A Shediac man and his highly trained German Shepherd have earned the right to represent Canada at an upcoming world working dog competition.
Eric LeBlanc said getting to this level of competition has been an exercise in extreme patience and dedication on both their parts, and at times it’s hard to tell who’s doing the teaching.
“Sometimes I think the dogs train you better than you train them,” said LeBlanc.
Leblanc and his champion working dog named Cooper came in third place at the Canadian Working Dog Association’s national competition in Ottawa in June.
READ MORE: ‘We believe dogs are family members:’ Local taproom calls for change to food safety regulations
This September the duo will represent Canada at the World Working Dog Competition in Austria and LeBlanc said he’s already feeling the pressure.
“If you don’t get nervous about a competition you got to question why you are doing it,” he said
“You are there representing your country and whatever you do and how you present yourself reflects back on Canada and the Canadians,” he added.
LeBlanc said that training Cooper to perform on command in advanced obedience, tracking and in protection has been a journey of personal growth as well.
READ MORE: Adopt A Pal: Three dogs, three energy levels, three cute companions
He said he worked as a corrections officer for decades before he retired and started training dogs for competition. But before taking up advanced dog training, he said he lacked a little patience.
“It forces you to know yourself. It forces you to know your emotions to discipline yourself and to be objective and to be fair. They forces you to be patient because you can’t run before you walk.”
It isn’t just about Cooper’s performance that counts, said LeBlanc, every move and every gesture will be highly scrutinized by the judges. He said that something as simple as a tilt of the shoulder can be seen as a coaxing gesture.
“I mean you can’t even afford to sneeze because it will cost you points,” said LeBlanc.
He said he also can’t afford to let cooper pick up on any jitters he might be feeling inside.
“They pick up every indication of your stress or your emotion. If you are not off or you at not focused they are going to pick up on it.”
Comments