Well, for starters, my name is ChrisTIANA Wild and I am a woman, not a man, thank you.

To answer the questions:

What happened was exactly as I posted earlier. The dog didn't out. Judge DQed the dog. Handler loudly said "dammit", swatted the side of the protection blind he was standing next to with his leash, walked over and picked up his dog. He took the dog over and downed it for the critique, the judge told him he was dismissed, and the handler and dog walked off the field.

There was NO profanity (unless "Dammit" counts), nothing said by the handler to the judge or to the helper, and certainly no cussing them out. There was no hitting or kicking or jumping up and down having a temper tantrum. That was IT.

"Wildhaus, since it sounds like you were there and witnessed the event, in your opinion did the judge over-react? I have heard from a couple of sources that the handler in question lost control. The USA judges I have met have been pretty easy going folks, and it surprises me that they would hand down an 'un-sportsmanlike' ruling if it weren't deserved. "

My personal feeling is that the unsportsmanlike ruling for saying "Dammit" and swatting a blind with a leash was an overreaction, yes. But that's not the point. The judge's ruling stands.

What I find most irritating is that these stories running around the internet bear no semblance to what actually happened. If the handler is going to be judged for his actions, people should at least make an attempt to get the facts of what occurred before making such judgments.

 

"The word going around also mentions that the incident on Sunday was actually worse than Saturday. By any chance were you there on Sunday to discredit the rumor? Essentially, the handler was once again working his dog in protection, the dog wouldn't out again, the handler lost his temper, and made another scene. From the account I've heard the judge came out again to intervene, and the handler was either asked to leave by either the judge or someone from the host club. There is also unconfirmed reports that the handler struck/kicked the dog. From your perspective did any of this happen?"

Yes, I was there on Sunday. I did a BH on my dog that day. And this is even more outrageous than the story of Saturday.

Sunday's "incident' occurred while most of the club was off running ADs in the morning, and a few were gathered at the regular trial grounds waiting for everyone to get back and the BHs to start. Yes, the handler lost his cool when the trial secretary handed him his scorebook and he was surprised and angered to see the unsportsmanlike conduct notation that no one had bothered to mention to him before that. He got irrate for a couple minutes, then got in the car and left. He didn't return all day.

A few other facts about Sunday. The handler's dog wasn't even present on Sunday. It was left at home. It was not worked in protection (no dogs were) and it certainly wasn't kicked or anything else. There was no helper there to even work dogs if people had wanted to because being the TD, the only helper the club has was off with those running ADs.  As for the judge coming out to intervene, he was also not there, because obviously he was also off with the majority of the club running ADs.

So whomever relayed this story to you either is outright lying, or has been told some extremely mutated and overblown story and passed it on.

If people really want to know what happened... I mean really care about the facts rather than just ammo to discredit other people... why not call Gustavo Sanchez or any of the club members who were THERE and SAW IT? Hell, for that matter, call Mike Caputo and ask him.

 

I just heard about this thread on here and had to join as I felt it important to make sure the record was set straight because there are some pretty wild fabrications floating around.

I am the handler in question.

Here's what happened.

It was a very frustrating day for a lot of people. Starting right in phase A when I watched seven of the twelve dogs fail mostly due to the tracks having aged far longer than allowed under the rules and the judge then refusing the club's request to re-lay them. I was one of the lucky few to have a fresh enough track to allow me the opportunity to pass tracking. Then we had a really great obedience performance, one I would have loved to see reflected in the scores, but he blew a couple big point exercises in one of those its not his day sort of ways. Finally in phase C he showed some unusual dirtyness in the blind but more than redeemed himself with his pick-up and heeling (an area that has been difficult for us) Things were looking great, he poped right off on the out after the escape only to refuse the command all three times after the drive.

Yes I was extremely frustrated and when the judge whistled the DQ in protection I said Damnit and swated the blind as I whiped my leash off my shoulder. Perhaps I should not have said that but not to many poeple have never made a frustrated exclamation at some point in their lives.

