SUMMARY: Say the dog's name, not "come". And watch those feet.
How long have I been doing agility? How long does it take things to sink in?
At the NAF USDAA trial in June, I reported the following incidents with Tika:
...in the Standard on a place where I knew there was an off-course possibility, I yelled "Come!" and when she wasn't coming, I yelled "Come!" louder and she still went off course. I know better than that! Especially after telling my teammates during the walk-through to use their dogs' names!
...then, in the Jumpers course, where I knew there was an off-course possibility, I yelled "Come" really loudly and then when she didn't, I yelled "Come!" even louder and she still went off course.
But here's the worst part. While looking for a post about when Tika first grabbed my feet in competition, I found this from April of 2003:
...P3 gamblers: Dag nabbit--[Jake] carried out *too* far and didn't come in when I said "come come come come COME!"
As for an actual post about when Tika first grabbed my foot in competition and I took a head dive because it came out of the blue...it must have been during the couple of months immediately preceding and following Remington's death, because there are no mentions of it before that (and she was just starting to compete then, anyway), but lots of mentions after that. You can read one typical post from June, 2003.
Love the travel log.
ReplyDeleteWe never learn. It's just the way of the world. Didn't our parents say that to us...."When are you going to learn...?"
/amy