Handler Stress (aka Beer is not always the solution)
Often as a very poor stockdog handler, i poke a little fun at my friends in Agility. Give me a little credit, not only is my trial space larger, but my dog has to move items through obsticles. However, my friends in agility have a few things down to a science. One is dog behavior, ala our hero Lesie at CU. The other is People CU, otherwise known as ‘how to manage handler stress’.
Trialing lore has us beleive that the best way to handle handler stress and it’s effects on our run and our dogs is a shot or 3 of whiskey and a beer chaser. While it is well known that I have a soft spot for whiskey and used to sell beer; beer and whiskey are not solutions they are at best a good cover. At worst they are a nasty hangover.
So what’s a handler to do? Suck it up and take it only goes so far. Certainly won’t get you from Open to Advanced on tough sheep or from Novice to ProNovice. The beer and whiskey plan, while effective, is easy to over dose on and then you’ve wasted your trial fees because, oh yeah, you’re wasted. Stress management is a pretty common problem in many performance circles. Even people who compete in activities outside of dog-dom.
So while it might sound a little strange… there’s no sense in reinventing the wheel. When it comes to handler stress, find that thing that calms you down. It’s different for every person; white sandy beaches, Chikowsky, whatever makes you feel a little more centered. This is a good site to check out: http://mentalmanagement.com/
At the end of the day a little prevention and self awareness are good tools though too. NBC wasn’t messing around, The More You Know. 
The first step is to understand you. What makes you nervous? How can you start to work around it in an trial setting. Before you jump to conclusions, just keep a few things in mind. First that what makes you nervous can change from dog to dog. Here’s a good example. As a general statement, cardboard cutouts of fake people inthe vicinity of me doing something in a field with my dog will make me nervous. More specific to each dog, i’m petrified that my Simon will eat sheep when he can’t control things. Even less so, i’m afriad that Molly will revert to working for herself. Thankfully she doesn’t think that moving sheep is easier with her teeth. Either way with all of these things going on, i’m a bit of a headcase.
How does this help? Break it down. Music has always been a great stress releiver for me. Being significantly ADD i tend to think about at least 2 things at one time. So having some music to fill in what would be an empty stress laden gap is a good coping technique for me. While i can’t have my MP3 player with me on the trial field, I can work my self to a point where i’m confident enough in what i’m doing that the residual stress disappears. In addition, consider how certain spaces can create or releive stress. Some handlers thrive in smaller spaces. I’m not one of them, but some do. So if big spaces are your nemesis, find a way to work yourself into larger spaces. Renting stock at a training facility can be helpful here as often training facilities for multiple breeds will have rings and arenas of various sizes. Play with the sizes and sheep types to find what works for you. Heavy or fetchy sheep first if you move up your ring space to allow for better control. On the other end, I have ‘issues’ with working my dog in small spaces.
My issues were linked to my inability to understand how to use these spaces appropriately, nto so much an inability to control my space. Dare to be different. So my first step was to work with a trainer to better understand how to use smaller spaces. In learning how to use smaller spaces, i could then instert a little music (enter Lyle Lovett, Keith Urban and Flogging Molly) and start to try to envision the roundpen being a different kind of space. My thing was specifically limited to the Round Pen. Small square pens are fine but really what do you do with a pen with no corners???
Working stock, when you’re really down to business is almost like a meditation. Find your center, that place where you’re in your own planet… just you, the course the stock and your dog. Use a few little tricks to get your mind right and you can do anything.
But don’t skip the beer. If you’re going to drink, support your local brewer. If you can’t do that… don’t cheap out. Better a great drink that cost $5-7 than 3 cheap drinks at $3.25. Do the math.
Comments