December Trial Catch-Up

December was a fun month for trialing. We started the month off with a bang at a cluster at the local expo. The girl dogs got to play AKC Scent Work, and Zorro got to play Rally Novice. It was exciting to be busy with so many fun activities for the dogs, even if it meant some stressful conflicts!

Perri was only entered in Novice Containers each day and she absolutely crushed it! Not literally box-crushing though! She earned first place with super fast times both days, no cataloguing and total confidence. It was wonderful. She will need one more Q for her SCN title. The video is her first Container search of the weekend.

Not to be outdone Molly did a fabulous job in Novice Interiors with first places on both days, fast times and earned her SIN (Scentwork Interior Novice) title. She also earned her SBN (Buried Novice) title with a lackluster performance. Our Container performance is still suffering. I changed the way I was handling Molly and tried a tight leash approach. She began alerting with a look back to me. In training this was going really well until it wasn't. In the same training night she had her finest container search of all time and the literal next search was a disaster of false alerting. Of course, this night was the Wednesday before the trial. She was very conflicted in Buried (they're truly "just another container") but got the job done, and abysmal in Advanced Containers. Her better day there was Sunday, she correctly alerted on one container before doing a false alert on a different one. Ah well. Back to the drawing board. I am trying to come up with a way for Molly and I to both enjoy Container searches, with her enjoying the search and not destroying the containers. She is currently on a Container training break although it will be time to start up in the New Year. This video is her lovely Interior search on Saturday.

Zorro was able to earn his Rally Novice trial since the cluster offered two rally trials per day. How fun! He certainly enjoys heeling! Some further training is needed on the Slow Pace, he kept trying to sit. Otherwise we sailed straight through with scores of 97, 99 and 99 for his RN title. Yay! The whole weekend inspired me to enter an Obedience match and perhaps continue to work on some foundation skills for the game as the winter goes along. Zorro loves heelwork and I believe I finally have a dog who will love to play Obedience with me.

The following weekend was our training club's USDAA trial. We weren't able to play much this year. Sunday is a Starter/Advanced trial and I had a family gathering for the holidays to attend later in the day. We barely had enough time to play in the first two classes of the day as it was!

Zorro had his first USDAA measurement at 18 and 1/4" (I believe, I know it was 18 and something!) which puts him solidly in the 20" height class. We will need two more measurements, and one of them needs to be a CMJ. 

We got to play Snooker and Jumpers and I was a total anchor for poor Zorro! In Snooker I sent him on a wrong course and in Jumpers I didn't support a jump with him coming out of a tunnel. I now know he needs a little more support on the reconnection when he comes out of tunnels. Hey, I had a headache and I my attention was divided with fretting over the time I needed to leave. Whatever! He went home feeling great about himself and that's all that matters. 

And today was our final trial of 2019 - Zorro's AKC Agility debut! I admit to having quite a few moments of gratitude washing over me. I am so excited and honored to have a sound agility dog who enjoys playing the game with me. That is such a simple thing, yet it has been elusive for us between Molly's health and soundness issues and Perri's stress.

Zorro had been measured at a trial back in the fall, so we did not have to worry about that. He is a 20" dog until his final measurement when he turns two years old. This trial's format was to have all of the Novice classes at the end of the day. Our first walk through was not until after 3 and since this trial center is nearly two hours away it was great news! Novice Standard was first. Beautiful contacts and table, pinch me! We earned one refusal and I honestly think he was magnetized by the weave poles, they have such a heavy reward history. He then fails his first time but weaves nicely and then I kind of crammed him in with a late front cross for the ending. Great run all around!

JWW was a little bit of a hot mess but we got it done! Z missed his weave entry both classes today but this is his first time ever weaving at a place other than our regular training center so imma chalk it up to baby dog stuff! He was quite happy to weave nicely and I think his entries will come with more mileage.

Today's trial wrapped up our 2019 trialing year. I am so excited for what 2020 will bring for us in adventures, both trialing...fun road trips and hiking outings!

ARCH Perri and Excellent Leg #1

Perri wrapped up her late winter-early spring Rally-o "tour" last weekend. We attended the Poodle Obedience Training Club of Great NY at their annual spring Obedience and Rally-o trial. I will admit to having little to no interest in AKC Rally with Perri, but our friend was debuting in Rally Novice. I wanted to go along to support her, and competing with both of our poodles at a specialty had the makings of a fun day.

