Focus on the Checkered Flag!

As I type this post, I am getting excited for my favorite sport, Indy Car Racing, to return to a track in Texas this month for the long awaited first race of the season. This has been a long, strange year already, and it's only June!

By now, we would know who the winner of the Indianapolis 500 is for 2020 and we, as fans, would be reflecting upon the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and looking forward to a summer full of races; but of course, 2020 is a different year.

As I reflect upon this favorite sport of mine and think of how many decades I have watched and cheered, and sometimes cried, I began thinking about dog sports, and competition in general. What, you didn't think I could bring up dog sports and the Indy 500 in the same post?

I always find it interesting how many people think that auto racing simply requires one to have the ability to jump into a high powered vehicle and understand how to drive in a circle, an oval to be more precise. They don't understand the endurance piece, the athleticism, the science and math and engineering, and the patience that go into a successful day at the track. If a driver is focused on the end of the race and the possibility of a podium finish as the pace car leaves the track after warm up laps, then chances are they might not make it through turn 1. A driver must constantly be in the moment. After all, they are driving at 200 mph or more much of the time. They must be in tune with their race car as they communicate any issues with the crew back in the pits. There is a strategy to how they will conduct their race, but the driver must always remain aware of what is going on, precisely in that moment, or face a day with a DNF, Did Not Finish.

In dog sports, we practice, we train, we enter the trial. We know there is a lot that went into getting to that moment in the ring. I am going to use a particular dog sport as an example today, Scent Work.

Like the Indy 500, I find that many people just simply think, scent work is easy. I have encountered trainers, and those who compete mostly in obedience, actually tell me that people have switched to scent work from obedience because searching for scent comes naturally to the dog and therefore doesn't require much training. Those who have trained in scent work, nose work, scent sport, call it what you may, but those who have trained and gone to trials know that scent work not only requires training, but a whole lotta patience!

We all want to make it to the checkered flag, which would be our green ribbon, aka, the Q ribbon or qualifying ribbon, but go into that ring focused on the podium finish, with a blue, red, yellow, or even a white ribbon, and you may not get the green. I have watched many a handler get so competitive that they forget to communicate with the engineer, they aren't listening to the race car and they might hit the wall in turn 1. Ouch!

Wait out your dog! This is a phrase I have heard trainers repeat so many times in classes, that handlers could get tipsy if they did a shot each time they heard it.

I remember being at a trial where we were newbies. We had done a few scent work trials and we were experiencing some success with those pretty green ribbons. The first time we had a placement, I nearly wept with joy. It was unexpected and delightful. I remember at one point in the day, the judge said to me, "Nice job waiting out your dog." This meant so much to me. Finnegan is pictured above with his ribbons from a particularly good weekend of Scent Work. He has a lot of green ribbons, and even some place ribbons. In racing, these place ribbons would represent a podium finish. For Finnegan and I, these placements meant a lot. We do not ever go in expecting a placement. I am usually praying that I am in tune enough with him to make it to the checkered flag, complete the "race", and take home our green Q ribbon.

There are competitors I meet who are so driven to get those place ribbons, that they call it too soon; in racing, this would be the equivalent of spinning out and the car is done for that race. I have watched as competitors are not in tune with their dog in that moment, they want a fast time, so they have the extra ribbon of a placement, and wind up without any ribbon at all. Total bummer of a run for them and guess what, sometimes, they blame their dog!

Your dog is not the one who is so competitive that they are focused on the podium finish, that is solely on the handler. The dog is communicating that they are not on odor, but the handler isn't listening to the race car.

I remember watching one of my favorite Indy drivers and the way in which he typically drove a race. He would hang back sometimes and wait out some of those podium finish types who would end up with mechanical problems from pushing the car too much, or maybe they weren't reading the weather conditions as temperature may affect performance, or they would unfortunately crash. He would, more times than not, finish and many times he was that first driver to see the checkered flag, but even if he was the last to cross the finish line, at least he finished. Don't get me wrong, those podium finishes are fantastic, but you can't get on the podium if you don't see the checkered flag first.

As always, I like to bring this back around to wellness.... When you are in tune with your dog at a trial, you are also keeping yourself in tune to whether or not you and he are engaged that day. If the dog is not engaged, if that engine is not running, then guess what, you have a problem. Consider a pre-trial wellness check just like a driver would have a checklist for an Indy car before a race. If the diagnostics are not working, don't push ahead and expect a good result.

I try awfully hard not to allow other competitors to cloud what I need to do with my dog. It takes some deep breaths and thick skin sometimes, but you must caution yourself not to join in to the super-uber competitive drive that some handlers exhibit. I typically ask myself at that point, "For whom are they really here?" The dog is there to be with you and go along for the ride, they aren't focused on the placement ribbon. Or the bragging rights....

You trained, you practiced, you paid your entrance fee... Stay for the whole race. It is a lot more fun crossing the finish line if the podium finish is icing on the cake or the cherry on the sundae instead of the whole meal!

Go out and PLay Like a Puppy and enjoy life. Present Life Awaits You! Place Love Around You!

Find the adventure in your everyday, EVERY day! And, most importantly, "Wait out your dog!" and keep your focus on the checkered flag!

xoxo, Jennifer aka The DivaDogMom