Yet another "Goals" post

Goals. We all have them. Or at least we're told we should have them. We're pestered to have them. And not just to have a goal but a GOAL. A worthy target.

I'm as guilty as anybody else about lecturing students (and on lists, and whoever is reading this) about how to set goals and what kind of goals to set. The right goals help you and your dog progress. The wrong goals may not only keep you from being successful, they might actually damage your relationship with your dog and your attitude towards whatever dog sport you participate in.

My big thing is setting performance goals instead of outcome goals. What's the difference? Well an Outcome goal is dependent on an outcome. "I want to Q." "I want an AXJ by this date." "I want a perfect score." A performance goal, in contrast, is task oriented. "I want a smooth front cross." "I want faster weaves." "I want a nice startline stay." Outcome goals can be poison. Because if you set an outcome goal and fail to meet it, then you feel a failure. Even if many parts of your run or performance have been fabulous, if you set your heart (and goal) on getting a Q and your dog dropped a bar, then you've failed. But if you have set a good performance goal and you reach that goal, then even if you don't Q you can still feel successful and good about your team.

The trick to setting Performance goals is to make them fair and doable while still pushing your skills a bit. It's not fair to set a goal to have 2 second weaves if you never have gotten close in practice, or to have a perfect call front if you haven't trained for one. I tell my students that it's best to do three. One for the dog (a good get-out, nice attention, etc.) one for the handler (keep shoulders back, execute a good turn) and one for both of you (work a correct contact or smooth transitions).

Even with my lectures and preaching about goal setting, I realized a couple of months ago that I rarely speak about my primary goal in dog sports. It's a goal I feel very strongly about, but it's a goal that many people seem to rank fairly far down their list. Some people don't think about this goal at all, it is completely immaterial to them.

My absolute NUMBER ONE goal in all of my dog training in dog sport is simple. THE DOG MUST HAVE FUN. If my dog is not enjoying training, if he is stressed and shut down and hating it, then I am doing something wrong. And if I can't fix it, if I can't work the dog through it or if I feel the dog really isn't going to get to a spot where he can truly enjoy the task and the game we play together, then I'm just not going to do that sport with that dog. It's as simple as that.

Now I can hear the cries of protest already. I'm not saying that no dog should ever be trained if they have stress issues or have to work to find that place of joy. Some dogs need time, patience and understanding to learn how to loosen up and have fun. Some dogs express happiness differently than others. Not every happy dog is a screaming speed demon. Some are quietly happy. Sometimes it takes years to help a dog bloom.

I'm also not saying that no dog should ever be forced to do something he doesn't want to do. I force my dogs to have baths and get nail trims. The come command is not optional at my house either. But to me there's a big difference between the things my dogs need to learn in order to be civilized and orderly canine companions, and doing a dog sport for fun.

That "for fun" part should go both ways, not just one. It is a goal we all should have for our dogs. And that in some cases that goal is sorely lacking. I have heard, more times than I can even remember, "I don't care if he likes it. He's going to do it anyway." and "This is his job. I want to do this, so he has to." And let's not even go into some of the marginal to truly brutal training methods used to ensure "perfect" performance in some events.

Dog sports should not be a "job" your dog is forced to do in order to satisfy your want and need to compete. If it really doesn't matter to you whether the dog is having fun, perhaps it's time to reevaluate why you do dog sport. Dog sports are, to me, about teamwork and about a game we play TOGETHER. If I can't make it fun and I know it's not ever going to be fun, then I find something else the dog can do that he enjoys, even if it's just lazing all day on the couch.

To me, a score or a title is nothing compared to having a dog who loves playing that game. We have our dogs for such a short time. Is it really worth it to set your love of a game above theirs?

Startline Stay (SLS). Is it essential?

In agility these days, pretty much everyone strives for a startline stay. They can be very difficult to maintain though, because breaking them is SOOO rewarding. And often handlers inadvertently teach the dog to break through body cues.

This weekend I was talking to a gal who runs a lightning-fast Whippet. She said, "I just figured out how I'm cueing the release for my startline!" It turns out that though she thought the release was a word, "OK," the dog had figured out that after she looked away to see where she was going, the moment she looked back, even the merest glance, he could leave.

Oops.

I know of OTCH dogs who have broken startlines. I know one dog who was so keyed to go that even when he got pulled for breaking, he'd still have the reward for that one jump. So his owner had a friend pull the bar down from the jump if he broke, so he couldn't jump it. It worked, sort of. Then there's Cala. I had a startline stay on her as a young dog, but then she started fudging it. So I pulled her at a couple of trials. Her solution? Break faster so she could take off and do more agility before I yanked her off the course. Try fixing THAT one.

But do you really, honestly have to have a startline stay? Will dogs without them be doomed to certain failure? Well, no. You don't. In fact, with some slower dogs a SLS can be demotivating. And a bad leadout is just as likely to result in failure as no leadout at all. My "favorite" is the leadout of two jumps to a sharp turn. Often the handler cues late, crunching the dog as he tries to stand on his head and turn at the same time. If it's a high drive dog you sometimes hear justified verbal protest from the dog at this treatment.

