Handling Nerves

Handling Nerves

A discussion of handling "nerves" in agility.

Agility Success by Angelica Steiker, M Ed. reviews the mental aspects of agility training and competition. This book can be purchased at Clean Run.

In the Zone Good article from US News on staying focused in competition and training.

My observations about 'nerves' are there are two general types. One is the rush you feel before you go in the ring. Another is the nervousness that some people experience all day waiting for their run. I think the first kind is normal and most people feel it. The second kind is less common but I think it affects dogs more and impacts a run negatively.

For the second kind of nerves (let's say bad nerves), I think they are due to two general reasons. One is the handler is afraid of screwing up and looking bad in front of everyone. This seems to be most common with novice handlers. My advice to you is: Get over it, you aren't that important, most people aren't really paying attention to your run. When you realize that you could probably burst into flames in the middle of your run and only
a few people would notice, you will realize how silly it is to be nervous about making mistakes in the ring.

I think how someone handles a mistake in the ring says way more about them as a competitor and sportsman than actually winning the class. Actually, it also says a lot about how good a trainer they are too. If my dog is trying and the run falls apart, I'll either keep going like I meant to send him in that tunnel (which the video camera usually reveals that, yes in fact, I was heading/pointing towards it and he was correct). Or I'll do a little mini course and leave on a good note.

The other reason for bad nerves is because the handler has the mindset of "Well I took friday off, drove all the way up here, paid for my entries, paid for my hotel, paid for weeks and weeks of classes, I better Q!" A lot of people have this mindset even though their lips are saying "Oh I'm just here to have fun." If you are here to have fun, then you will be really happy with a
95% course even though the 5% that wasn't perfect got you NQ'd. In life, a 95 is usually pretty darn good. Unfortunately, in agility, this isn't always so. My dog gets credit for trying, his pay isn't based on his Q rate.

The good kind of nerves is that rush you feel when you know you are about to go in the ring. You palms get tingly. I have the same urge when I go in the ring...Sit my dog and then look at the course to get one last preparation. My dog will look away sometimes. Other times he gets more intense and stares at me. Why is this? I have reinforced him for being intense and animated. I have a command called "Ready" which means that something is about to happen. He usually comes in the ring, sits, and then stands up and starts sniffing around. He's 3 and intact. Is it stress or hormones? I don't know. I don't make too much of an issue about it. I don't harp on him to sit or push his butt down. I think if I did make a big issue out of it, it would get worse and start sooner. Instead, I give him something to do that I know he can succeed at. I just say "Ready" and he usually sits and focuses.

I have practiced this at agility practice. But I also practice it at home at odd times. We have tons of tennis balls all around the house (on counters, the mantle, dressers, sinks, everywhere.) If I'm walking through the house and come across one, I'll pick it up, hide it behind my back and say "Ready". At first he was like "Ready for what?" Since we weren't on a course and I wasn't paying any attention to him previously, he wasn't expecting anything to happen. Then I toss the ball to him. Oh fun game! I let him have the ball for a little while and then put it back where it came from. He probably gets the 'Ready' game 5 times a day at random times. Most of the time I'm not really paying any attention to him previously. But when I say 'Ready' he gets really animated and psyched up. Sometimes, I'll ask him to do something after I've said Ready. Sometimes, I'll ask for a down. Or I'll ask for a get out down the hall way and throw him the ball
once he does so.

The same type thing can be done with food. Keep treats in your pocket and once in awhile ask your dog if he's ready. Soon they will really like that word.

This 'ready' stuff is a little bit of a tangent, but it really has helped my dog make the rather abrupt transition from 'on deck' to on the line. He doesn't mind the transition now. Since I go from nothing to 'ready' at home, he's used to it and likes it because he knows something good is going to happen. I think this transition is stressful for dogs at the start line and can result in start line anticipation and shut down.

With my sheltie, I encourage her to bark (not a hard task) at the start line to help her blow off some steam and get her riled up. I never lead out with her, it shuts her down. Instead, I get her excited and then run off. She is different in that I can show her the bag of liver brownies and then go in the ring. She has done this long enough that she knows the liver is waiting for her when she gets done. So she is in a hurry to finish. :) Allison Bryant