would a really crazy, bad run if we were enjoying ourselves.
Maybe it's a weird comparison, but it reminds me of some pageant moms and all the overwhelming pressure they apply, trying to live through their kids and all.

Disclaimer: I am not talking about agility people who try really hard to do well and get those ribbons. I'm talking about the kind of people mentioned here who flip their **** because their dog isn't perfect.

Please read the whole thing before you decide I'm a jerk.

The reality is - when you are putting a ton of time, money, and effort into something, and it goes badly, you sometimes get frustrated. Now, I've seen the people who really "worry" me. There's a relatively big name competitor around here who, when something goes wrong in the ring, his dogs drop to the ground and/or bolt out of the ring to get away from him. There's nothing about that I find okay.

But the dog doesn't care if he didn't get his picture taken with his ribbons. I have times I am so frustrated after a trial, but I won't and can't show it to either of my dogs. They are soft, and I'm digging my own grave if I do. But after they get their cookies and walk and get put back in their crates, I will sometimes find a friend to whom I can vent. We talk about 'easy' dogs versus hard dogs to train and compete, and try to work out how often the easy ones come (every third dog, about, so I will sometimes comment that 'my next dog is going to be a good one!').

I love my dogs beyond belief. If neither one of them could trial ever again, they would have lifetime homes with me despite the fact that I have a two dog limit and that would me no more agility. I'd take a bullet for Meg, and Gusto is darn near that level of 'heart' dog now as well. But yes, I get frustrated sometimes. I choose not to make it (too) public, and never in front of my dogs, but I've gone to my car to cry out of frustration. I've vented to my friend that I thought I was doing *everything* right with Gusto and laying all the right foundations, and I still have a dog with some weird, tricky issues.

And then I go love on my dogs and make a new training plan and keep trying. But if you caught me during one of those bad moments, you'd probably be posting about me. I think that, until you've spent hours out in single-digit barns training; taken a second job to pay for classes; driven through blizzards to get trials; spent hours and hours making training plans - you don't always realize just how much your heart gets tied up in this stuff. As long as someone isn't taking it out on the dog in a way that the dog notices, I try hard not to judge.

And yes, I try to improve myself. I've seen how much better Meg competes now that there is zero pressure on her or me; she's completed every goal I've ever set out for her, and I truly no longer care what happens in the ring as long as she is having fun. If I could get that attitude about Gusto right now, I would. I can't. I'd be a millionaire if I knew the secret to it.

So no, I'd never choose to publicly air my frustrations (usually - heck, there's probably a Facebook post or two I'm not proud of) like that girl, but...I get it. I try not to judge. I've been there.

There we go, now I can be called a jerk if you made it through all of that

LOL, BB, I definitely don't think you're a jerk. Being disappointed and frustrated when you've invested so much into every aspect of a sport is understandable. Taking it out on the dog (in the example a DAY later she was feeling well enough to snuggle with the dog) is beyond my understanding. Not appreciating your dog, I don't get.

For me it would never be a super competitive thing. Just fun. Maybe I'd have a different opinion if I actually was involved, but as it stands now I don't get why it's oh-so-super srs bsns if a dog is not perfect for agility.

I get both sides. I cried after our really bad trial because well.... it's just hard sometimes when everything goes wrong. And it's hard not to get somewhat jealous of those other dogs that seem to just be perfect at everything. I'm sad right now because my old dog decided to semi-break and is limping right before our supposed TDAA debut. I guess we'll aim for next month. *sigh*

There's a lot of blood, sweat, and tears poured into agility for sure.

On the other hand, I think some people take it way too seriously and at the end of the day it is just dogs doing a pvc pipe obstacle course. I've seen some people who seem to only value their dogs for what they can do in the ring and it's sad to me.

I can also see where they are coming from. I struggled a lot with that when I was showing my previous horse. I would train 1-2 hours at least 4 days a week and we would go to a show and blow it completely. There was ONE time out of 6 years that I felt proud of him afterwards.

I love that horse til the end of my time, but no matter how hard we worked he just couldn't excel and it was extremely frustrating. Tons and tons and tons of money, time, sweat, tears, and blood went into the work we did. I appreciated the effort he put into trying to do it right, but sometimes that just didn't outweigh it. I always loved him but sometimes the best part was when he was in the trailer out of my sight on the way home.

There's a reason I haven't debuted Rider in Rally. Why? Because I don't want to invest the time into a dog who probably won't make it. I still love that dog to death, but it's not worth it to me to spend the money and take the sport seriously when we won't get anywhere. Take it or leave it. I'd rather love on my dog and accept his fears rather than put more stress on both of us.

But maybe it was just talk. I mean, I've had a bad weekend, gone to training Tuesday night and had a rocking super Gusto, and made a comment like "Okay, I love my dog again." But obviously, I loved him before that too

I started agility just for fun. I started with a dog (Meg) would would freak out when the flooring changed from carpet to hardwood, and who couldn't walk over a plank on the ground because of her fears. Half our early classes, I ran my trainer's dog because Meg wouldn't come out of her crate. It couldn't ever be anything but fun for her, because there was no way agility was going to happen otherwise!

