Dogs are not robots; they make the occasional mistake. Thinking trainers recognize this and help the dog learn from them. However, almost every error seen in the obedience ring is caused by the handler: either it is a handler error or a training error. Dogs aren't spiteful, they don't "blow you off", they either are able to perform in the situation or they have not been taught how.

1. (strict definition) conscious deliberation that leads to selecting the wrong intention. 2. (common definition) synonym for error. For example, the term mistake-proofing uses the common definition since mistake-proofing is used more to prevent slips than mistakes (using strict definition)