Trial Jitters - Page 1

This thread is not for you  lucky ones with stone cold nerves, who feel no stress when it comes to trials.  This thread is for those poorly bred humans who have bad nerves but have found ways to overcome them on trial day.  So:  How did you get over yourself?   What rituals, lucky charms, self talk, magic potions, etc., (other than just trialing a million times) did you find helpful in breaking  through your nerves? 

sue we have had some differences in the past but in answer to your question (I haven't trialed much in my lifetime thats for sure though), but I, like you, was a bag of nerves and the thing that worked for me was to keep telling myself it was only a piece of paper. If we failed, life as I knew it would not come to an end... it seemed to make sense and worked for me. Good luck to you.

Hey Sue, I remember the first BH I put on a dog.  I wasn't nervous at all.  For me it was just another day doing an OB pattern with my dog that we had done 100 times.  While waiting for my turn to go, a buddy who is an outstanding handler and trainer, far better than me, came over.  He said "So are you really nervous?"  I said "No, why should I be nervous?"  I actually wasn't nervous at all, just naive and thought the whole thing was no big deal.  My buddy replies, "Oh, I always get really nervous before a trial."  He walked away and I started thinking, maybe I have something to worry about, maybe I should be nervous?  Well, that was the start of my pre-trial jitters.  The dog passed and did everything as he was taught. 

One thing I've learned, is if you are really prepared and ready, there's no reason to be nervous.  Now, I know what to expect from my dogs.  If I feel my dog isn't ready I won't trial, simple as that. I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself and I'm my harshest critic.  Soemetimes at clubs you may get a little pressure to trial your dog; if you are comfortable with your dogs performance do it and if not don't.  If your dog is weak in one area like tracking or outing, don't trial.  Prepare your dog fully a few weeks before the trial and you'll have no worries. 

Often times there will be some butterflies in your stomach but that's normal.  Do some mock trials, without the correction collars and toys so you know what to expect on trial day from your dog.  The other thing that works for me is telling myself: "Hey, no one is shooting at you, your not gonna get killed or hurt so why are you worrying.  It's an easy day."  But that's just me, I try to put things in perspective.

Jim

No, when i go on the field with Goran for the trial next month it will be the same to me as a training work, I do not, or have ever suffered from nerves
Steve

I had experience in trialing my dogs in herding before I trialed in Schtuzhund.    Being that Ike had his HGH, I did not have to do the BH with BH.     I was a mess for the 1, a mess for the 2, and it showed I f'ed him up bigtime, just from nerves alone.   Worked it out for the 3, and was way better and it was a better performance.   I think I told myself that I owned the field and that even if we failed, it really wasn't the end of the world!

 

We'll see how I do with the little miss after being through it once. 

 

Kathy

Sue,

Having someone to hold your hair back while you barf behind your truck and hand you a bottle of water helps.

I don't have a lot of trialing under my belt, but I did take a bitch from BH to SchH3. I found I was much more relaxed and less nervous at a trial, where my club members weren't. No offense to my club members, they are the best in the world...but I so didn't want to let them down with all the hard work they too had put into my dog and me. I trialed once on our club field, and I have NEVER been so nervous.

Breathing helps a lot too!

I always get nervous before a show but once I get in there and get started no problem at all.  We do alot of AKC shows and what I usually do is put the dog in a crate and walk around the whole area several times before I am going in the ring [someone is always with my dog!].  I find it really helps me to keep moving and I don't  want to be close to my dog if I'm nervous in anyway.  I've seen some handlers who are really nervous just go through the routine over and over again with their dog maybe some dogs could handle that but my girl is not one of them.  I figure if they don't know it the day of the trial why enter? After we're done showing and I can sit down and relax its interesting to watch all the other handlers each handles it differently. My husband doesn't get nervous at all and actually will sit there and pig out right before entering the ring!  He gets so many glares its amazing!

amy

I was nervous when I went in my first trial with my girl for her BH but I was also very lucky in that I had experienced people around me who reminded me that when the week started, I'd go back to work ... pass or fail.

That helped put things in perspective.  I do this for fun and as a hobby so I don't have the stakes riding on it that top competitors do.

When I went to do my BH with my boy 6 months later, I was out there with a dog I'd worked for 3 weeks vs the year I put on my girl and I was like 'pass or fail here we go' and had a ball.

It also helped that I've trialed under wonderful judges who have really made the impression on me that the last thing they're out there to do is fail me.  They want to see a dog and handler having fun as much as they want to see a tight about turn or the perfect sit -not that they haven't critiqued me for both!!- and since then I try to remember to just bring the fun.  For myself, for my dog and for the judge.

I think 2 valium and a beer or two works wonders...But really...I think that you need to know the routines inside and out...and that means being able to perform them without thinking...I think that's the most important thing...So that means going out onto the field without your dog and walking the routine and knowing exactly where you need to go for each portion of the exercise...Practice practice practice...I always say that a "trial" should be the easiest day of training ever...both for you and your dog...
I believe in knowing everything possible about what's gonna happen at the trial before I go out...and this includes what leash and collar your gonna use for your dog...and what clothes your gonna wear...And by all means on trial day...change as few things as possible...I mean use the same crate you always use for your dog...use the same vehicle that you always use...Try and keep trial day as much the same as everyother day in the life of your dog...

~Bob~

P.S. But 2 valium and a couple beers never hurt anything...