The practice of
walking a dog off course started years ago as a simple way to remove a dog from
an overly stimulating situation, in which there was no way to continue the
course without causing further damage to your foundation. I’ve walked my dogs
off in this manner many times, particularly when the dog gets so high in the
ring that it is impossible to get them through the rest of the course. Personally,
I don’t see anything wrong with calmly excusing yourself from the ring for this
type of issue. But more recently, removing the dog from the ring has become
more and more of a punishment. Dogs flipped upside down, carried or
dragged out by their collars, and even people storming out of the ring without
their dogs, which can be considered abandonment, just in case you weren’t
aware. There is no purpose, it’s not an “effective training tool”, and it’s
based entirely on the handler’s temper getting out of hand. I know we can all
get emotional about our runs, good or bad, but in the end agility is a game. Stomping
your feet at a knocked bar or having a screaming match with your dog after an
off course is completely unacceptable.
And it isn’t just
those “problem” dogs that are getting hauled of the course. It’s consistent,
honest dogs too, …which honestly I find beyond ridiculous. Dogs are dogs; they are allowed to make
mistakes once in a while. People make up excuses that their dog was too
excited, or needed a “time-out”, when really it’s the handlers who need to
spend some time thinking about their actions.
So maybe next time,
before hauling your “bad, bad, bad dog” off the course, you should remember
that 99% of faults on course are caused by handler error.
This is nuts... Sometimes, walking out a ring without your dog is considered abandonment!? NOT an efficient training METHOD? I beg to differ! My dog gets "out of control" in the ring. I simply walk away. She then cools down. We run again, perfectly. With this METHOD, she has FAR less "out of control" runs. And takes the game a bit more seriously.
ReplyDeleteCarried out of the ring?! So horrid!! Poor dogs, being mistreated..
I completely understand the issue you are talking about, I've removed my baby dog from the ring when she was just too "high" to continue running. I think as long as the dog is removed quietly and calmly, that it is the perfect instance to take a dog off.
DeleteWhat I'm objecting to is walking the dog off just because the handler is mad about NQing
One of my pet peeves is the term "walk of shame." It is always applied to the dog, not the handler, and the handler is even applauded for it. Yes, I understand maintaining criteria, but I also think walking off is overrated (though I did it recently). Any time you walk the dog off, it should be a wake up call to go work on whatever it was that you walked off the course for, using tons of positive reinforcement. If you're walking off regularly, guess what, IT ISN'T WORKING! And there is NO excuse for being mean to the dog in the process. We're volunteers (or addicts) and they've been drafted, regardless of temperament or ability, or lack thereof.
ReplyDeleteI'd also agree that it is okay to take a dog off of a course if they are seeking self reward/reinforcement. It goes back to the basic principles of dog training...dogs are likely to seek/repeat what they are reinforced for regardless how it is obtained. Allowing a dog to carry on can be a disaster because you have no leverage to reinforce your "expected" ring behavior. I do agree with your position on the negative way it has been used though. If this "time-out" method is to be used it should be delivered in a neutral manner. Dogs are our teammates we should work together! I'm sure we get frustrated with each other often but we still have to treat one another with respect and remember to have fun.
ReplyDeleteThere are people here locally that will pull their dog off course for not holding their start line until released. Then they end up running like 2 or 3 runs out of the 12 they payed for the whole weekend (NADAC). Personally I wouldn't take my dog off unless it was a severe incident because I mean you payed to run that with your dog so just do it. It's not all about the Q's anyway.
ReplyDelete