Shane is an absolutely gorgeous dog and we love him to death, but he just cannot compete in agility. We will continue our lessons and look for other things for him to do. Maybe someday he'll be comfortable around other dogs and maybe I'll not be so afraid to let him around other dogs. In the meantime, I guess I need to find something else to do. After 10 years of competing, it's going to be rough. I wonder if there is a support group for agility fanatics.
If anyone reading this blog has ever been terrorized by Shane, please accept my deepest apologies.
Four qualifying runs and one judge's warning. What a weekend.
5 comments:
Oh Susan, say it ain't so! That would just be to sad! No options?
Don't give up... you can overcome!
Susan,
My name is Tom Murray and my little Aussie,Abbey, was one of the dogs startled by Shane, I think terrorized is too harsh. Abbey is very reactive and uncomfortable around strange dogs. 8 months ago I never thought I would be able to trial her, she would lunge and bark at every dog we passed and it was embarrasing. I must say though most people were very understanding about it. I also thought about quitting before we even started. I bought the book CONTROL UNLEASHED and by following the principles has helped both Abbey and myself. Abbey is still a baby at 21 months and will hopefully get more comfortable at the trials, she already has made great strides in that respect. At trials I have to really micromanage her and be aware of other dogs and people. We try to keep anyway from most of the commotion until she runs \, that was impossible last weekend to many dogs and people between the 2 rings. I am not the least bit mad about what happened on Sunday, all our dogs are unpredictable, some days are good, some not so good but a day with our dog is never bad. Don't quit, Shane is an awesome dog to watch. Don't take the easy way out, you can work through this.
Tom, I wanted to find a way to contact you. Shane was just like Abbey a year ago. I bought that book too and have been working with her methods. We've come a long way, but just not far enough. I'm going to keep working on him, but we will not compete. I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable if they see us coming.
Susan,
I respect your decision and it probably is the best for you and Shane. No one wants to feel uncomfortable about their dog at a trial. Work hard with Shane and I know we will see you at a trial in the future. Good luck to you and Shane and we WILL see you again at a trial.
Tom Murray
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