If you can get a startline stay, it can be very beneficial. In some courses, being able to lead out and draw a line can really help with efficiency and eliminate traps. Some judges design courses specifically to punish those with no leadout. It's a tool you should add to your toolbox. And for really drivey dogs, it can help reinforce that you're team captain, you get to say when to go, not your dog.

Now Min Pins aren't that big, and some of them aren't that motivated. For our breed, I think it is beneficial to experiment and see what works best. If your dog is faster doing a running start, then do it. If it likes to be called to you, try that. Zipper seems to like both the "drop and run" and the startline stay. So I think I'll be able to use both.

If you aren't able to get a stay, here are some tips.

If there are two jumps pretty much straight out to a turn, consider setting up well behind the line and doing a cross between one and two. Be sure to angle the dog the direction you are facing, so you are using the rear cross as a V set. As an example, one of my jumpers courses had 2 jumps out to a right hand turn, with a trap on the left. I actually kept Zipper on my right, set him down a good distance from the bar so he could get up speed, then rear crossed him between one and 2, which turned him nicely to get to three. An alternative to this would have been to set him up on my left, but come into the pocket between 1 and 2 and wrap him around me in a V set, sending him over 2 at an angle to the right.





If there is a jump and a sharp turn with a trap jump straight ahead, set up closer to the bar so the dog has a bit more collection and is less likely to wildly run straight forward. But be sure you leave plenty of room to get yourself by the jump without having to dodge a wing.



There are ways to manage without a startline stay, but if you can get a reliable one, it's a formidable tool.

3 days in St. Louis

This past weekend I showed Zipper 3 days in a row at Lake St. Louis. It's indoors, on dirt. I do like the surface, it's safe and they had it well watered. Unfortunately this facility is dirt outside the rings as well as inside. Which means that we had dust and dirt *everywhere*. Usually at shows I can get at least a couple of days out of a pair of jeans, but not here. Everything had to be shed into the laundry basket each night, it was filthy. Zipper was a bit snorty all weekend and his eyes were teary from the dirt.

No Qs, but he's getting a lot closer! I'm still not happy with his weaves. He's doing them well at the building now, but not so much at trials. I think that in retrospect, I will not ever again teach a dog using anything but channels. He just doesn't really drive through poles, and under stress it's the first thing to break down.

On the other hand, Zipper would have Qd each day in Jumpers if not for the weaves. He took direction beautifully, had some super lines. He did miss one front cross, but he demonstrated he's more than ready to tackle Excellent level courses.

In Standard, he was completely distracted Friday, looking like he did in Massachusetts. My heart sank. But he got better and better. Yesterday's run was very focused. He got his weave entry then skipped out and I kept going, then I pulled him off not one but two jumps. But I got a lead-out in! Yay!

So my plan is to work him on weaves every day until they're so ingrained he's doing them in his sleep. :)

Off to St. Louis

Off to our first trial since Thanksgiving, at Lake St. Louis this weekend. It's weird to be in Excellent. In fact, when I think about it, it's been years since I've been in Excellent. Cala, love her crazy little heart, showed maybe 3 or 4 times in Ex Standard without even a hint of Qing. She has been stuck in Open Jumpers for years and at this point it's doubtful she'll do much more agility.

So I guess the last time I was in Excellent Jumpers was before Viva retired, 4 years ago now. And Zip has a Jumpers leg. Weird.

Anyway, weather here has been brutal and I've been recovering from a pretty bad calf muscle pull. So training has been spotty to say the least. Weaves are still tricky, but other than that Zipper's really pulling together, at least in practice. I'll give a report on the trial next week!

Pete and Repeat

Weaves are still an issue with Zipper. I discovered that Saturday when I went to the building to train and he was missing poles. Again. For the eleventy-billionth time.

It reminds me that he's still a green dog and that weaves have always been slow to come. He isn't ready for me to be cavalier about weave training. But I've had excuses. This darn calf-muscle pull h has been slow to mend and the weather has been awful. I am not, will not, refuse to, train a 10# dog with no hair in an unheated building with temperatures ranging from 1 to 10 degrees F. Not going to happen.

Thank goodness the weather is letting up a bit this week. Not enough for me to really want to go tracking, but enough to get into the building a few times.

Goal? Me totally healed and Zipper 100% on weaves by our St. Louis trial the end of this month.

Meanwhile I ponder funds for the UKC trial. Upside? Probably easy titles. UAg2 for Zip, Rally for Cala. Downside? $$$. What to do...what to do.

Brrrr!

Temp is 18F and falling. Our windchill tomorrow is supposed to be -10 to -25. Holy cow that's cold. So no walks, no training at the building (which is unheated). I have the thermostat here at the house turned down to 60 to try to save my gas bill. All the dogs are in coats.

As for me, I'm looking over April trials and trying to decide what to enter. Zip's already entered in a late Feb trial and there's nothing in March, but April is jammed! And there are two trials at Purina Farms this spring, when there haven't been any outdoor trials there for the past couple of years. My tent broke. Do I dare a trial in April outdoors? With a Min Pin? Hmmmm.