I compete a lot in Obedience, Rally and Agility with four clicker trained dogs and do really well, often winning at the Novice Obedience and Rally Excellent levels with nontraditional breeds.  Ultimately, I always ask as I'm stepping into the ring, why am I in relationships with these dogs?  If I were to use methods that caused physical or emotional distress to these my truest friends; so that an artificial exercise, in an artificial man made game, could score full points, who does that make me?  It is so easy to follow the crowd and do what your friends are doing, but at the end of the day each of us has, in the quiet of our hearts, our own answer.  In the past, many times I did not like my answer.

I think the most touching thing I ever heard about this subject of relationships, was said by the late Patty Ruzzo when her first positively trained OTCH dog died, "It was so different when he passed.  I felt so peaceful and clean, with no regrets when he left me.  I had never hurt him to get him to do the things I wanted and he had always looked to me with confidence and trust."  If I could say this as each of my dogs passes into heaven, that will be the whole point of my ever picking up the end of a leash to interact with what's on the other end of it.

As for the criteria I've set for myself, as far as I'm concerned I need to keep my head screwed on straight and be realistic.   If something fails in the ring it is because I failed to train it to ring quality (can do it backward and forwards and in its sleep and in a ton of different places with someone watching and when I'm under stress and finds it "fun" without "rewards").  Or the dogs level of confidence is impairing its ability to follow the cue under stress (his or mine).  Both of these conditions are my problem, not the dog's.

I don't give a rat's tail if someone uses a clicker or not, as long as they don't train with the intent to hurt or scare the dog.  One of my favorite quotes I ever read (and of course I can't remember who said it!) was, "It's one thing to fail an exercise, and quite another to fail your dog."

My challenge to myself is to follow my own training ideal.  "Can I teach this to a ring quality behavior, without causing discomfort or fear to my dog in the name of "training", to get the behaviors I want in or out of the ring?"  Beyond that I find and do everything that I can to make the training fun, exciting and enriching to my dogs and me.

The other aspect of training is me becoming emotionally mature and confident enough to manage my own energy in the ring and not make my dog carry the burden of my stress.  This may be the main universal learning of the whole competition thing!  In my mind the ring is the canvas and the dog and I are the brush.  We are seeking to create the most beautiful living picture on it.

Presently, the competing is only the test of my training.  My real joy is in training well, giving the dog the skills to move masterfully and joyfully into the behavior with a "Damn, I'm good at this!" feeling.  I pay to show, to find out where the holes are in my training, so I can have the pleasure of explaining it better and giving my dog and myself the gift of a perfectly executed front or finish or recall.  She feels my understanding of and pride in her as she does that perfect front and there is just that flash of joy between us when it coalesces in the ring, or out, and no words or clicks or chicken chunks can trump the wild surge of love in my heart for her that she absolutely feels in her little doggy spirit.

Thanks for listening... I just had to explain "Why I do it!"

Denise PontesTull