I entered Perri in Excellent and unfortunately she was more stressed than usual in the ring. Her hypervigilance was very intense and we did not have any of the teamwork that we are capable of. Perri pulled off an 82 and earned her first Rally Excellent leg though. We did attempt for our second leg at the Afternoon trial but we lost 10 points on the Moving Back-up, I paused on a Down-Stay-Walk Around (oops) and I did the Figure 8 WCRL style. That's 30 points off right there, folks. Ouch! I forgot about those brutal AKC 10-point hits if you do any element of the sign incorrectly. Our friend Zoe did well, earning her first two Rally Novice legs. It was still a great day of poodlin'! Perri made it very clear she would like a break from Rally-o, and that was the plan anyway!

Backing up, Perri spent two weekends in March earning the final two double Q legs needed for her ARCH (All Rally Champion) title in World Cynosport Rally. We went to a new-to-Perri trial location for leg #4 and when I saw how good-for-Perri her confidence and attitude was, I entered the next trial there (two weekends ago.) Perri earned her last QQ with a very nice Level 1 leg and a decent Level 2 leg with some mild floor aversion due to a drool mop up spot. Perri has become extremely obsessive about keeping an eye on the floor when we do rally obedience and her engagement suffers a lot for it. In any case, ARCH Poodle!

Perri's December

Continuing on in the spirit of catching up, we will address Miss Perri's doings.

Perri has had a tough year in agility but a very encouraging year in Rally Obedience. I waited three years to enter Level 2 and Perri's confidence and enthusiasm was well worth the wait. I have always loved attending AKC Rally-o trials in December at this trial site - historically Perri had her AKC Rally Novice and Advanced debuts (and first two legs) here. It was a fitting place to try Rally Excellent after a two year hiatus from AKC Rally.

Perri was not confident in the ring. She was worried but working hard to stay with me. The run felt awful to me, especially as I had been hoping for some of the sassy rally poodle from earlier this year. It turns out that Perri scored in the high 80s, she was the only Excellent A dog to qualify. Only one Excellent B dog qualified as well, leaving Perri one of two dogs who qualified. Cool? Mostly I felt sad that Perri was worried. But grateful to her and proud of her for trying hard.

Fast forward to the next weekend .... CPE agility. We played on a Friday night that I braved a "one inch snowstorm" to get to. Perri qualified in Fullhouse. She had one staring fit in Snooker, long enough to NQ us. Saturday we took a break and Molly played USDAA (two lovely powerful runs, a hearbreaker Standard run with an Aframe fault keeping us from a Q.).

Sunday I entered Perri in Jumpers and Wildcard, two classes she "needs" towards her C-ATCH/CT-ATCH whatever I choose to pursue. She stressed in Jumpers. Not badly. Not earth shattering. But it shattered my heart. I walked the course for her Wildcard run and then promptly walked over and scratched her name from the run order. I am done with this. I am done trying to make my poor dog play this game that she has become too stressed to play. I don't know what happened. I don't know why, when or how it happened. But I have nothing left right now for Perri and Agility. It's not fair to either of us.

Why have I continued on this long? Because I remember Perri loving this game. I have watched videos of her running fast with her tail fluttering. I remember her proud and huffing after a good run and walking with pride back to her crate. This video from last winter made me cry. We had worked so hard to come back from her shoulder injury and she was finally strong and confident and even sassy in the ring. It is one of her last phenomenal runs, right before, for no reason that I can figure out, she came undone. I had lyme and anaplasmosis tests run, thyroid tests run, a full check over for physical issues. There is nothing, no explanation. Right when Molly got sick, Perri fell apart and I cannot put us back together. We took two months off, it was not long enough. I feel very lost right now. I do not want to give up on my dog but I also want to respect her. What a hard line to draw. Nothing is forever but we must retreat further than ever for now.

