attitude - Page 2

LaPorte, I think this is an interesting topic. We all have to start somewhere, and at 2.5 years I consider myself a proud "newbie." The "dog world" is no different IMO than any other subset of humanity and possibly animals out to have fun and compete. There are people who are very good teachers, and people who are not. There are people who are very good at some things, but not other things. And one of the HARDEST newbie lessons I've learned is that no matter how much I paid for my dog, or how much I think my dog is the greatest animal on the planet, there might be a different reality which to understand, I need to keep my personal emotions in check. And listen, and be open to learning. My husband and I have met many amazing and talented people on our journey. We have probably learned the MOST by being open minded, and making a point of meeting as many new folks as we can at each and every event we attend. That effort has allowed us to make decisions about our own training and enjoyment goals with our dogs, and then make decisions about who can best help us achieve our goals. EVERY dog has strengths and weaknesses. EVERY handler and owner has strengths and limitations. We can ALL learn more. We run across people from time to time that we simply don't agree with, or don't "gell" with based on our goals. That doesn't make all of those people bad people, or us bad people. Just move on and find people you are comfortable learning with, having fun with, and sharing the experience with. At least that's what has worked very well for us. DTW

I still consider myself new, likely will till i've been around 10+ years and have titled a few dogs. But I can tell you, although I listened and learned and still do, when I started I didn't know anything, was an idiot, made stupid bonehead mistakes that put me, my dog, or the helper in danger. I didn't understand what the final picture was supposed to be like. I mean I had seen it many times, but didn't know how each skill the helper was trying to bring out in my dog was going to relate to that final picture. I still don't understand some things I see at first. Even when I think I'm starting to know things and can see what's going on, someone with 20+ more years experience can easily see what behaviors a dog is displaying in less than a second, and i'm still scratching my head 5 minutes after he's explained it to me. BUt i'm not scratching my head as long as the rest of the people sitting on the sidelines gabbing away about everything else but what's going on out on the field. New people need to have thicker skin, training isn't a love fest. I can understand those that have been in for decades, their frustration. Every year its a new group of people, questioning their skills, questioning their knowledge, acting like they know more than they do cause they read a book or watched a video, or "they live with the dog" so they know. The helpers put a lot of time and hard work into their dogs all summer and by the end of the year 90% at least are gone, disappeared off the face of the earth. They leave every year without explanation, or even a thank you, just gone. I know I couldn't do that year after year without being somewhat skeptical of new people and develope an "attitude". Very few of the helpers i've ever met are in it to make themselves look good. Almost all of them really do care about the dog, and the handler more than themselves when they're on the training field. They'll use everything they've seen in the "25 or 30 years" of experience they have to bring out the best in that particular dog. The way new people treat club members and especially helpers its a wonder they even let new people like me in. I'm thankful I've found a club that has given me more than what they needed to, but they made sure I was serious about it before they did. Being serious doesn't mean you have to do everything the way they say either. I've watched other people work, i've watched the videos and read books and have been forming my own style that fits me. Its still a work in progress. BUT when it comes down to a split second decision to keep my dog working and heading in the right direction, I'm going to let my helpers that I trust completely with my dog, do their thing. Its their right, they've earned my trust, and they deserve to have that "attitide".

The one thing that I consistently see in the Schutzhund sport at all levels from local clubs upto national level is the frequent display of immature and undisciplined behavior by various individuals. To have a disagreement is not an uncommon event. To view an event differently is natural. But to take that difference in agreement or point of view to the level where it becomes a vendetta bespeaks of very poor breeding on the part of the human participant. I am relatively new to this sport and I too have had to undergo an experience where I was judged in a negative and uncharitable way. However I never felt that it was my prerogative to lash out at the people judging me. Indeed when I took the time to sift beneath their comments there was a wealth of valuable instruction for me. A wise person once advised me, “The power of the Teacher to Teach lies in the Submission of the Student.” This is the attitude that I see lacking. There are fewer true students and more wannabe masters.

<<>> Im one of those lucky ones too... When i first started getting interested in SchH My sister and mother was doing it... but i had a poorly bred Saint Bernard... But the SchH club i went to (and still go too) welcomed me with my SAINT BERNARD to learn. I did OB and tracking with him until i got my first GSD from my sister... Even the old timers at my club welcomed me to train on the field and offered all the help i needed. the whole club helped me out to where i almost got my dog aggressive, gun shy dog to pass his BH (failed at the last minute for dog aggression) My club is still like this today, we welcome anyone to come down and its nothing to have many different people offer advice or to help newbies... I think its very important for the new peopole to feel welcomed and comfortable in this sport, after all the sport of SchH isnt very popular with the general puplic (since its the training of "attack" dogs) We need to show new people how wonderful this sport is and how it actually makes dogs safer... We cant do that if people have an attitude like some people have posted... JMO tho :-) Jessica