Clean Run Magazine - November 2007 - 38

Trainer’s Forum By Brenna Fender I’ve been reading about how to handle my dog’s stress at trials. Now I’d like to learn how to handle my own. Webb, a professional agility trainer and coach, competes with top-ranked Miniature Schnauzers and his Sheltie prodigy. For information about Webb’s new AKC Invitational training plans or his Agility Performance Management System (seminars, coaching packages, video analysis), visit www.performanceplusk9s.com. Webb Anderson kind of support waiting in the wings? Stress is a physical response to a mental stimulus. Stress exaggerates our natural traits and causes our communication skills to suffer. If our natural tendency is to speak loudly or move frantically, those negative traits can be ampliﬁed. If our communication skills are not the best, our voice tone and volume will change along with our body language. In other words, a stressed handler can be a train wreck waiting to happen! To combat stress, ﬁrst identify its cause. For most agility handlers, stress is caused by one of three things: stage fright, pressure to perform because you have something “on the line,” or feeling unprepared to succeed on the course that day. If your problem is stage fright, remember this—no one is watching! Okay, maybe a few people are watching, but most are watching for selfish reasons. They may be in line waiting their turn while you happen to be running before them. Maybe they want to see what goes wrong in your run so they will know what to do with their own dogs. Basically, they are more interested in their run than in yours. Sad, but true—and also more than a little bit liberating. Those who are watching just for the sake of watching you are generally doing it because they are your friends and they want you to succeed. Why be nervous with that If your problem is feeling pressure to perform because a title or a placement is important to you, here’s how to negate that problem. The best thing I learned from Lanny Bassham’s “Everything Dog Agility Handlers Should Know First About the Mental Game” (I learned lots of great things from this audio CD) is that handlers focus too much on outcome and not enough on process. Using Lanny’s theory, you should focus on executing a well-timed front cross rather than on the need to Q or win. By focusing on process, you actually improve your chances of achieving your desired outcome. If you are stressed because you don’t feel prepared to succeed, you need to do some work at home so that you never doubt your team’s skills at a trial. Focus your training so that you become comfortable with your dog’s skills, your handling skills, and your ability to analyze a course and choose correctly. You should never stress at a trial because you’re worried that your dog might miss his weave entry or go off course because you didn’t complete your front cross in time or that he might knock a bar because you chose a front cross when a rear cross was more appropriate. Webb’s Dog Agility Rule #1: Perfect practice Angelica Steinker Angelica is owner and operator of Courteous Canine, Inc. in Lutz, Florida, is the author of both Agility Success, a book on the mental training aspects of agility, and a new book, Click and Play Agility on clicker training agility. Visit her website at www.AngelicaSteinker.com. M.Ed., CDBC No one is watching. What actions on your part prompt stress? Gather all the clues about what increases your stress so you can use this information to alter your behavior. Once you have gathered the stressprompting facts, begin the same process to evaluate what helps you to be happy, conﬁdent, and relaxed. Just like in dog training, you can substitute the behaviors that prompt the desired state rather than the stress state. me to succeed”). The opposite, positive thought will feel much better! While it takes a lot of energy and skill to alter your thoughts, it is so rewarding to feel happy and enjoy yourself. Stress is not the enemy. Embrace your stress. The fact that you are excited and a little nervous is wonderful. It means you are ready to do your best handling. Overwhelming stress is problematic but a little stress is a signal that you are ready to rock! When you feel stressed, what is your body doing? Determine how your thoughts affect your body. Modify your body to help alter your thoughts. Smile, laugh, cheer, and compliment other competitors. Avoid negative comments and negative people. We can’t control others but we can control having extended contact © KAREN & IAN STEWART What creates stress is different for different people. Gather information about what is causing your stress and then use that information to change yourself. The bottom line is that if you don’t change, your stress level won’t change. Just like when you’re training your dog, focus on only one thing at a time to change your own behavior. Reducing your stress will be a project, not something that you can control like a light switch. Think about the times you were nervous in your past. What thoughts prompted stress? When you are stressed what does your body do? 38 The single most critical part of your stress-reducing project is to be aware of your negative thoughts. If you think, “They are all watching me” or “They want me to fail,” those thoughts are likely to trigger stress and interfere with your and your dog’s fun. Practice replacing those thoughts with the opposite (“Nobody is watching me” or “Everyone wants with negative people. By altering your own behavior to be joyful and happy you are reducing your stress. Joy is incompatible with stress. A relaxed body is incompatible with tension. A very helpful technique is to enter the “now” when stepping to the line with your dog. In the moment you are on the line all you and your dog need is for you to be fully present. Eckert Tolle has some great books and CDs available that help you Clean Run | November 07

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Clean Run Magazine - November 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - November 2007