Weekend Report

The last two years, this weekend has always been one of my favorites of the year.   Friday I take Perri to AKC Rally (and stop at our library's book sale on the way there.)  Saturday Molly goes to CPE Agility.  And Sunday, Ein goes to World Cynosport Rally.  This year I chose to not enter Perri in AKC Rally.   We are up for Rally Excellent.  Beside the fact that I do not want Perri jumping, even if her shoulder does feel good and it is only 16", Perri is not ready for Excellent.  I am in an abysmal mind space regarding Perri and all things obedience right now and I can't seem to shake it.  I saw Ein's improvement after some time off, and I think a part of me is hoping that could be the case for Perri.  As for right now, she worries far too much during her heeling, and she is completely uncomfortable doing downs in a ring.   This is a stress issue and I can't rush her through that.  So, I worked this Friday instead of enjoying the rally trial.  I thought about the rally show, I was sad that I wasn't there with my girl.  It felt like a nail in the coffin of my dreams of Perri's obedience career not turning out at all like I thought.  But I have to do what is right for my dog.  Even if a part of that puzzle is that my own confidence is shaken so badly that I can't be the handler that she needs to see her through.  Big Sigh.

Saturday was Molly's agility day.  As ever, high hopes for a Standard Q.  She crushed that in quick order with an A-frame flyoff on the second obstacle.  The day was very good despite that though!   Something very interesting happened.  Some time ago, Molly and I were dealing with some severe car anxiety.  I bought two packages Pet Naturals Calming Treats on suggestion from a friend.   I did not notice much of a difference in her car anxiety, so I had stopped giving them.  For months I had the last package in my glove box, with four treats remaining.  For some reason, who knows why...I gave all four to Molly on Saturday morning to finish the package off.  The package says to give a dog her size two treats, but that it is acceptable to double or triple the dose in times of increased stress.  I figured that it wasn't going to hurt her and I wanted to use the treats up.

We had to run Jumpers first.  I knew that and I was dreading it.  The trial site is dirt footing, and Molly is always extremely high there and especially for her first run.  Especially since she was under exercised.  I don't prefer to run a numbered course first thing of the day, first run of a trial weekend with a high as a kite, under exercised Molly.  A Jackpot type course is much preferable.  But...Molly wasn't wild in Jumpers.   She was no slouch, she was fast!   We had a gorgeous clean run - people were disappointed!   That's not what they love about watching Molly!  And all day it was that way.  Oh she was still fast, she was still Molly!   We got a wrong course in Colors because I failed to collect her out of a tunnel ... But she was running with constant focus.  We were having one of those golden days.  It hit me in the middle of the day when I went to my car and saw the empty treat wrapper stuffed into the compartment of my driver's side door.  I had forgotten about it completely.

The car anxiety was extreme stress for Molly.  I can understand that the treats wouldn't have helped her completely with that.  But could it be that they took the edge off of her environmental stress so that she could focus on my handling better?  I ordered some "Composure" and we will be trying that at this weekend's trial for sure.  It has been so frustrating for me that Molly is such a good agility dog, but that she is limited by her environmental stress.  It seems too good to be true that this could be a game changer for us.

Sunday was Ein's day.   My club's double World Cynosport rally trial.   This was Ein's first time doing four runs in one day in over a year.  I have avoided trying for double Q's towards his ARCHEX at double trials.  But he is most comfortable at our club and I thought he might enjoy it.   He did!   Two more double Qs brings us halfway to our ARCHEX.  Both Level 3 courses contained our most dreaded exercise: the directed jump!  Ein got a 210 in Level 2 and a 204 in Level 3 (points off for sitting on his moving back up - I blame my handling, I surprised him with the back up mid-heel and hadn't practiced it in quite a while - and for my setting him too close to the jump in the directed jump.)  In the second trial Ein got a 208 in Level 2 (He hesitated on a call front - evidence of being a little tired) and a painful 196 in Level 3.  I had to double cue him to Stand (3 points off there, and more evidence of tired corgi.), a point lost for something else....and we lost a whopping 10 points on the Retrieve Bonus.  I decided to see if Ein would retrieve his dumbbell at the trial.  He has been doing really well at home and in some other locations around my home with doing a full retrieve chain.  I neglected to remember that there would be a judge standing a few feet from his DB in the ring with him.  I sent him twice for the DB and twice he stressed and couldn't pick it up because he kept looking at the judge and worrying about her.  The second time he actually inspected the judge briefly by sniffing before I recalled him to front and asked him for a finish.   This is information, and I am glad to have it!  In retrospect I should have anticipated this, of course.  I knew going into it that Ein might not retrieve the DB in the trial environment and that we would lose 10 whole points (rather than 5 if we had gone the "tennis ball route".)  It's actually a little bit frightening how quickly you can lose those 15 points in Level 3 - a 196 was cutting it close.  But hey, that's part of the fun and the challenge.   (For an ARCHEX, your QQs must be scored 195 or better.)  Sunday was a reminder that Level 3 can still kick our butts at will, and that we still have some training challenges that we can sharpen up.  We will take great joy in enjoying those challenges!  (Though the Retrieve bonus kicked our butts, the Call Front Back Up 3 Steps bonus did not - our work there paid off and we earned all 10 points with a nice straight back up.  Ha!)

