did something questionable in obedience class

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akane

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Ugh class today Aiko was crazy, wild puppy that wanted to do lap running and despite 2 types of treats she was getting tired of them so my voice commands were not having as good of effect without a good reward. They record the classes to put on youtube and I did something that is going to look very bad if it was visible. I have some problems with muscle in my back and especially my right side so my upper body reflexes and reach is restricted. I had a lot of leash out when we passed a shepherd going the other way. Aiko swung in front of me to go for the shepherd and I had nothing my upper body could do to stop her so I stuck my foot out. She bounced off it and kept going. She's not a very sensitive puppy and ignores crashes, bangs, and smashing into doors so I knew she'd be fine. I would have preferred my foot got there sooner so she didn't run into it as hard but my reflexes in my right leg may also be less than I remember them. It was that or a potential dog fight because Aiko is very bold and was being very bouncy toward a dog I didn't know and wasn't sure how close he was off my right side. I knew the second it happened that it was going to look bad. I can't say even now that I can come up with any other solution. I know I made the right choice in an emergency situation. It just sucks and bothers me about how people will view it not knowing the details and I needed somewhere to explain even if it's not people I have to deal with offline so I can stop stressing as much.
 
I hope you can stop stressing about this, Akane. I know you are bothered by how it "looks" but you did the best you could in a situation that could have resulted in something serious. Let it go . . . and if anyone bugs you about it, send them the link to this thread.

Here at RabbitTalk we realize that your devotion to your animals knows no bounds. :)
 
I'm going to second Maggie.....
You did the right thing in an emergency situation.....
Often times I find I over react a little in an animal emergency; I'll pull the leash a little hard, grip just a little tighter or move a little quicker(not always in a good way) I love my fur babies and I want to keep them safe.

If anyone asks you to justify yourself.... ask them what they would have done?.... and keep aggressively questioning them until they break.... should get rid of the verbal abuse...

(I'm in a bitchy mood this morning,,, so take my advice with a grain of salt please)
 
SarniaTricia":2xa3nl07 said:
If anyone asks you to justify yourself.... ask them what they would have done?.... and keep aggressively questioning them until they break.... should get rid of the verbal abuse...

(I'm in a bitchy mood this morning,,, so take my advice with a grain of salt please)
:yeahthat:
I agree with MaggieJ and SarniaTricia, you did what you could in the situation. Especially with your personal health issues added on top of it. I don’t know how open you are regarding those, but maybe while you’re “aggressively questioning” them, add that you lost a little bit of control. They can’t fault you for that, and hey, that’s part of why you’re working so hard to get this dog trained, right? To heck with their impressions, you did what was right by you. And as DH puts it (usually meaning humans, but hey, we’re all animals) “babies bounce.” ;)

I'd say no harm done, and good luck with the puppy classes! :)
 
You did nothing wrong! Don't let those positive only people get down on you.

I have done the same thing before. Basil who is a 7 month old 50 pound standard poodle was running around like crazy playing, he was about to crash into my 2 year old, my hands were full so I used my foot to stop him.

I am not sure how old Aiko is now but have you considered using a prong collar with her?
 
Aiko is only a 4month old ball of energy. When they slow down growing a little we usually get a semi slip which works a bit like a martingale collar and also keeps them from backing out of it. I would like her in a head halter but this is going to take effort. When Aiko doesn't like something the whole world gets to know and she can be very stubborn. For now I just got a no pull sporn harness which have the padded leg ropes that go through a loop in the back and then you clip on to that so they pull tight with pressure. I was going to try it on hikes if we get good enough weather soon or the pet store for now. We have a petco and petsmart right next to each other and then a family owned store with rodents on floor level. We were thinking of moving to this design http://www.ebay.com/itm/NO-PULL-HARNESS ... SwopRYZG8q Just to throw up one that showed on ebay. Before determining whether she is suited to mobility work but not until the joints are done so usually 2years old is suggested. We've got 2 years of just basics and testing her in places before she does any real work. After class we did a couple rounds of what the instructor ended up calling "ping ponging" when she finally understood what I wanted to do. I send her to Josh, he sends her to me, I send her back... For the purposes of getting help if I cannot stand for some reason or sending her to me for help when she can take weight.

My confidence is still returning after a martial arts class 3 weeks ago now that my whole body failed and no one was listening. I finally just stood there with my weight locked straight waiting for someone to notice, that I started crying and then someone would notice, or I fell down. Luckily the first one happened but the frustration that a major part of who I was has been destroyed and I can't be the physically active, indestructible person used for all questionable activities that might go weird had me doing nothing but watching hell's kitchen (I made season 11) and playing a computer game for 2 weeks. The night before martial arts I finally got out of the thought pattern and did back to back classes. Not without body parts failing here and there but I did it and didn't have to be dragged to the bathroom the next 24hrs afterward. I'm debating today. No right side falls for sure because they aren't coming out correct and since you take the impact from shoulder to opposite hip it can mess up anything on both sides when it doesn't come out right. I went to draw my sword after taking a break between classes and nothing happened. I had to go swing my sword left to right in the corner for awhile to make the muscles on my right side work again.
 
I really wouldn't worry about it, especially if your dog didnt react much, chances are no one will notice. I've bonked my own dogs during agility class before. Once my border collie tried to run around me the wrong direction and I stuck a foot out to block her path, well I accidentally ended up kinda half kicking her in the face as she ran into my foot- she being the sensitive drama queen that she is yelped and groveled. Now that's looking bad in class. What you did, nah I wouldn't worry about it, besides IF anyone says anything and you bring up health issues as the reason, they should shut up pretty quick.
 
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