“The true measure of a man is not what he dreams, but what he aspires to be; a dream is nothing without action. Whether one fails or succeeds is irrelevant; all that matters is that there was motion in his life. That alone affects the world.”
― Mike Norton, White Mountain

Last Saturday the Sand Spring hunt test season came to a end. Our season began in May and went through the beginning of September. The season is made up of training our two Chesapeake Bay Retrievers Gambler and Glory to compete in AKC – American Kennel Club and UKC – United Kennel Club tests. They are similar but then again so different so you have to train for two different styles. This made for a full summer of many highs and lows as you all may know from following my posts on my blog and on facebook.

This last Saturday I had a major melt down. I went to the hunt test by myself and handled both dogs. It was the last test of the season and I really wanted to get that final Senior Hunter pass on Glory so she could earn her Senior Hunter Title before I breed her this winter. Needless to say Glory was dog one in the group and we failed. Being upset I had to go and handle Gambler now in his test. That didn’t go well either and we failed too. After I was done this is what I posted up on facebook on my Sand Spring Chesapeake page: If success was measured by how many tears were shed this hunt test season I would be a very successful woman. Till next year all it’s hunting time now!

I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and now that some time has passed I have realized that we indeed did have A Successful Hunt Test Season and with that comes See Beautiful!

What is success & failure?

The definition of ‘success’  & ‘failure’ from dictionary.com is:

success
–noun
1.the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.
2.the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.
3.a successful performance or achievement: The play was an instant success.
4.a person or thing that is successful: She was a great success on the talk show. 

This summer I was chasing the wrong meaning of success. I was chasing the hunt test passes and in the end the hunt test title. I got caught up in wanting to pass a test to “show” that my dogs could do it, that they could pass a test without fails. For some reason I had it in my head that fails were toxic and if people knew my dogs and I failed that we would be marked as failures and people would think less of us. My standards were set so high that when the fails came I didn’t know how to handle them and forgot about the real reason and success I was gaining with my dogs.

It seems for some reason society can’t measure one’s “success” by the deeds one does without gaining an award.

“What is a Title, Really?”

“Not just a brag, Not just a stepping stone to a higher title, “What is a Title, Really?”

“Not just a brag, Not just a stepping stone to a higher title,
Not just an adjunct to competitive scores.”

“A Title is a tribute to the dog that bears it, a way to honor that
dog, an ultimate memorial. It will remain in the record and in the memory for about as long as anything in this world can remain. Few humans will do as well or better in that regard. And though the dog himself doesn’t know or care that his achievements have been noted, a Title says many things in the world of humans, where such things count.”

“A title says your dog was intelligent, and adaptable, and good-
natured. It says that your dog loved you enough to do the things that
please you, however crazy they may have sometimes seemed.”

“And a Title says that you loved your dog, that you loved to spend
time with him because he was a good dog, and that you believed in him enough to give him yet another chance when he failed (or you did), and that in the end your faith was justified.”

“A Title proves that your dog inspired you to have the special
relationship enjoyed by so few; that in a world of disposable
creatures, this dog with a Title was greatly loved, and loved greatly in
return.”

“And when that dear short life is over, the Title remains as a memorial of the finest kind, the best you can give to a deserving friend, volumes of praise in one small set of initials before or after the name.”

“A Title is nothing less than love and respect, given and received permanently.”

Author Unknown

I think everyone competing in an event should read this article: The Art of Losing

JoAnn’s definition of a Successful Hunt Test Season:

– Time spent with your dog(s)

– Time spent with your family and friend(s)

– Lessons learned

– All the See Beautiful moments that come your way

Things JoAnn has to remember:

– Rome wasn’t built in a day

– If someone thinks less of me and my dog for failing they can pound sand and are no friends of mine

– I am a novice trainer and handler

– Gambler is my first dog that *I* trained & handled by *myself*

– The end of last year was the first time I ran a Senior test

– This year was the first time I ran a Master test

– These kinds of tests are by no means a walk in the park and when I win the more accomplished I will feel that I did it alone just me and my dog

– Chesapeakes are not machines and need more than one day of training to run tests

– Gambler and I succeeded in passing one UKC Finished test this year

– Gambler, Glory and I received our CGC (Canine Good Citizen) & TT (Temperment Test) certificates

– Glory received her UKC HRC Hunting Retriever Title

– Glory received three out of four AKC Senior Hunter passes

– Gambler was the #1 Chesapeake in the UKC Top Ten Dog and Breed Standings for two years in a row

– My dogs don’t think any less of me when we fail, they think more of me for getting out there and training, running tests and doing what they were bred to do

– Win or loss their emotions are always the same, they lick my face, wag their tail and let me know they still love me

“Your passion is measured by the difference between your willingness to take actions and your desire to quit. When your desire to quit outweighs your willingness to persist, you are ripe for failure!”
― Israelmore Ayivor, The Great Hand Book of Quotes

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