We get to play again this Thursday!

  

AKC Rally @ VFKC

Perri earned her AKC Rally Novice title at the end of January last year and I knew she was not ready for Rally Advanced at that time.  I was having a lot of personal anxiety about taking the leash off and losing Perri to lagging or stress, and I knew that until I did not feel that way anymore, we would need to put RA on hold.  Through all of this year opportunities to show came and went, and as the year wore on that stress began to let go.  "Perri has to gain confidence." over and over I said it.  And after her first year in the agility ring and our first year of taking some much needed classes at the Fenzi Academy, I really feel that I have a far more confident dog.  And she feels like she has a more confident handler!

I had an absolutely wonderful time last year at the Valley Forge Kennel Club's December double rally trial, so when entry sendin' in time came around this year I decided it was time to unclip the leash and go for it.  I knew that I liked it there, I knew Perri liked it there and I knew that I would enjoy mirroring our experience from a year ago, at the next level.

That didn't stop the stupid butterflies in my stomach ringside.  You think you're over that kind of stuff when you've been trialing for over two year but there was something about what we were going to do in the ring that made me feel a little nervous.  We were going to show progress, show our hard year of work, show more confidence...heel off lead and not stress out.  And we did.

Perri's first round was a score of 97.  The first sign was the Halt-Sit-Fast Pace from Sit which isn't the very best thing for Perri.  On a left turn I put my hand up, intending to ask her to tuck her butt into the turn.  I don't know why I did that, it was completely unnecessary, Perri would have done that left turn flawlessly if my hand had been where it belonged.  She sat because she thought I was coming into a halt.  I didn't like our Halt, U-Turn from Halt because I failed to let Perri know where I was going next, and it was awkward.  But I am being too hard on myself because really, we had a great time in the ring, and her heeling was absolutely wonderful by our standards!

The next round was a 96.  It was ridiculously similar to the first course and if I am honest I was a little disappointed by that!  I guess I have reached a new level where I want to be more challenged rather than just surviving our time in the ring.  The one thing that was different about this course, though, was that she would have to Down twice.  Oh, our Downs.  She doesn't like them, and I am struggling to make them valuable and fade my hand cue.  (We cannot proceed to Rally Excellent until this issue is resolved!)
We struggled a lot with the first Down.  She lagged a little bit and then got stuck in a Sit-Stay on the Halt-Sit-Step Right 1 Step-Call Dog to Heel.  Following that she did a pretty nice down and turned it on!  Nice heeling and the judge even said, "Great Finish!"

As far off as April seems, I think that we will save our title leg for the Poodle Specialty.  That's right, Perri and I are going to the Poodle Specialty this year!  Since Perri is actively and confidently working in AKC events now, I think that it would be an awesome experience for us.  The plan for now is to do Rally and Agility.   Novice Obedience....maybe?  I feel like my girl and I have grown tremendously this year and I look forwards to where we are headed for 2015. :)

AKC Rally @ Poodle Obedience Training Club of Greater New York

A month or so ago I was pondering whether or not I should enter the Poodle Obedience Training Club of Great New York's (say that ten times fast!) rally-o trial with Perri.  I really wanted to go.  I really feel that Perri is not ready for Advanced.  So, I entered her in Rally-O Novice B for just the first trial.  That would give me plenty of time around the mass amount of poodles, and their people, and also give us some ring time.  A progress check.

We arrived just as the Excellent Rally course was being set up.  There were only about 3-4 dogs per Rally class, so things went quickly.  Perri was the first Novice dog.  I noticed that, while Perri was concerned about some dogs and people, she would reorient to me really nicely ringside.  She enjoyed doing her pivots and spins and swinging her back end into position.  First sign, we had to do a front and a left finish.  Straight straight straight.  A Figure 8 that I almost lost her on mentally, but I said "What a good girl!" just at the right moment and her head came up and she heeled with me.  I felt so proud of myself to have reconnected with her at just the right moment.  Her 270's were great, her turns were great.  She had to do a Down-walk around and that was just fine, too.  We got a 99/100 and 1st place.  Our lost point went to a tight lead on the Left About Turn, and that is on me and how I was holding the leash.  I wish I had this on video.

