I figured that today is a Dog Agility Blog Event and I might
as well use it as an excuse to write. The topic is “The Mental Aspect of
Agility”. To find more blogs exploring this topic, head over to Dog Agility
Blog Events.
 |
| My view from the computer. |
I find this topic well timed and very fitting
for my situation, it seems that most of my failures on the agility field are
when I’m not focused or mentally prepared. The mental aspect of agility can be pretty tough, especially
in a show situation. I have dreams of having perfect runs, but I know what my
limitations are and go into any agility situation with realistic expectations
and aim my mental strength to improve as a team, not necessarily to Q or win
every class (yeah right!).
Running a Flat Coat and now a GSP I understand I need a
sense of humor, patience and love. I enter the ring with the goal of doing
justice to my dog and being better than last time. For Rosey, my goal is to be
on time with my cues so she doesn’t get worried about being wrong (and thus
goes off sniffing), and for Samantha, my goal is starting together and finishing together… the middle section has yet to be worked out. My mental game
is focused towards these goals, which in the long run will get me to Qs (so far
its been working out).
I find I can break the mental aspect into 4 parts:
Knowing the Course
The most obvious part of agility’s mental aspect is
memorizing the course; knowing where your path is and where you need to direct
the dog to get around a course. I like to look at the map, draw my dog’s path
and figure out where I need to be in relation to the obstacles and my dog. Then
I’ll walk the course from both the dog’s point of view and then a second or
third time from my point of view and I start memorizing where I need to be. The
third aspect is to be able to visualize this course while standing on the
sidelines. If I can’t remember something or can’t “see” where I should have
been standing as they come out of a tunnel or after my front cross, I’ll head
out for a last walk of the course to make sure the course is clear in my head.
Relationship building
The second mental aspect of agility is building a
relationship and being able to be connected with my dog in the ring. This
starts with the instant that she gets out of her crate/xpen. I make sure that I
am completely ready to give her my complete attention before I go even to put
my hand on the latch. This has been the hardest thing for Rosey and I, it’s
been a really hit-or-miss aspect of our agility and really depends on
everything going on around us. As we are getting more solid in our
relationship, it’s gotten easier, but I still make sure that I’m 100% mentally
there for her when I get her out to make sure that I don’t lose her trust
again.
In the ring
 |
| AKC - October 2013 - Rosey |
Keeping my mind in the ring and connected with my dog is the
hardest part for me. I have learned that if I’m thinking too far ahead (or
worrying about what people on the sidelines are thinking or if my dog might leave
and sniff), my dogs will start to lose interest and get sluggish, start
sniffing, and get zoomies. I’ve learned that I need to be actively playing with
my dog, not just directing her where to go. As long as I’m in there with them
(mentally), they are more than happy to keep playing with me.
Staying mentally sharp
Agility isn’t all about the dog, it’s about how physically
fit and mentally acute I am. I find that a perfectly well thought out and well
planned course can go completely downhill if I’m struggling with my mental
sharpness. I make sure I always bring food for me to munch on and water to
drink. If I’m feeling a little hazy I make sure I have some protein or complex
sugars (bananas, apples, or protein bar) to perk my brain up. It definitely can
get tough by the end of the weekend! All the training, all the practice and
relationship building I work on is all worthless if I don’t take care of me.
Without the right nutrition, it doesn’t take too long for my reaction time to
slow down, my thinking get hazy and I start tripping over my feet by the time I
get to the end of a run.
I’ve found that the idea of preparing mentally is starting
to catch on in the agility community. It’s become a topic and I’ve seen more
and more people talking about getting mentally connected with their canine
teammates. I know its definitely made the difference in my dogs!
Biggest learning moment of the year - Learning Dawn Weaver's theories and ideas. Incorporating her style into my agility handling has made an unbelievable difference in my dogs. Rosey and I were getting close to figuring each other out at the beginning of 2013, but we still had lots of sniffing and were frequently over course time because of low confidence. Even though I feel like we still have a long way to go, Rosey has had more "real" runs in the past few months than in all our years previously. We still had to work on a few little things to clean up our runs - timing to keep bars up and contacts on the walk - but it feels like I'm finally running agility with a partner.
