World Cynosport Rally Double Trial @ DTCCC!

We returned to DTCCC today for a double World Cynosport rally-o trial!  I entered Molly in Level 2 in both trials, and I entered Ein in Veterans in both.  Since the trial was on Groundhog Day, we had cake!

I expected a wild woman out of Molly.  The first sign in the first course was "Fast Pace" and I thought from there on out it might be a wild ride, possibly a leap right out of the ring.
It...wasn't.  Molly was laggy from the start and was scratching her collar obsessively whenever she got the chance.  This is the same collar she wears absolutely all the time.  I gave her a treat at a stationary exercise because I thought that would motivate her and bring her back Up, but about three signs later she coughed it back up and kept coughing for four hours (or, two seconds.  But everything seems more prolonged in the ring.)
The only time she perked up was when she got to take the jump, and when she got to come to front.  I was...sad.  She seemed totally stressed, disconnected and bored.  As if I have not trained her much at all, and when I do, I beat her!  Well this is what I was imagining.  Our efforts earned us a 196 and 3rd place.

The second time in was not too much better.  I took the tag off of her collar and loosened it a notch and she was not scratching at it.  She did continue to trudge behind me though, sniffing signs and plodding along.  When we reached the jump I said, "Look!  Jump!" and she charged over it.  After that she was back to BLAH.  The bonus exercise was leaving the dog in a sit position and doing a down from a distance, and she did do that.  She really did most everything that she was supposed to, but her heeling in between was nonexistent and she kept stopping to do stressy things like scratching or sniffing and we just bled points all over the place.  The second course earned us a 194 and fourth place, and also her RL2 title.

You better put a teeter in there next time or it's Game Over.

So Molly is now again on hiatus from Rally Obedience.  My next step with her will be the RL3.  I do want to get some ARCH titles on her some day, but I think that will come in a few years when she is getting too creaky for the demands of agility.  And teaching her how to enjoy heeling will be a must for whenever that day comes.  In fact, it is something I need to put some more work into before we do RL3.  

Ein enjoyed two courses in the Veterans B class!  He got a 207 in the first trial (for a re-cue on the Stand with Distraction bonus exercise.  I do not care, I intended it that way.  I have no problem giving him the extra information and losing the points.  It was splendid that this was the bonus exercise, because he is entered in a CDSP trial in two weeks where an actual human will be touching him!!)  I did politely wait for the judge to instruct me to Return to My Dog.  Except, she didn't.  Because that is not how it works in Rally-O.  Oops!  

The second course Ein was great except for blowing his Sit-Stay on the bonus exercise when I asked him to down, he got a 202.

I am really loving the Veterans class.  The courses are short and fun - but still with some challenges from Levels 2 and 3 (we could not get that if we were only in Level 1.)  It is a great place for Ein to be.

Trial's End.  Posing under the DTCCC logo with their pal Pongu after a successful day!