Perri has pulled off a nice performance in the ring in the past.  It's hard for me to gauge progress.  Her ringside behavior is what I am very proud of, and where I saw some great behavior.  She crated quietly.  She played tricks with me and worked with me.  She did not shut down.  She did not zone out staring at other dogs.  To get to the ring we had to walk between three large spoos and she just trotted by them, and that was huge for me.  I still won't do Advanced with her.  Novice was the right choice for today.  To build up Perri's ring confidence.  And to build up my ring confidence.

  Since it was a double trial I stayed to watch the Utility B class run a second time.  I have seen, at various trials, many poodles not looking very engaged in their work.  I was hoping to see some happy teams today.  I saw a mixture!  Just like with any other breed.  A very spunky and happy minipoo.  And one white standard with a handicapped handler that was absolutely exploding with joy to do her work.  Go Out?  She ran out and sat with her whole mouth open in a smile, hurtling back over the jumps to front.  Scent articles?  She galloped to them with tail wagging as she searched through them.  It made me smile, it gave me hope.  

I enjoyed talking with the poodle people.  They seemed to enjoy that Perri was my first poodle.  I told them where she came from.  What we have worked through.  Where we (...I?) want to go.  Why on earth I came to a trial 70 miles away and entered a class that my dog already has a title in.  To make my dog feel brave, to make me feel brave.  To learn more about this beautiful, silly, strange breed that I dove headlong into without having a clue in the world.  

"You should be sweating when you come out of the ring with a standard poodle..."

Based on Perri's performance at the December Rally trial that we went to, I had a plan for today's double Rally-O trial.  The plan was to complete our third Rally Novice leg in the first trial and to then debut in Rally Advanced in the second.  But things don't always go according to plan.

I arrived an hour ahead of schedule, set up the crate and warmed Perri up with some chicken bits.  Walked the course.  Fortunately the two dogs directly ahead of us were a large black lab followed by a wildly out of control and unfocused yellow lab.  Perri was concerned.  We headed into the ring and I could tell I was in trouble.  Perri was not connected with me.  She did the first sign okay but after that she hit the end of the leash twice and we lost tight lead points.  She was sniffing majorly in the corner and just standing and staring around.  She came back to me quickly but as I walked and called for her attention I...walked right past the third sign and did not do it.  I almost crashed into her on the 270 degree left because she walked right up to the ring gate and stared at the horrifying cluster of dogs in the crating area.  THEY WERE GOING TO KILL HER.  I down'd her for the walk around and she yawned with a dramatic head shudder, but she held her stay.  Everything else was fairly okay.  I was cringing internally at our score and as I did the Halt-Left Turn-Forward I noticed at last that I had missed a sign.   Way to go, I just NQ'd Rally Novice.

And to continue on our streak of awesomeness Perri and I came back to her crate.  She drank eight gallons of water.  I lifted the blanket that had been covering the crate so that Perri could see the trial and possibly become more acclimated to it.  A dog sniffed her crate when passing by and Perri nailed the mesh door snarling and put a puncture hole in it with her claw.  Twenty minutes later her and the neighboring crated boxer had a similar exchange.  If I wasn't embarrassed about the NQ, devastated that my brave Rally girl was not able to focus on me to save her life...I was shocked and crushed that she was exhibiting crate aggression.

So, we just went out in the snow to blow off some steam.  We were at that trial to have some fun and we were gonna have it, dammit!  I took her squeaky tennis ball and her tug toy out and threw the ball over and over.  Perri loved it!  She was pouncy, digging rapture once we got outside.  Perri has such an ability to cheer me up and make me laugh even when I am sad, and I am not just saying that.  My hands were frozen since I forgot my gloves inside (a move almost as stupid as missing that rally sign.) but I kept throwing the ball because it is addictive to watch Perri pouncing and see her mood lift from her!

