21 Čvn Last-Minute Changes Before a Trial

I recently wrote a trial article series where I described the trial that I organized for my clients this spring. I mentioned that, out of the 11 participants, only one was unsuccessful due to a specific reason I wanted to elaborate more on. In this article, I want to do just that.

The horror of the absent dad

Let me first describe what happened. I have this awesome power couple come to my training sessions with their adorable Australian shepherd. Let’s call her “Maddie.” Apart from obedience, Maddie is active in many other dog sports, both with her mum and with her dad as well: canicross, herding, dog frisbee, agility, puller, and I am pretty sure I am forgetting something. Her two handlers care for her very much, and they have a great relationship together.

Obedience is Maddie’s mum’s turf, but her daddy comes along to supervise the training sessions and take notes, which they meticulously follow. They really take dog sports seriously.

In the last training sessions before the trial, we noticed that Maddie seemed to check if Dad was still on the sidelines watching her from time to time. That would make her break her concentration during heeling for a second. It wasn’t a huge mistake, and I decided to leave it as the trial was just two weeks away, and I didn’t want to make any huge changes to the routine and correct something at the last minute.

Maddie was preparing for her UPr3, a pretty demanding routine where the tiny Aussie had to, among other things, fetch a 2 kg heavy dumbbell. It was difficult for her as it was without the additional stress of some last-minute changes.

I was satisfied with the preparation and was pretty confident the trial would go well. Both Maddie and her handler were prepared, and though I anticipated a few small mistakes overall, I was sure they would make a great impression.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. In a spur-of-the-moment decision, Maddie’s mum decided to have her husband hide so as to not disturb Maddie. At face value, that seemed like a good idea, but boy, did it turn out wrong.

Maddie was totally distressed at not seeing her beloved dad. She couldn’t concentrate at all during heeling. She got all the out-of-motion exercises confused. She performed very nice fetches (there are three in this trial) but only after several extra commands. The judge didn’t even let her perform the down under distraction—there were just too many points lost already.

It was a mess, and I almost fainted watching it. My deepest admiration was for Maddie’s handler who kept her cool and did her best, but it was a lost cause. Maddie just wasn’t having it work without her beloved dad in sight, and she showed us she was adamant about that.

Well, an important lesson was learned, and I am more than sure Maddie will pass her UPr3 easily next time. However, let’s talk about what exactly went wrong.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions

You see, the problem wasn’t in hiding Maddie’s dad per se. I am pretty sure that if she had a few weeks to get used to him not being there, she would be fine. The problem was that something changed right before the trial. The very important lesson I want you to take away from this article is to never change anything in your training right before the trial.

This is an iron-clad rule, and I highly recommend you commit to it now and promise yourself to adhere to it because when the trial draws near, the temptation will be oh-so-high. There are always some imperfections before the trial, some little mistakes you know about that bug you. And those sleepless nights where you are imagining your routine in your head? Those are the breeding grounds for “genius” ideas on how to fix those mistakes.

Don’t. Just please, don’t do it—it will almost certainly backfire on you. Two weeks before the trial is not the time to be experimenting, changing, or teaching something brand new. It’s the time for polishing, maintaining, and preparing for the specific trial. Let Maddie’s example be a warning for you.

Stick to your training schedule

Depending on your trial schedule, the time for experimenting and changing major things might be in-between trials if there is enough time. I always recommend taking it easy one to two weeks after the trial. Take a break from training for at least that long, and let your dog unwind a bit and also forget all the mistakes he made during the trial.

After that, ease him into regular training sessions again, see if there are any issues in the aftermath of the trial that you need to fix, and start aiming towards your next trial.

Following this model, if you have two months between trials or competitions, you barely have time to let your dog unwind before you will almost immediately hop into another trial preparation phase. So, this is not enough time to work on anything major.

I always like to have at least a month to fix or change something minor, like trying to speed up out-of-motion exercises or retrieves, for example. If I have a major issue like having to rework a whole exercise, change the way the dog is being rewarded during heeling, or something of that magnitude, I leave it for the winter break if possible.

Something like that can take months before it really sits and the dog accepts it. Furthermore, when you start working on something like that, your dog’s performance will most likely go down for some time before it starts picking up again. It’s not something you should even bother with with an imminent trial approaching. 

The main takeaway of this article is “don’t change anything right before the trial.” But, perhaps, the bigger picture is to pay attention to your training schedule during the year. Know how much time you have between trials. Schedule your trial preparation periods and your unwinding periods. See how much time is left and work with that.

Be mindful, and I am sure you will figure it out.