I think this happens a lot. LOL! I hear people say they have to leave when somebody else handles their dog. I think your hubby made a bad decision to stand in front of the exit gate.
This has been my experience as well. Most of these cases are the dogs showing stress. And most dogs leaving the field aren't doing so to go after some distraction or because they just decided they didn't want to perform that day, but they're going into avoidance, getting themselves away from the source of the stress and moving toward a perceived refuge.Originally Posted By: IliamnasQuestI really think that dogs who can heel very nicely elsewhere and who get sloppy in the ring are just reacting to stress. I've been trialing forever (well, feels like forever!) and have had my share of sloppy performances and I really believe that the dogs don't deliberately do what we don't want them to do. They get stressed, they feel our stress, and they mentally distance themselves from us in order to try to alleviate their feelings of anxiety at that point.