We went back inside to thaw out.  I read my book.  Drank some coffee.  I spoke in length with a ring steward who had complimented Perri on our way in to the ring.  We talked a lot about poodles.  I know that poodles are smart, and I have heard more than once that people believe parti colored poodles are smarter than solid colors.  Whether that is true or not, our ring steward poodle friend (RSPF) also believes this to be true.  I told her of some of the troubles I am having with Perri.  The shutting down, the focus disconnect.  I told her I feel very overwhelmed by Perri, that I feel like I am still getting to know her, that I feel like she is an alien dog that is from another planet.  RSPF said that poodles really are a type of alien.  They are different than other breeds.  They really really are.  She said that poodles are one of the dog breeds that actually analyze what they are seeing.  She said Perri may be going through a type of adolescent fear period.  She thinks that the noises above all things are what makes Perri nervous.  She said to give her a few months and I may really begin to see a change in confidence.  She says I need to move quick, keep her attention and keep her mind busy.  I need to work hard.  She says I should be sweating when I come out of that ring.  She also said that I need to learn "ring craft".  All of these things are so very true that it hurts.  This is silly but I literally felt myself choking up with poodle pride, misery at my own short comings and hope for the future.  I feel like I need to close my mind off from my surroundings much more and get more inside of Perri's world, inside of Perri's head.  That may sound stupid, but I believe that it is true.

Before I knew it, it was time for round 2.  I was a mess.  How embarrassing would it be to NQ Rally Novice twice in one day?  Perri was so distracted and that was discouraging for me.  I had gotten her to actually play tug in the breezeway to the trial area and that was a really good thing.  It took a lot of teasing, chiding and work to get her to loosen up and tug with me but once I got her in the mood she was really into it.  Before we went into the ring I tried to totally focus on Perri.  We did little pivots like we have been working on at home.  To my surprise Perri would stare at me and then do the pivots!  Each time she would successfully pivot she was really focused on me and nothing else, and she seemed much more relaxed by that success.  I tried to focus on her and not "wonder what people thing of this strange little game I am playing."  Because I want Perri to focus on me, so I should be totally focused on her.  Right?  Right.  

The course was fine.  I tried to get in that poodle head.  I stepped off fast.  If I felt myself fall into being slow and waiting for Perri I gave a leg slap and called to her to pick it up.  And she did.  I was not sweating coming out of the ring but my hands were shaking.  Which is ridiculous given how much rally I have done.  We lost three points for lagging and got our third RN Leg with a 97/100.  To get in the ribbons we would have needed a 99, since there was one 100 and three 99s!  Perri was in imaginary fifth place though, I did take notice!  

So.  Positives about the NQ.

Our score on the first course was probably 90+ but it wasn't a 97.  

I was nervous to move up to Rally Advanced today, and we did not have to do that.

I really felt comforted and encouraged by RSPF and was very glad to have met her and spoken with her.

So Perri has a lot of improving to do.  And so do I.  Handling a dog is hard.  A lot harder than I realized before I become addicted to all of this.  I would like to become a better handler.  A better, focused person.  A person who can devote herself entirely to her dog in that ring.  I will get there, one day at a time.  Rally Advanced debut is likely in April.  There is a Poodles Only! double Rally trial within driving distance and I think that I would really enjoy that.  We've got work to do as ever!

Confidence Growing...

I think that I have recovered from my obedience funk.  I'm still not sure what the right thing is to do regarding Perri's Open class.  We will see how things go in the next few weeks and then either continue or talk to the instructor about what is right for Perri.

We have a Rally show this Sunday for Perri and I am really looking forwards to it!  She needs one more leg for her Rally Novice title and if she gets that she can move up and we will see how she does in Rally Advanced.  I have never desired to get a RAE title with Ein, but that is a goal that I think would be good for Perri.  AKC Rally is easier in rules and sign requirements than WC Rally in my opinion, but the show environment is far more distracting and stress inducing.  And that is where we fall apart in Obedience. Working towards her RA and RE and, later on, her RAE will give us endless opportunities to work in environments that are hard for Perri to work in, all the while doing shorter heeling lengths and fun behaviors in between - and I can verbally support her with all the praise that I like.  Something to think about...

I have continued Perri's object pick up shaping with much success.  Last night after nearly two weeks I wanted to work with the dumbbell again.  But first we did a little warm up with her braided tug toy that I got for Christmas.  I laid it out the same as I would the dumbbell and rewarded her the same.  Great!  She was wiling to work and work with the dumbbell, but I put it away before she wanted to stop.

