14 Kvě When is your dog ready for the trial?

As I have written a few times before, training advanced competitive obedience only really has one practical application: we train so we can show off at trials or competitions. Of course, we love the sport and how our dogs enjoy working with us, but the end goal here is a trial.

With that in mind, one of the difficult decisions every dog handler has to face is when to attend a trial. You don’t want to go too soon with an unprepared dog, yet at the same time, you don’t want to waste time and postpone participation in the trial for no reason. In this article, I want to explore the different aspects of this decision and help you pinpoint the right time to nail your trial with excellent points.

Don’t go too soon!

First of all, let’s briefly discuss why it’s a bad idea to attend a trial with a dog that is not ready. The chance of failing the trial is just one of the dangers, and I would even go so far as to say that it is the least problematic one.

So what if you didn’t pass? You’ll have another chance in the future. Big deal. The other repercussions of bad timing can be much more severe. I have already touched on this topic in my article about the secret event counter your dog has, and I recommend you go read it if you haven’t already.

Mistakes your dog makes at a trial, especially when he is still young and impressionable, can have serious effects on any future trials. I always mention my Finka who, at her very first competition, made a rather lovely and cute mistake during the stand out of motion exercise.

She thought I was rewarding her and didn’t perform the exercise at all. We lost ten points, which was unfortunate, but the bigger problem was that from that point on we struggled with the stand exercise at competitions.

You see, during training, she performed it very well with immediate reaction, no steps, and good focus. But once she was at the trial and remembered the situation, she would usually do a step or two (or five in this one competition), look around, and the exercise generally wasn’t perfect in any of the following competitions.

Just one mistake in a trial situation can stick with you for the rest of your dog’s life. And it doesn’t have to be something as concrete as an improperly performed exercise. It can even be the general vibe of the trial that the dog associates with being difficult and resulting in no reward. Both of these factors being very discouraging for him when he is not ready. This can influence your future trials even though your dog may be ready for those. Unfortunately, his first experiences will still taint the entire situation for him.

So please, don’t trial your dog for any reason when he is not ready for it.

Maturity of your dog

Let’s look into how to determine if your dog is actually ready or not.

One of the most important factors here is the age of your dog. Regardless of the level of training, I very rarely recommend my clients to go trial a female dog who is under the age of 2 years or a male dog who is younger than 2½  or even 3 years.

Females generally develop faster mentally than males; that’s why there is a difference between the two. Of course, every dog is unique, and there may be exceptions on both ends of the spectrum. Archer, for example, was a particularly late bloomer. I didn’t even consider trialing him before he was 3½  years old, and he was finally really ready at about 4 years old (right in the midst of Covid lockdowns too, of course).

Young dogs aren’t yet mentally developed to the point where they can reliably perform at a trial. They might succeed, but then again, they might have a bad day and screw up big time. The point is that you won’t know. With mature dogs, you can tell if they are ready. Their performance is much more level and with fewer sudden drops; therefore, it is much more reliable. Don’t rush attending trials. Prepare your dog meticulously, and you will have years of stable and excellent performances for numerous trials and competitions.

Training level

Another factor you should be aware of is if your dog is really prepared for the trial—and I am not talking about him being able to do all the required exercises. That is not the hard part of attending a trial. The hard part is all the long waits, the unfamiliar judge and his instructions, the unfavorable weather conditions, and various uncommon situations that may occur during the trial (such as the other downed dog getting up and deciding to go check out your dog during the obedience part).

Your dog being able to perform all the required exercises before you attend the trial should go without saying, but all the other details are often forgotten by handlers, and then their dogs are unpleasantly surprised when facing them for the first time in the difficult trial situation.

Prepare your dog for everything that may occur and worse. By doing so, he will think of trial day not as something particularly difficult but rather as a mild training session with just one big reward at the end.

Recently, I had a group of my clients go through my trial preparation program which helped them to absolutely smash their trials afterward. I am already working on an article series describing that, so be sure to check it out! 

