Clean Run - November 2014 - 57

prepared for trials, and their errors almost
always happen in competition rather
than in training. They may simply need a
bit of positive ring experience to perform
at their best. Trainers can easily confuse a
frantic dog with one that has a high attitude, but there are important diﬀerences.
Dogs that stress up in a frantic fashion
will often disconnect from their handlers
and attempt to relieve their frustration
or stress with movement. They will run
zooming circles around both their trainers and the training area. If you listen
closely, you can almost hear the dog
screaming, "Lalalala!" as he tries to drown
out everything around him, including his trainer. Dogs that stress up might leap up
at the trainer's face or grab at clothing. Some misguided trainers try to correct their
dogs for these behaviors only to discover that their correction lasts for no more
than a few seconds before the dog's intense behavior escalates and becomes even
worse than before. Many trainers have experienced ripped clothing and bloody
noses before they recognize that their dog is exhibiting an intense stress response
and their training approaches need to change drastically!
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While it is important that the dog feel in
control during training, when the trainer allows a dog with a high attitude to
take his enthusiasm or impatience too
far, the results are often problematic.
Here's a common example: A trainer
places her dog on a sit-stay and then
moves away for a recall. Just before she
has a chance to call her dog, he comes
on his own. Because the broken stay
corresponded very closely to when
the trainer had planned to call the dog
anyway, the trainer pretends she didn't
notice that the dog left before he was
cued. Often the trainer justiﬁes this error by saying that she doesn't want to
ruin the dog's enthusiasm. That trainer
has fooled herself; a high attitude dog
rarely has his enthusiasm dampened
simply by being required to wait for a
cue. The dog, however, has not been
fooled. Instead, he has learned that
impatience is rewarded. This scenario
does not have to happen many times
before the dog learns not to wait for
cues. Normally a trainer in this situation
enforces some of the stays but ignores
others. Over time, inconsistency can
cause great problems for the team.

We will state something here which should be read until you are absolutely convinced: Frantic behavior is not drive! Drive is the innate desire to work, while frantic
behavior is a stress response.

Low Attitude Dogs

Dogs with a low attitude are more challenging. We say that these dogs stress
down rather than up. Low attitude tends to
lead to lagging, sniﬃng between obstacles
or exercises, or low energy. These dogs frequently fail to perform on the ﬁrst cue and
their demeanor suggests that they would
like to be anywhere but in the competition
ring with their trainers. Dogs with a low attitude do not beneﬁt from ring experience
as ring time simply heightens their discomSome dogs shut down when they are
mildly stressed.
fort and exacerbates the problems. If you
have a dog that performs well at home or
in comfortable environments, it is likely he is suﬀering from stress coupled with poor
trial preparation. The remainder of this chapter, along with the next one, is geared toward helping you understand these problems. It will also provide you with some practical solutions for solving them, or better yet, avoiding them in the ﬁrst place.

To keep a dog with a high attitude performing with excellence, the trainer
must be the absolute best possible
trainer and handler at all times. This
means being consistent and predictable; traits that are exceptionally important when working with dogs that
have high levels of conﬁdence and enthusiasm for their work. Doing so will
allow the dog to work on that ﬁne edge
between maximum attitude and outof-control behavior.
Some dogs with a high attitude just
need a little ring experience to become
comfortable. If their training has been
well done, they have been properly
November 14 | Clean Run

Concern About the Environment
Dogs were not designed by nature to be comfortable in dog show environments.
Cooperating with hundreds of other dogs and people they do not know while
performing with precision, animation, and attention, is not natural to them. While
some dogs easily transition from a familiar environment to the dog show environment, most dogs have concerns about new places and spaces. These concerns may
be about the other people and dogs, the physical space, the objects within the
environment, or all three.

Poor Trial Preparation
Many handlers assume that once their dog is trained to perform the required
behaviors and exercises, their dog will be able to perform anytime and anywhere.
Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Dogs need speciﬁc prep57

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Clean Run - November 2014

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