Fri. Aug. 30 Merrimack Valley Kennel Club began it's annual 3 day AKC Obedience trial in Amherst, NH at American K9 Country. This was an afternoon trial, not beginning until 2 pm. Entering on days like this, you risk a late evening ring time, but I chanced it, figuring how bad could it be? Ha! Well, we arrived around 2:30 to set up the crate and settle in, allowing plenty of time for that and walkies, warming up, and watching a bit of the other classes. Plenty of time, indeed. I knew our classes (Novice A & Beginner Novice A) were to follow a large Utility & Open entry, but I severely underestimated the amount of time those classes would take. Hours passed, they took a dinner break, then other classes continued. It was very late evening by the time we finally entered the Novice ring. I don't even remember what time it was by that point. It was certainly after 9 pm! Click below on "Read More" to see how we did!
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I think it's been about a year since we've entered any AKC events. But since we've been practicing (and doing well) in other Obedience rings, I decided to try for Tripp's 2nd Beginner Novice leg at Cheshire Kennel Club's annual show & trial in Keene. I didn't bother to bring my camera, however, since I'd have to impose upon a stranger again to film us, and honestly, I didn't have high expectations for Tripp's performance. Our luck has just never been in AKC, plus this was an outdoor trial, so you never know what added distractions might appear.
Well go figure, Tripp did a great job in the ring, earning a near-perfect score of 199! Now I wish I had it on video! Oh well, next time, definitely. Fingers crossed he continues this success in AKC... next trials I plan to enter some higher levels (and of course finish his BN). I sure hope there will be run thrus between now and then for practice! Practice has been paying off. After moving up to Open level in CDSP Obedience, we had several new exercises to learn. I actually managed to squeeze in some regular clicker training sessions and worked on what we could at home to prepare. Tripp caught on quickly, as usual, and not only did he prove he was ready to perform the new stuff in the ring, he also kept his head in the game and had lovely attention during most of the performance. We entered our first trial on 7/13/13 at DogStar Activity Center in Acton, MA. Our judges were Rachel Brostrom & Sheila Bennett. It was a nice day (other than sitting in traffic over half an hour, but at least we got there in time). Tripp won 1st place in trial one with a score of 193.5 - and half of those point deductions were my fault. Still not bad for a couple newbies! :-) This has always been my favorite level. Ok, so I've never done it before either, but I liked the look of it. ;-) Jumps, retrieves, send outs, and other advanced challenges beyond heeling... Novice was fun, but Open rocks! Tripp seemed to enjoy it too, and I'm so happy with his performance this weekend. His only mishap was on the broad jump in trial 2. There seems to have been some confusion; it was like he didn't even try. I can't figure out for sure what caused it, and unfortunately it cost us a Q, but as the judges said, "it is what it is." These things happen. What I do know is that I really need to get a broad jump for practice at home. Considering Tripp has only seen one less than half a dozen times in his life, I'm impressed he can do it at all! Regardless of scores, we had a blast. Of course I'm glad we did earn at least 1 Q so I got something for my time and money. LOL Tripp obviously doesn't care about those things, he's just happy to be our there working with his mom. Sounds like a win-win to me! It was a very competitive weekend... but only in the talent of so many teams - the atmosphere of course was all supportive and friendly. This is your typical CDSP Obedience trial. The exercises are similar to mainstream trials, but everything is much more relaxed and fun. Praise is allowed in the ring, and even a treat between exercises. The focus in CDSP is teamwork over absolute precision. Obviously this makes for more happy dogs! Monadnock Humane Society was our gracious host on June 16, and as our wonderful judges, Charlene Swainamer & Barb Burri. Tripp held his own in both trials against stiff competition, earning a near-perfect score of 199 each time. And both trials required a "run-off" (repeat the heeling pattern to break a tie) - trial 1 actually had a 4-way tie! As I said, lots of great teams out there. Tripp, as usual, got a little wacky in the run-offs, so we took lower placements - but 3rd & 4th place is still quite respectable. More importantly, this finished Tripp's CD-C title - our first in the sport of obedience. The next trial is a month away, where we will enter Open level. There's still a lot of training left to do to prepare for that! Time to get to work! At the last minute, I decided to enter Tripp in the CDSP Obedience trial on Mar. 30 (the day before Easter) at BoGee Agility & Sport Center in Raymond, NH. Not only were we rusty from slacking off all winter, but we have limited Obedience experience to begin with. (It is quite different from Rally, although that's a wonderful foundation.) This would be our first CDSP trial, with only one workshop under our belt. I still picked up on some new rules (thankfully before our ring time!). Judge Charlene Swainamer was extremely nice and helpful. CDSP is similar to traditional AKC Obedience, with a few differences in exercises. In some ways it is more challenging, but it is also more casual and fun. Praise is allowed during most exercises, and a treat is even ok at very specific points (rules on this are very strict). Check out http://www.companiondogsportsprogram.com for information on this fantastic venue. I really wasn't sure how we'd do in the ring. The way I figured it, this would be considered more of a practice run for other upcoming trials. Of course I always hope for a Q! As usual, everyone loved Mr. Flashypants Tripp. He was pretty