Agility Observation

Yes, agility is suppposed to be fun!!! "If you ain't having fun, why run?????" I'm surprised a judge or someone else didn't say something to him about his ugliness. Poor dogs. They're supposed to have fun too.

Oh I HATE watching people like that.  Honestly that's why it took me a year to get enough courage to trial (had our first trial on Sat).  People like that SCARE me.  There was a guy on Sat. who was yelling at his dog, not the worse I've seen and the dog was being a brat, but every time he yelled the dog would bark at him and give him more attitude, so it obviously accomplished nothing.

At my last Rally competition, one of the dogs that went right before us in the ring did really well and NQ'd.  It was because during the figure 8s with the food and toy on the floor, the dog started going to the food and the handler said "hey!" and clapped her hand, which is allowed, but the dog cowered for a second before continuing.  The judge NQ'd based on that correction.  It was a very difficult course, but I was proud of the judge for making an example of that type of handling. 

 I see that a lot. I think that people get so caught up in the competition that they forget that it is supposed to be fun.

 Any trainer or owner that behaves and trains in a way towards their dog to make them so fearful and lack confidence disgust me. Beyond disgust, actually.

And I do not know why they are able to get away with that. *shakes head* There's a host club and trials held every year nearby where I live and you ALWAYS see this kind of abuse, except even worse because there are times you see physical too. Nothing is ever done. And that is sad.

Com' on judges. Do your job and step up to the plate. They honestly can't be THAT oblivious to the abuse that goes on sometimes.  

in conformation events ANYONE can report "conduct prejudicial to the sport" occuring anywhere on the grounds...verbal or otherwise. Is there not a reporting committee or something in Agility?

That's terrible.  But it sounds like the same thing I've seen at almost every horse show I've ever been in.  Kids yelling at their horses, parents yelling at their kids, trainers yelling at their students, parents yelling at judges.  So sad, and it ruins the experience for everyone else.  I'll never forget the one C hunter show I was at, I think I was about 16 at the time, where some girl who couldn't have been older than 10, came out of the ring after jumping a course and called her pony a "stupid b----."  I was mortified!!

I too have seen it at horse shows. I am a firm believer the animal does as it is asked. If I ask wrong I get the wrong response. I don't compete against the others in my class. I compete against my previous performance. I have no one to blame buy myself.

On Sunday the judge made a point of talking about "conduct". I wondered if the same person was there on Sat (I was not) and something got said. I personally think behavior like that is so childish. I have less issue with a horse trainer yelling at a student (though name calling is un called for) sometimes you have to get through to the person, as riding can be very dangerous, but person yelling at person is different than taking it out on said animal. In horses I think the kids in our barn "start" to make the transition to horseman when I can ask them how their horse was and get a positive response, ask how they were and get a different response. I know my horse saves my butt alot. For that matter so does my dog!
 

Agreed.  The same people I've seen yelling at their horses after a "bad ride" are the same ones I see jerking on reins, etc, and that is when I have stepped up and said something to the person.  You might be frustrated, but do not take it out on the animal!  There are many times when I have been frustrated, but always with myself, not my horse.  I know when I have messed up, and it shows through in how my horse reponds to me, but I know it's my fault, and something I need to focus on doing better.  I just never went to a show thinking of anything other than having fun and trying my best.  I also always tried to remember that just like us, our animals sometimes have bad days.  Sometimes you know you were asking for something correctly, but it was something that you know is difficult for your animal, and if you don't get the proper response from your animal, then you know you need to keep working on it at home.  Just move on and work on it more later.  So simple, no need to get so riled up.  If working with horses has taught me anything, it's that getting upset at your horse solves absolutely nothing, and makes working with them that much harder.  After all, no person wants to work for a boss who is constantly berating them; why would our horses or dogs want to work for us if we treat them terribly?

aerial1313

Agreed.  The same people I've seen yelling at their horses after a "bad ride" are the same ones I see jerking on reins, etc, and that is when I have stepped up and said something to the person.  You might be frustrated, but do not take it out on the animal!  There are many times when I have been frustrated, but always with myself, not my horse.  I know when I have messed up, and it shows through in how my horse reponds to me, but I know it's my fault, and something I need to focus on doing better.  I just never went to a show thinking of anything other than having fun and trying my best.  I also always tried to remember that just like us, our animals sometimes have bad days.  Sometimes you know you were asking for something correctly, but it was something that you know is difficult for your animal, and if you don't get the proper response from your animal, then you know you need to keep working on it at home.  Just move on and work on it more later.  So simple, no need to get so riled up.  If working with horses has taught me anything, it's that getting upset at your horse solves absolutely nothing, and makes working with them that much harder.  After all, no person wants to work for a boss who is constantly berating them; why would our horses or dogs want to work for us if we treat them terribly?

