A Confession from a Recovering Crossover Trainer's First Rally Trail

In a previous blog I revealed a confession about attending our first training class since I crossed over to clicker training…. So here is my next….

Competition scares me to death.  I could just avoid it all together, but to be honest, there are some good reasons for competing, even when it makes my stomach churn and my hands shake so badly I can hardly hold the leash.  First off, facing and overcoming fears builds character, and perhaps more importantly helps us empathize with others in difficult situations.  Next time I have a dog (or friend, co-worker, client, whomever) facing an emotionally challenging task, I can certainly put myself in their place.  And I have met some wonderful people at such events.  And, well, it's just plain cool to demonstrate to an unbiased judge (and jury) that we can accomplish the standard set….

So since the trail was so close to home, we entered, and we even went (it did cross my mind that it would be easy to stay home…) and not only did we survive but we didn't do too badly. 

We earned our Rally Novice title, and to me that was but a small bit of the rest of the accomplishments.  I used some of tag teach concepts to try to begin to help myself overcome some of my irrational fear. By the fourth day of the trial I could enter the ring, and my hands did not start to shake until the judge said "Are you ready?" and I managed to hold the leash through the entire course without dropping it. One of the most important accomplishments in my own view relates back to my original confession….  I knew I was back in an environment where it would be easy to lapse back into old habits.  To take my mind off my nerves I tried to focus on establishing new "good" habits and identifying the cues of those old "bad" habits and redirecting them when they were tempted to re-surface.  As the weekend passed I found that by focusing on finding reasons to click and reward my dog, I had less time to be worried and my dog was more focused.

A real moment of truth was just before we entered the ring.  The first day I was so nervous I really did actually drop my leash several times.  Being so nervous, poor Riki was doing everything she could to help me calm down… offering calming signals all over the place.  Not necessarily a good thing in the Rally Ring….  Our first day was not our best.  We passed, but not nearly with the score we should have.  The next day I was even more nervous expecting the same results, and in those moments before we entered the ring, with my nerves beginning to shrill, I discovered a fortuitous accident.  I have created a rich and deep history for Riki when she gives me eye contact, so much so it has practically become a default behavior.  In desperation my dog stared directly into my eyes… a moment of clarity!!! Click and Treat THAT!!!  As soon as I did, Riki began offering more and more eye contact, and as a result my nerves began to calm… initiating wonderful self reinforcing cycle.  We finished that day with 98 out of 100, and many compliments from the judge and fellow exhibitors.

By the fourth day my nerves had calmed somewhat and I was able to mange to walk without tripping and to hold on to my leash.  Soon I may be ready to face the thought of entering either the next level of Rally or perhaps even an Obedience class…..