Not an
embarrassment, nor an effort to humiliate you,
not even an act of
stubborn defiance.
An NQ is a tribute
to your dog's willingness to try,
and a
demonstration of your own character.
Your dog doesn't
know or care that there was no score.
This fact may
remain in the record forever
but no one will
remember when you accept it with grace.
And few humans do
that well without practice.
Though an NQ may
damage your pride,
through it you can
practice humility,
learn to accept
defeat with dignity,
and show courage
while facing your fears.
An NQ says that
you loved spending time with your dog,
that you viewed
her as a worthy teammate,
that you believed
in her so much
that you wanted to
show the world how wonderful she is.
In a world of
multi-tasking and shallow interactions,
an NQ shows that
you shared a deep connection,
that you gave each
other everything you had,
and that your dog
is a cherished friend, not an ego stroke..
Because when the
day is done and the trial over,
an NQ proves that
you accept your dog, flaws and all,
that you respect
her efforts, no matter how poor,
and that it is not
winning, but love, that matters.
Author's Note: This post was inspired by both What is a Title, Really?, a lovely take on why we do dog sports, and by some appallingly bad sportsmanship I saw last weekend. It is not intended as criticism of the original.
2 comments:
this was a nice post. thanks for the affirmation that some of us work at eventual titling of our "reactive" dogs and NQ's are a part of the process of our commitment to that end.
Our club reads "What is a Title" every year at our achievement banquet and we all tear up. But this is a wonderful reminder and I'll have to send the link to several fellow members! Thanks!
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