silly and certainly not perfect in the ring, but he had a few moments of brilliance, and overall did quite well all things considered. We ended with a score of 197.5, tied for first place! This calls for a "runoff" where the competitors repeat the heeling pattern and best score/time wins. Tripp continued his imperfections, as well as got itchy half way through. LOL The other team had a beautiful, nearly flawless run and certainly deserved the win. :-) Unfortunately we weren't able to compete in the second trial, as there was much holiday preparation to be done at home. It was a great morning though and I can't wait to continue in CDSP. Tripp will go far! Well, first of all, Tripp got "repoodified"! The blue beard came off (so we wouldn't get kicked out of the AKC trial for color) and after shaping up that body he's almost show worthy again. :-) He still needs a bit of growth in some places, but considering I shaved him only 3 months ago, he looks amazing. I know, he always looks good anyway. LOL So after all our time in Rally, I decided to take the plunge and enter a traditional Obedience trial. The new AKC classes available and decent entry fees made the difference. (That, and our trainer insisting Tripp could do Beginner Novice blindfolded. Ok, but what about me? My handling was the bigger concern! LOL) We started the long weekend on the right foot with a day of run thrus at American K9 Country. Each year they offer this "training party" before certain trials, giving handlers the chance to practice in the same ring setting they may be competing in later. Considering Tripp's previous performance, I made sure to be there and let him know we would be doing obedience, not agility! ;-) That day of course was very busy - we tried the Beginner Novice course, as well as regular Novice and Open, just for fun, plus random exercises and heelwork - so Tripp was well tired out for the night. Next day was spent in the grooming salon, which exhausted him again. At least he wouldn't be going into the trial with pent up energy. LOL Souhegan Kennel Club offered a great deal on non-regular classes, so I took the chance to enter Wild Card for fun and practice, as well as Beginner Novice. Obviously I hoped for a Q (when don't I?), but went in with only the expectation of learning what it's all about, how we would do, and whether we'd enjoy regular Obedience. Sure enough we did, so I think we will keep at it. :-) It's quite a change from Rally, and we have lots to learn, but it was still fun - seemingly for both of us! And Tripp did very well and was mostly calm. First up: Wild Card Novice Wild Card is a non-regular class which allows the handler to choose one exercise to receive a perfect score on; performing it is optional. I of course performed all the exercises - I chose the first one as our wild card, figuring Tripp would be "wildest" then. Handlers are also permitted unlimited praise during each exercise, although repeated commands are still faulted. The rest of the class is performed as in regular Obedience trials, with the same standards of performance. The Novice exercises are: heel on leash & figure 8 (around 2 human "posts"), stand for exam, heel free (off leash), recall (come sit at front, then finish to heel position), long sit (1 minute), and long down (3 minutes). The class proved to be a great warm up (lucky for us it was scheduled as our first run) and I learned a lot. I wish I could've taken notes in the ring! The judge was super nice and helpful; very supportive of this newbie. Tripp was faulted a few times for poor position and being distracted (but, Mom, there's a Poodle in the next ring!), but as expected most of the points off were due to my handling. My funniest fault was due to forgetting that there was a finish after the recall - I got excited at Tripp's beautiful performance and waved my arms, ready to say yes and release him. Oops! LOL That in turn threw Tripp off and caused him to flip into a very crooked heel position. But most of my other faults were subtle incorrect movements and positioning of myself (some of which I didn't even know there were rules on.) Of course, actually knowing the rules and scoring system would make a big difference, but I do still need work on my handling. Much as I love Rally, including it's casuality, it's perpetuated my sloppy handling and inprecise training. And there's nothing wrong with that - until you start Obedience trials, which are all about precision. Overall we did much better than I anticipated in Wild Card Novice... 188, not bad at all! I was surprised to score as well as we did, being so green. Even without the Wild Card option, we would've been docked only 5 additional points, so still would've Qed with a 183! (A Qualifying score is 170.) Obviously talking to Tripp in the ring made a difference though, so doubt he'd do as well if I remained silent throughout, as in a regular Novice trial. But who knows. We may find out some day! ;-) Next: Beginner Novice Beginner Novice is a new offering in AKC Obedience. The exercises are: heel on leash, figure 8, sit for exam, sit stay (while handler walks around ring), and a recall (no finish required). This is a great optional titling class, with exercises & rules somewhere between Rally and Novice Obedience. Rally signs are used for the heeling pattern, instead of the judge telling you where to go, everything's on-leash, and there are no group exercises. It's a nice stepping stone for those like me coming from Rally. It was still pretty tough, allowing only one verbal praise per exercise (much quieter than I've ever been! LOL) and standards of performance the same as regular Obedience - precision positioning, etc. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, having no experience beyond the one run-thru day, but there was no way to know until we tried! Amazingly, we finished with a very respectable 193 and 1st place. Our first Obedience leg! I'm excited to continue. Here we go, chasing more titles... :-) |
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