HERE HERE!!!! Well said!!! A person after my own heart. 

(I admit it took me a long time to realize sometimes it is just best to say forget it for today, there is always tomorrow). 

I really hate to generalize in such a way, but I do have to admit that some of the worst behavior/unsportsmanlike conduct at agility trials tends to come from the men.  I don't know if it's their highly competitive nature or what, but I've seen some men who are very hard on their dogs and have extraordinarily high expectations from each run.  If it's anything less than perfection they get upset.  I think some are upset that their dog "embarrassed" them in public.

Not all are abusive to the dogs -- I have one friend who beats HIMSELF up for every little mistake on course, although he does get a little upset at his dog when the dog is dropping bars.

In general, most women just don't seem to take it as seriously as "most" men.  I think women view agility as more of a fun bonding experience with the dog, whereas men are more geared to win at all costs.  I'm a very competitive person by nature, but it's not in my wiring to take it out on my dog or get upset with him when something goes wrong on course.

Again, not all men (perhaps not even the majority) are this way.  I've seen some wonderfully compassionate men who have very loving relationships with their dogs.

tessa_s212

......Com' on judges. Do your job and step up to the plate. They honestly can't be THAT oblivious to the abuse that goes on sometimes.  

rwbeagles

in conformation events ANYONE can report "conduct prejudicial to the sport" occuring anywhere on the grounds...verbal or otherwise. Is there not a reporting committee or something in Agility?

The OP didn't specify if these were AKC trials, but if they were, then the rules for reporting misconduct are exactly the same in agility as in any other AKC show/event. ANYONE can file a complaint for misconduct, and if a complaint is filed the show committee MUST conduct a hearing. AKC describes misconduct as any behavior in association with a show that would cause a typical family attending their first show to decide that dog showing was not a sport for them. The misconduct doesn't even have to occur on the grounds of the event - just "in association" with an AKC event. So, even mistreating a dog at a motel while attending an AKC event can be subject to charges of misconduct. I was a member of a show committee once that held a misconduct hearing, and the final outcome was that both members of the couple involved were fined $1000 each, and suspended from AKC for a year. Suspension means that they can't even be on the grounds of any AKC event, and if they are breeders they can't register any puppies produced during the period for which they are suspended.

So, if you feel dogs are being abused, why wait for the judge to intervene? Unless the abuse is taking place in the ring, the judge may be so absorbed in, you know, judging, that the don't see the abusive behavior. And, although I'm less familiar with UKC, NADAC, USDAA, CPE etc etc, I'd be willing to bet that those organizations have similar rules for dealing with misconduct. So, if exhibitors aren't willing to take a stand against misconduct, they have no one but themselves to blame.

Men, men, men! Haha. Sorry but I have seen women has hard on their dogs in a different manner and it still gets same result. I have seen women rip on their dogs.

However, some of these dogs are actually too soft and you would think that the owner would be beating the leaving crap out of it but they don't. The dog is just soft. Now I don't doubt there are some highly competitive people out there regardless of sex however, yes, there are more men than women from the onset but remember there are more women in the US and on the World teams in agility.

Sometimes emotions get the best of us and sometimes we all have a bad day.

It was an AKC trial. Being a "newbie" to trials (this was my 4th) I was appalled.  I competed on Fri and Sun. I did not see this handler there on Sun, when we had our nov standard briefing the judge discussed conduct. I wondered if something may have happened on Sat.

The thing for me is the dog doesn't get it. As I stated I have worked with animals in sports (horses mainly) and I have applied the computer phrase to apply to dogs and horses...'bad data in, bad data out'. I know we all have bad days, so do our animals, but this particular incident that bothered me the most, the dog ran clean and "Q'd". What more did this person expect? Chastising the dog was not going to improve any outcomes. 

especially in agility, where 99.9% of errors are handler errors and high dog motivation is essential this sort of behavior doesn't make any sense. It's not like you're going to miss out on some big cash prize if your dog drops a bar.