There is no “bad”

I’d love to see us normalize removing the term “bad” from our vocabulary in this sport. Too often, I see posts or hear folks in the parking lot saying things like "my dog has a bad handler" or "my dog was bad and false alerted". It's a word that I think gets put into our heads after "failing" in a search - there's got to be blame, right?

Containers often create false alerts. Working them as an independent skill can help that problem!

Wrong! When we remove the thought that something is "Bad", we open our world to trying to describe the situation in more realistic and productive ways. Bad is a shortcut to dismissing responsibility for something, or trying to explain why we may have taken a risk and maybe we feel shame or embarrassment. Reframing the situation can help remove those feelings, allowing "failures" to be something much more helpful!

Failure - I recently was invited to a panel to discuss the concept of failure in Scent Work (Here is a link to the recording if you'd like to listen, LOTS of great stuff there with fantastic folks!). The overwhelming concept from all the panelists was our struggle to actually call something in training or trialing as "failure". No surprise since "failure" becomes a label that is hard to use for learning and growth. It feels very finite and unchangeable. Instead of failure, we discussed mistakes as opportunities to create training plans, recognition of our own observations, and moments to help guide us to recognize our current skill levels.

When we try and remove "bad" from our vocabulary, it can help reframe a lot of what we do and why we do it!

1. The "Bad" Handler - Why are we bad? Because we made a mistake? Because we misread a situation? Because we fell into habits?

   • Mistakes - We are all human. Calling alert! means we are taking a risk based on the information we see in front of us. If we feel "bad", maybe we can break down what we saw and what made us call alert. Is it more understanding needed? Observation experience?

   • Falling into Habits - did you miss an area, blindly follow your dog without thought, or get too close/stay too far away? These can occur because we get into bad habits in training. Not all training should be handling, but practicing it is important. We fall into what is easy when we trial, so it's important to make handling as easy as you can.

   • Overworking a space - This happens when we lack trust. We lack trust when we are struggling with observations, when we overthink things, when we stop assuming our dogs are pretty freaking awesome. "If the hide was there, realistically how long would it take for your dog to start working it?" Likely not long!

2. The "Bad" Dog - Why would we think this? Is it a false alert or struggling to focus?

   • Unfocused dog - is your dog BEING distracted, actually information you can use to help guide your training? Is it due to your dog struggling in new spaces? Novel odors? Specific distractions? Is your dog actually unfocused or is it displacement (stress)? Stress can be created through trial pressure, trigger stacking (lots of little things all building up), or even just handling with too much or too little support. Breaking down and experimenting on why and when your dog gets distracted or sniffing the ground can be incredibly helpful to fix this problem!

   • False Alerts - Ultimately, dogs are only performing a false alert because they have been reinforced for that behavior in the past. This can be due to handler cues (facing the dog + some odor present = behavior), the dog's inexperience with distractions ("can I please have this?"), or a dog's understanding of what exactly should be rewarded - odor in a quantity or odor SOURCE. Often breaking down this issue is through more than one issue, but taking notes and understanding what conditions result in false alerts will help guide your ability to reduce them.

   • Dog in high arousal or in a fearful state - It can be frustrating to have a dog that just can't make their brain work, but they aren't bad; they just are lacking impulse control in that moment. This again is a training opportunity. It also might just be a factor of age! Being a little empathetic to your dog and their emotional state can be important. Amazing what a little connection from you can do to their own desire to connect back. Instead of being frustrated, take a moment and appreciate they are out there with you!

When we fall into the thought that something is "Bad" - us, dog, the hide, the search, etc. We start limiting our ability to use that information for growth. The beauty of this game is that we get to take whatever we learn in a search forward into helping us build our own understanding as well as our dog's skills. Don't shortcut either end of the leash by jumping on the "Bad" wagon. Take that word out of your vocabulary and you might be surprised at how much improvement and how much more fun you might have in any search!

I love this game of sniffy with my dog - training or trial. I get to marvel and be curious the whole time they are working. If I set the hides, I get to be curious on what changes of behavior I see, do they match what I expect in my head? If someone else sets the hides, I get to test my knowledge of those COBs. I get to fight to stay connected, and enjoy the thrill of a risk gone right. I also get to have that immediate feedback if my risk is wrong.

I call alert and get a no: why!?

• My brain thought the COBs I'm watching match a specific hide... did I assume it? Jump to a conclusion before my dog?

• My dog was convinced of it... Can I clear up their understanding of getting to the source better? Can I build clarity of SOURCE paying? Is my dog relying on a behavior too much or are they working to source?

• Luck wasn't in my favor. Sometimes stuff happens. Novel odors, trapping odor, cornering my dog in a blank space, calling work before it's done vs. my dog working to that final answer only. Can I take a nugget of learning to work on? YES!! I win!

Every fall, I teach a class to help handlers learn how to adjust their mindset. We break down how to learn from every search, how to build those training plans, and what is the best way to use your videos to learn. We cover everything from crate to crate at a trial, including walkthroughs and creating a plan without taking over the search. The class is called "Competitive Advantage (AKA Trial Prep)" and is a super fun one! It's a little mental management and a whole lot of actionable exercises to help both ends of the leash excel in trials. This year it opens September 12th for registration. Click here to see classes.

Estes Park, Summit 2024

Aleks Woodroffe is a Scent Work Trainer, Competitor, Certifying Official (NACSW), AKC SW Judge, and ASCA SD Judge. She is located in Phoenix, Arizona, and competes with her FCRs Tana (Prairielight Pincian SWME3 SWD"3" SHDM NAJ TKA Elite-CH SMT) and Georges (DesertFire Svarozic RN SWE SIEE SBM SHDN TKI FTN Elite-1). Tana was the 4^th dog of any breed to earn the SWME2 title (and 7^th to earn SWME3). When not teaching or judging, she is a certified Canine Massage Practitioner and Certified Professional Canine Fitness trainer. If you would like to know more, you can find her at www.releasecanine.com or via social media @releasecanineaz