So it was "we are just going to do a class for confidence building"...then "well we will do a trial but she's never moving out of starters"..."well we made it to advanced, but she's never going to be a masters dog"..."we made it to masters but she will never Q"... to my little superstar who walked boldly into the stadium at Cynosport and who has a Championship ribbon bigger than she is. My whole chest gets tight just thinking of how much she's done for me, just because I asked her to, because she would NEVER have chosen agility on her own. She is such a huge blessing for me.

And I still wanted to bang my head on a brick wall when she suddenly developed a fear issue of the chute for no obvious reason, or when she'd pop the weave poles to bounce over to me and play bow. I didn't love her less, or not appreciate her, but there was certainly intense frustration!

I'm probably reading too much into all of this...I tend to do that. But I hope that if someone overhears me during a frustrated moment, they don't think I don't love my dogs or decide I'm a bad person.

You know, I never quite understood why people get so upset over their dog's progress in dog sports, to the point of taking it out on your dog. To me, the whole idea of getting into dog sports is for the dog's enjoyment, and to do something with your dog. So it always seems ridiculous and ass backwards to me when people take out their disappointment and frustration on their dogs for not doing as well as they want. I think a lot of people get into dog sports for the wrong reasons.

You know, I never quite understood why people get so upset over their dog's progress in dog sports, to the point of taking it out on your dog. To me, the whole idea of getting into dog sports is for the dog's enjoyment, and to do something with your dog. So it always seems rediculous and ass backwards to me when people take out their disapointment and frustration on their dogs for not doing as well as they want. I think a lot of people get into dog sports for the wrong reasons. You're dog shouldn't have to be able to jump over pipes and run through tunnels SUPER DUPER FAST to validate it's worth to you.

People get frustrated. And when you dump your heart, soul and bank account into something, it's easy to get frustrated when things don't go right, especially when you know the dog knows what it's supposed to do because you've trained for it for months on end.

I get frustrated a lot, I don't take it out on the dogs but I definitely bitch about them sometimes. But, I'm raising a puppy right now who will be sold if he doesn't make it at the sport and work he was intended for.

Youch. Patton's first trip to the pet store was yesterday, for training/socialization.

Well, he was a rockstar and on a busy Saturday afternoon was giving me his full attention with dogs, babies, and people walking within feet of us and was giving me some great heel position w/loose lead walking.

But my god is he a land shark.

My fingers are scraped up and bloody today from treat taking. At least he's working for kibble now? :-/

I stewarded at an obedience trial yesterday. Oh dear god do I miss competitive dog sports! There was some incredibly nice team work yesterday and the majority of the handlers were SO in tune with their dogs it was just amazing.

THAT is why I do dog sports. Granted, there were a few teams that appeared to be at oods with eachother as well, but it was the minority.

Someday, someday I'll be back in the ring!

LOL, I would have no problem with "I love my dog again," lol. I've threatened to take Fable back to the pound quite a few times. Which would never happen in a million years.
Maybe it's because I've gotten to know you some and I know that you adore your dogs that I wouldn't be upset if I saw you vent.
I don't know the person in the original example. . .and I do think she comes across as heartless, but I don't think that she's a horrible person or doesn't give a rat's ass about her dogs. Don't even know her, and that's a huge judgment to make about anyone.
I still think, though, that dogs are companions first, sport animals second (unless we're talking about actual working dogs, which is totally different). At least in my view. And remember, my opinion should come with a grain of salt anyway, because I've never had the chance to do agility yet. But if agility is so stressful that I can't focus on anything but my dog's shortcomings and I'm doing anything other than trying to have fun, maybe I don't want to be involved.

Onyx has been a holy terror the past week or so, ahhh. Bark, bite, bark, bite, chase the cat, climb on top of the piano, bark, bite, counter surf, open cupboards, bark, bite...etc. Repeat.

Adolescence, make it go away.

Like in 3 months?!

I'm going to be in the ring in 3 months! Which means you have to as well!

Um, or he's working for blood. I know which one I would bet on!

Yes not everyone can keep every dog that doesn't work out in sport ... If that's what they got the dog FOR then we would all go broke if we kept every dog that didn't work out (rescues excluded of course).

Example - if I had cattle and I got an ACD from working parens and working lines ... there are a few big time working ACD breeders, as in their dogs are pRt of their cattle program. If I got a dog from one of these breeders TO work cattle and it turned oh that it didn't have instinct or drive, then it would go back to the breeder.

The breeder would take it back with no issues, because that's what they breed their puppies for ... WORK, it would be no different then returning a puppy bought for show because it would be ludicrous to keep every puppy they didn't work out.