Handler Error!

Wyatt did pretty well but I made some key errors in our fifth attempt at a CDX leg.

I stood to close to the jump for the retrieve over jump. I looked at the judge's line and went with that and not what a little voice said was too close. The floor was bouncy and that was on my mind. All the handler's were discussing the floor. That forces him, I believe, to have to jump around me, which created a different picture to him. He then dropped the dumbbell a few feet away and behind me, something he never does. I understand that that is a deduction but not an NQ.

I tried to recover and keep him up for the broad jump but he stepped through the broad jump, something he also never does. I suspect it was stress from the previous exercise. We also did agility run through the night before, which may have contributed either from some physical tiredness or confusion with contacts.

The trial as at a new spot for us and it was very crowded. As we came in, I found a spot near the door. I set up the crate and noticed later that the crate door was facing the building door. I usually have the crate door facing the place where chairs are so Wyatt can see me. He has some separation anxiety (SA) issues. Again, I did not listen to that little voice that said to move the crate. I also noticed and ignored some spilled water and movement of the pad inside the crate, which indicates that he was pawing at the crate pad due to SA. The handler went outside the building for the stays, something I also wondered about. I believe that is more stressful for Wyatt. As I came in from the long sit, I saw that he was about 6 feet in front of the other dogs. The judge informed me that he was whining the whole time and crawled up. When I came in from the down, he was not there! The steward said he stood up and left right before he came back in.

I have not been practicing out of sight stays much since Wyatt did the last 4 or so perfectly but I guess i need to keep practicing these including going out the door, something that has been difficult in the past when I have tried it. Also, I need to manage him better especially crate placement. Sometimes I bring our Patriot to keep him company. Obviously, I need to stand a bit farther from the jump. However, I was very happy overall looking at the video. We also made it through the first part with a very uncharacteristic broad jump failure. My goal was to keep him focusing and up between exercises and I think I did that. You can't see it on the video but I keep talking to him between exercises saying what we were going to do next and I think that really helped. I need to think about if we should trial at less that ideal and new places or stick with the really good and familiar spots.