The Black Ribbon

I recently started taking classes and competing in Nosework Trials with my 3 year old Boxer. We had a trial this past weekend and I definitely learned more than how to recognize his “tell”. This weekend’s lessons were both more difficult to swallow and more helpful to both of us at the same time.

We have been taking classes for almost a year, off and on, when our schedules allow. Being a Boxer, Clark is, by definition, a Working Dog. These classes have proven that he is definitely just that. He is never happier than when we can go to “school”, practice together and actually achieve what we set out to do.

For me, it is to successfully recognize Clark’s tell when he finds a hide.

For Clark, it is to get as many wieners (aka rewards) as possible.

Up until this past weekend, there had been a LOT of successes ~ and even more wieners!

In class, and in previous trials, Clark has always been driven. Of the two of us, he was the first one in the search area, confidently trying to locate whatever was in there so he could look up at me with his big brown eyes (his ‘tell”) and get a “Good Boy” and a hug … and a wiener (I’m not gonna lie and say that me loving him is reward enough!)

He rarely missed and, in most searches, only needed a little bit of guidance, if any at all. His instructor has always been amazing and is the first one to give us tips and pointers to improve our next searches and to celebrate everyone’s successes.

Having done all of this preparation and practice, I honestly thought that Team Clark was more than ready for the Take a Wiff Nosework Trial last weekend. We went for a one-on-one session with Sean the Thursday before, just to review some interior work.

Once again, he was driven and after settling in to his first run, he never missed. He was even working above his level. I left feeling confident that he would have his best weekend ever.

This is why the first black ribbon broke my heart. When they kept on coming, I am a little embarrassed to say it also broke my spirit.

My little “searcher” who had always been successful was not having a great weekend. And then, I have to say, it put me off my game as well. After all, it is a team sport and if one of us was having a hard time, the other was certainly not blameless.

In class, we were working on Superior and Masters level searches and this weekend, Clark had difficulty with Novice searches.

How could this be?

After having some time to sit back and really reflect on it, I have to look at this collection of black ribbons not as evidence that we suck but rather as a reminder that even the best teams have room to improve and are not successful all the time!

There are so many reasons why we were not successful and none of them were that we are not a good team (although I still need to remind myself of this):

• perhaps we had overdone it leading up to the trial and practised too much – canine burnout has to be a thing ~ who wants to keep on doing something until it is no longer fun?
• he was just plain “dog tired” and couldn’t perform at the end of a 6 hour day
• in our only Masters level trial, I was turning my body to circle around again and, I learned afterwards, he alerted and I missed it because of the way my back was turned toward him – totally my fault and I will NEVER do that again
• we need to practice in all sorts of weather because, although he succeeded in the rain, he was not his quick, confident self
• I need to do a quick visual sweep of the search area before we start so that I can be aware of anything that may distract him and either show it to him or help him avoid it. In this case, it was flags that he had never seen before. In our vehicle trial, the wind caught them and, since he had never seen them, he jumped up on the car to see what it was- instant curiosity-invoked NQ! I knew he would never randomly jump on a car but did not factor in his over-active curiosity and need to see everything new at eye level.

Whatever the reason, it is important for any competitor to remember that whatever you, as the handler, are feeling travels through your dog’s leash. When you are proud and excited, they know and they are too! When you are nervous, they lose a little bit of their confidence. When you are disappointed or sad, your poor four-legged partner wonders what they did! For that reason alone, you need to shake it off and move on (says the handler who literally wanted to cry by the end of the day). I never want him to be sitting on the other end of the leash thinking I don’t believe he is the best dog on the planet.

I need to not let the race for ribbons or titles become more important than the real reason we are doing this in the first place – having fun and doing things with my dog who will do anything for and with me.

NOW, for Clark’s sake, on the other end of that lead, I am making a concerted effort to look at a black ribbon in a new light.

From now on, it will no longer mean YOU SUCK! or NOT QUITE! but instead …

It’s not the end of the world!

Now I get to spend even more time with the dog I love, practising something he loves to do and have FUN – which is why we started in the first place!

However, a rainbow rosette or two would always be appreciated!