Mock trial

If you think your dog is ready, I highly recommend doing a mock trial. Get together with friends, and do your best to simulate the trial/competition situation and vibe.

Simulating a trial at your local training field shouldn’t be very difficult. Get enough people together, select a judge (ideally someone the dogs are not familiar with), and maybe even place a bet. Everyone can chip in a few bucks with the winner taking the whole pot. Having some money on the line will make you nervous just like during a real trial.

Try mimicking the trial situation as closely as possible when it comes to preparing your dog, reporting to the judge, and everything else that normally occurs. I usually allow 2-4 (depending on the length of the given trial) rewards at such mock trials. We don’t want to discourage and overwhelm the dogs, we just want to test if they are up to the challenge. Every handler can choose when they will reward their dogs, or they can also accept pointers from the “judge.”

I highly recommend you record such mock trials. Study the video carefully, and look for mistakes you and your dog made. If you want, I can look it over for you too and point out what you have to work on.

Let the “judge” give you feedback, and then watch your friends‘ attempts at their trials to learn from their mistakes as well. Your dog should perform very well in such a situation if he is ready to go to a real trial. After all, it is still a whole lot easier with a few rewards thrown in, so if he struggles, you probably have some more training to do.

Just one thing to look out for: don’t do such a mock trial right before your real trial. I usually recommend doing one about 4 to 6 weeks in advance so you have enough time to polish any details if necessary.

Mock competition

Simulating a competition environment might be much more difficult than mimicking a regular trial at your own training field. I recommend getting permission to use a football field nearby, as competitions are often held in such places. Try getting as many people as possible to serve as spectators to keep the simulation realistic. Also, I recommend that you play some loud music, if possible since this is often the case at competitions as well.

Another possibility to familiarize your dog with such environments is to attend some sort of event where you offer to showcase your dog’s obedience. It could be any sort of gathering—a carnival, a celebration, anything. Those types of environments give you an amazing opportunity to try out your dog while still being able to reward and/or correct him when necessary, and the vibe is very similar to that of a competition.

Are you prepared as well?

Such a mock trial or competition also gives you the opportunity to find out not only if your dog is prepared but if you are prepared as well.

• Do you really know the regulations inside and out, or did something surprise you?
• Did you really do everything necessary to help your dog (within the confines of the rules, of course!)?
• How was your tone of voice when giving commands?
• Were you stiff and jerky while walking?
• Have you been speeding up certain parts to get through them faster, throwing your dog off?
• Have you been able to communicate with the judge and respond and wait for their instructions?

Learn from that experience, and make sure that you are truly ready to be your dog’s guide and supporter during the trial. He is always giving you his best, and you owe it to him to do the same!

Is it the right trial for you?

Lastly, when going for a trial, always think about if it fits within your goals. Never attend a trial for any other reason than: “My dog and I are ready, and we want this trial. It fits within our goals, and it is the right time to attend it right now.”

The wrong reasons are those like:

• Your club is lacking one more dog to be able to have a trial, and your dog is “almost” ready, so why wouldn’t you attend?
• Your friend’s dog—who is the same age as yours—already has two trials, and you don’t want to feel bad because of that.
• A trial is being organized close to your home, and the next one will be an hour’s drive away, so why not attend the closer one since your dog is “almost” ready?
• You want to “test” your dog under real trial conditions and see how he fares.
• Your friends are teasing you about not having any trials yet with your dog.
• Your significant other complains that you spend so much time training your dog and have nothing to show for it.

All of these reasons are complete bullshit. Any and all of them. There is only one valid reason to go for a trial.

Please don’t let yourself be pressured, and don’t let your laziness or kind heart get in the way of you and your dog passing your first or any other trial with flying colors.

Be mindful, and I am sure you will figure out the perfect time for both of you. Let me know how many points you got. Fingers crossed!