I'm not sure if I have ever used my blog as a soap box for expressing my opinion in this fashion before. I do express my opinion....I actually seem to have one regarding any given topic.....and sometimes, just sometimes, can get quiet passionate about topics. Since my latest brain exercising wonderment has to do with a trial....I thought I would put it down in words here on my blog.
What has happened to the human spirit that another handler would not think about putting the handler running on the course first and foremost in their mind and actions?
Here is what happened.....at a recent trial, the field was huge with a lot of terrain and hosted a 550+yard outrun. The dirt lane to get to the handler/spectator parking ran on the right side of the field along side an unharvested corn field. On a number of runs, handlers sent to the right and their dogs ended up on that lane, which really was not a lane but a path that was made for farm equipment and used for the trial. *IMHO* in the real world this would not be a bad thing.....for goodness sakes.....we would want the entire filed swept for sheep so not one woolly creature is left behind for the coyotes and wolves. It was a little wide for the trial...but most of the dogs who ran that big could be brought around to the packet of set sheep with the cost for the outrun paid in minutes and not many points. In the morning, that lane, the focus of part of my soap box, remained unused for the most part. However, mid afternoon, the novice field was wrapping up and folks were coming over to the open field....and the lane became a little highway...well at least for Milton Freewater! During one run, a young dog got a little lost on its outrun and ended up on the lane now turned highway....and not one handler driving stopped their car. Really....they could not be bothered to stop their car and wait the oh....say.....maybe 2 minutes it was going to require to get the dog up to the sheep or the handler to leave the post. And had the first car stopped...the other two would have been forced to stop...and the dog's safety would not have been pounding in the heart of its owner who was trying to help her dog. I got so nervous for my friend and her dog that I almost cried....started looking for a 4-wheeler to go do something....and then changed my whole plan for my own dog who was sent on her way two runs later. This could have happened to me and Sally and I do not have as many bells and whistles on my dog.
Yet another soap box.....it gets better....at the same time as the highway was being created.....a handler decided to walk their dog. I guess they did not want to miss any of the trial so they took off and came back on the field to the right. They might have used the lane/road at any other time...but it was being used by cars and trucks to get back to the open field.....so instead they walked on the field. Many of our dogs....when they loose sight of sheep on big fields with terrain....look for people and dogs. That would indicate the set out crew. And yet again, I question the heart of a handler that would not consider the impact of their actions on a run that is being put down by a fellow handler.
Interesting take from some of the chatter on Facebook....another handler wrote something along the lines of "tough luck" and "you pay and take chances". I pay my money in entry fees....and drive huge distances to run....to see what my dog can do on that given day...on that field....on those sheep. My dog gets lost...stuck on the exhaust....too big to the set out.....can't handle light sheep...can't walk onto heavy sheep....won't bite a nasty sheep.....or has a smoking run....I agree...that is what I pay for. I do not pay to have another handler ruin my run.
I'm hoping that this journey of mine with my sheepdogs makes me a better person. I'm trying to seep my soul in that endeavour: yelling a little less, forgiving a little more, setting a few healthy boundaries, loving a little deeper, understanding my challenge is to get the absolute most out of life and my dogs, not by force but by relationship... to give a little more than I take, to put others first (with in those healthy boundaries), and to "do unto others as I would have them do unto me". It does not mean I have to be a push over....nor does it mean that I can give money back after the closing date....but it does mean I can look at my actions and see if I can be a little bit more concerned about those around me, how I affect them, celebrating their successes and sharing their tears....and making darn sure, to the best of my ability, I don't ruin a run! (even when I set sheep...but that it is a topic for another day)
I sure hope the crud leaves my lungs soon.....so I can climb off my soap box and get on with training my dogs. Off to shed......
Seize the Day!
well said!
ReplyDeleteDo you think that many of the people driving from the novice field were actually novice and maybe didn't know when the correct time was to drive on to the field? The course director should have taken care of it anyway. I would have certainly wanted a rerun - which I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten which would have only gotten me mad and not helped with my "new attitude". But you are so right about people being selfish - I often see: people whistling in exhaust, or keeping their in heat bitch near the front of the trial when they aren't running for a while or, the worst: getting in front of you while you are trying to spot sheep and their run is after you! (a variation on that is people who try to share the blind with you when you are next!) People need to realize the run on the field and the next one are the ones that matter. NOT the ones that already happend or will happen in another hour.
ReplyDeleteI concur with everything you said. Brains, I wonder if people just either lack them, or don't use them. IF my dog had gotten hit... Well, let's not go there.
ReplyDeleteIt was three open handlers (though one was new to open). Being one to hold a grudge...I looked carefully at each and every one of them as they drove by me! I could name names...but they know who they are. Also, one was confronted and said..."I thought the dog running loose belonged to the handler walking on the field! I had no idea a run was going on" I'll work on the grudge thing later! LOL
ReplyDeleteThe very capable judge declined to call for a rerun.
ReplyDeleteI would'nt want to be seen to be second guessing him or course directors or trial host.
It was a great day. Everything turned out well. No real harm was done.
We'll all be back again, smiling, and hoping for better luck at the next next trial.
@ Susan....totally agree....my whole blog is about handlers thinking of others and not judges/course directors/ trial hosts decisions. Nor wonderful sheep setters for that matter...or those like me who try to be! My whole soap box would not exist if folks would have stopped and thought about another. So everyone please read this....this is not about a rerun or lack there of. Its about the kindness we can all show each other....and rules should not force that kindness.
ReplyDeleteOh and another thing while I think about it....I appreciate the "teaching" top handlers pass on to learners. I was at at handling clinic and the clinician explained how we should not step in front of a dog spotting sheep if that dog/handler run before us. I had not thought of that....so was glad to be given some guidelines. At another recent trial, a top hand asked a person not to drive a 4 wheeler up the shallow side of the trial field as it would affect the run. Case in point....the sheep at this trial are worked with 4 wheelers regularly and indeed it would have potentially created an issue. Lastly, at many trials, handlers have to walk with their dogs on the side of the field to get up to set sheep....many watch to make sure the outrun has been completed before they bust a groove up the field. So indeed...many acts of kindness are shown....thanks for reminding me of that!
ReplyDeleteAgreed with Jenny. Course director?
ReplyDeleteThanks Lora for helping us remember to look out for one another. It's not about re-runs or scores, it's about seeing if we can be helpful to another handler or dog rather than carrying on without consideration. Agreed with the others on spotting, also -- People standing in front of me, or talking to/petting my dog when she is trying to spot sheep before a run can really frustrate me.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately there are some folks out there that only care about themselves or can't see outside of themselves very well. It is up to us as competitors not to perpetuate or tolerate this lack of consideration.
ReplyDeleteI've also noted a lack in consideration with fellow competitors and their dog's off leash manners. Their are number folks that don't watch what their male dogs piss on- there's no excuse for that. Also folks not keeping close tabs on their dogs while running off leash. I don't want to fend off 3 or 4 dogs while walking mine. I also don't want to worry about if those dogs are friendly.
Soap box away.