After that I leashed my dog went to recieve my critique and was told I was dismissed. I assumed the dismissal was because my dog had disqualified us by not outing. Neither the judge nor anyone else mentioned anything about an unsportsmanlike conduct charge either then or throughout the rest of the afternoon. After being dismissed I said nothing to either the judge or the helper and walked my dog back to my truck, gave him a drink and returned to my seat to watch the rest of the trial.

Thats all that happened on Saturday.

Sunday morning I arrived about 9:30. While awaiting the return of the judge and the other participants who were at another location running AD's the trial secretary returned my scorebook to me. I opend my book saw the Unsportsmanlike Ruling, it took me completely by suprise and I was pissed. I lost my cool for a minute, there was some profanity, I realized I was causing a scene making others uncomfortable so I left the trial and went home for the rest of the day. This all occured before 10:00 long before the judge and the rest of the club returned from th AD location.

I feel bad for my overreacting on Sunday but this is just one more in a long list of negative experiences I have witnessed with regards to judges being inconsistant, disrespectful of the participants, and ignoring or in some cases violating the rules they are supossed to be bound by. I probably wouldn't have been so irate at the unsportsmanlike conduct ruling overe merely saying "damnit" and swatting a blind were I not aware of much more egregous offenses (most recently the Gary Hanrahan incident) having been ignored by judges or dismissed by the organization without comment.

Any Questions?

Nice response!!!

Hey Tim, that's weird that you just heard about this thread.  Your wife has been posting for the last couple days.  Welcome aboard!   While you're on here, can you tell me what happened at the earlier trial, where Chris' dog wouldn't out?  Now that is an even better story.

Molly is about to school us!

Molly, I think I love! 

WHO CARES.  Don't you people have better things to do than worry about someone saying "dammit" in frustration and getting what sounds to me like a COMPLETELY UNCALLED FOR notation in the scorebook?????  Whose business is it, other than the person who owns the scorebook.   Unless you were there, and sounds like those that were there realize this is all being blown out of proportion on the internet - it's all rumor and gossip that will hurt people.  STOP.    Go back to training your own dog and workign toward titles yourselves - see for yourself if it's all fun and games and easy to accomplish, to get these titles on your dogs even at club-level.   It's easy when you bash someone on the keyboard, isn't it?  Not so easy when you're out there doing it yourself - mistakes happen, trials don't always go as planned, dogs don't always show in trial what they can do in training.  Happens.  Mind your own business if you weren't there to see for yourself what happened.

molly

I'm starting to wonder if anybody other than a small handful of people on here really even train dogs.  Most just like to gossip, I miss the old days when you'd have to sit next to a bunch of old ladies drinking coffee to hear this amount of gossip

This is the internet rumor mill at it's ugliest.   

Mike Caputo is a tough but fair judge in my opinion.

We can,t expect out judges to cross there T,s and Dot there I,s and not fold us as competitors to a higher standard if they do then maybe this is a start of a good thing for the organization.

In lite of the recent happenings in our Sieger show and the tracking debockle down south it,s time judges clamp down on temperament and public actions during the trials I for one welcome it.

A example that should be brought up at the meeting in November as a step forward.

Tim I,m sorry that it happened I,m sure it was out of pure frustration maybe we can all us it as a tough lesson learned to remember.

yeah people get frustrated, things happen.  I know none of these people involved, but they have to pay the consequences, and they are.  Why does every tom, dick and Jane feel the need to chime in with a bunch of BS they have no clue what is true and what isn't?  Coffee Clatch anyone???

This person didn't get away with anything, they didn't affect YOU in anyway.  How about people mind their own business or make changes to the things that are really affecting these dogs and the sport? 

I've trialed under Caputo, (S.E. Regionals I think) and I can't say anything bad of him.

Good judge, yes hard but consistant. Can't ask for anything more than that..