Got Attitude?

As part of the Dog Agility Bloggers Day, all bloggers are to write about “attitude” and dog agility.  I truly have learned much about “attitude” and I have my three-year old Cocker Spaniel, Jefferson to thank for these lessons.  We have been competing in dog agility for 1 ½ years now and it has been so much fun!   From my experience, agility handlers need to possess three types of “attitude:” 1.)  the attitude of continually learning and being the student; 2.)  the attitude of  building a team; and  3.)  the attitude of having fun with your dog.

As a high school teacher, the “attitude” of being open to continually learning and perpetually a student appeals to me.  I enjoy the challenge in agility of never quite knowing all the answers; rather, researching and learning all I can about dog training, handling, and the like.  Whenever Jefferson and I have problems successfully running a course, I want to learn how to make our runs more successful.  What I have learned is that there are many ways to handle courses and it is up to me as the team leader to determine the best way for my teammate.  I try to take every seminar and class that I am able (and can afford!) to learn as much as I can about the sport.  Whether it is a class with a national competitor or a local guru, I am open to learning and being a student of agility.  Everyone has taught me something I can use to be a more successful handler.

This brings me to the second type of “attitude” in agility:  building a team.   As a green handler with a novice

doggie, this one has probably been the most difficult for us, Team J-Dawg, to master.  I am still learning ways to motivate Jefferson and keep him excited to run a course with me.  Earlier this winter, I compared Team J-Dawg to others as we struggled to finish a course while many teams “Q’d” leaving us in the Starters dust.  But, as I have learned more about my doggie partner (and myself), we are beginning to mesh together as a team and reading each other much better than even a few months ago.  I am thrilled with the progress we have made by my not wasting human energy “worrying” about other’s performances. For instance, at this Sunday's run-thrus, we had set-up a very doable Advanced Jumpers course.  But, the heat got the best of Jefferson and he wanted nothing to do with running an agility course in the sweltering sun.  So, our first try was a complete disaster; rather than be discouraged, I took the advice of others who recommended I run "my own" course in the shade.  It was successful and we worked together as a team to run our obstacles in the shade.  Yay!

Finally, I believe the most important “attitude” is to have fun with your dog.  Afterall, isn’t this the reason why most people became involved in dog agility in the first place?  Think about it, the doggies do not know how to read course maps and the numbers on the cones (although I wonder if some border collies may have this skill!).  The doggies are running agility courses because it is fun to be with their owners.  They want to please us.  Likewise, they are attune to their handlers moods and whether or not it is "fun." 

From my own experience, I have found that as soon as I started to become preoccupied with earning a "Q," I began to not have "fun" unless I had a great run.  This put unwanted stress on both me and Jefferson.  Jefferson became stressed on the field...I became stressed on the field...and so it continued and the "fun" was simply not there. As soon as I realized this, I quickly made a change.  It took my sweet, black and white Cocker Spaniel to remind me that "Fun is Good!"  So, I have learned that this "attitude" of fun is probably the most crucial one to possess when participating in the sport of dog agility.

 And, so there it is...the three "attitudes" to exhibit as a participant in dog agility.  Needless to say, I am still working on all of these, but it has been a great journey so far and I look forward to many more successful years participating in dog agility with Jefferson!

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."
~Winston Churchill