We did some other things, like jumping through the hula hoop (this is a great warm up or training break up for Perri if she gets overwhelmed!) and I revisited where we left off with Silvia Trkman's method for teaching heeling.  Well, where we really are is that when I rotate to the left, Perri is to keep moving with me and stay in heel position.  We started this in...May?  June?  Back then, Perri could only do this for literal minutes at a time or less.  It stressed her out and shut her down so much.  When we started on the perch she would enjoy it for a small amount of time and then go away to sniff.  I was frustrated.  We made slow progress off of the perch and onto a piece of paper and then weaned away the paper.  I say "revisit" but I have never really stopped.  It's just that I have continued our "minutes at a time" training sessions on that, since that was all that Perri could handle for months on end.  We do our "spins" and she gets clicks and we keep it happy and short.

But last night I wanted to starting working towards a pivot and some backwards heeling with her.  We need to start doing more than spinning in a circle!  If Perri sits when we are pivoting, that has been it.  If I try to raise criteria and wait for her to think to move back into heel position, she shuts down.   So where am I going with this?  Last night we just worked and worked on it.  And she didn't give up!  She didn't run off and sniff too much but when she did we played with the dumbbell or the hoop and then we moved right back to our work.  Perri always moves her head into her turn when she moves with me so I thought that if she did that in the slightest while sitting I would click it.  That was the key!  After I clicked the first head turn she did it more and more and I have a dog now who is beginning to understand that moving out of a sit and back to my leg will get her treats!   It wasn't even this little break through that was the most exciting.  It was that this was an obvious moment for me where I could clearly see: Perri's confidence is growing.  Yes we were at home.  Yes we were in the little office.  But even a few months ago, Perri absolutely could not do any of this in even the "safest" area of the house without shutting down after a minute or two.

I took a little video towards the end of our training.  It's not perfect and I missed some click opportunities due to being in that "I am working on this thing and only this thing" mentality - I know better than that!  When she swings back to my leg and is too far forward and self corrected, I wish so much that I had clicked that.  What a good girl!  She forgives me.  Always!  I am still a so new to clicker training and I have so much room for improvement.   I am also not yet pivoting, obviously.  More exaggerated movements while she gets the idea of what type of movement I am looking for.

AKC Rally Double Trial @ Valley Forge Kennel Club

Perri had a fantastic debut in AKC Rally!  I hope today was confidence building for her, I feel like it was.  This was a good decision all around.  There were two rings going at once and Perri gave a few glances into that Other Ring at the Scary Dogs (in fact, it was the Advanced group being pinned, with a whole crowd of people and dogs and commotion at the time that we were in the ring.) but refocused on me since I was able to communicate freely with her and support her. (yay, Rally!)

Our first course was with judge Michael Calhoun and he is now my absolute favorite AKC Rally judge to date!  If I had to choose between if I love him or Joan Klinger (WC Rally) more, I couldn't do it - and I really love Joan.  He was funny, kind, welcoming and genuinely wanted everyone to have a good time.  He never stopped having fun, and was happy to give his time to anybody who had questions or any concerns.  (He took the time afterwards to show me my score card when I asked after it and why Perri had lost two points, and teased me in a good hearted way for even worrying about such things!)  And as you see below, he included descriptions of all of the course signs on the back of his map!  Awesome!  (He had a "bald" moment on sign 15 - his words - as you are supposed to Halt and not move forward, but we all had that sorted out before our ring time.)

I groaned a bit at the "Down and Stop".  Perri is eternally not a fan of downs so I did have to crouch with her and signal her to down (allowable in the rules).   But otherwise the course went really well, Perri is such a fun rally-o team mate.  She was very focused on me and I was so proud of her.  She lost a point for sniffing one time and a point for a poor sit (on the last sign, she came into finish and sat slightly behind me, not properly in heel position.)   But that was a 98, her first leg, and a 4th place out of 22 dogs!  I did not go into today hoping for placements when I saw how many dogs were entered, so it was a pleasant surprise!

The next ring was just about starting their walkthrough when we finished and things moved quickly from there.  The next judge gave a terrifying briefing warning us against "air cookies" and the appearance of luring (NQ!) and told us to make sure our fingers were splayed and not touching one another when giving signals.   I never lure my dogs in the ring but I am famous for ridiculous body language and idiotic mistakes, so I was a little nervous.  I took Perri out to go potty and she had just found a perfect spot along the side of the building...squatted...and bopped her head on a pipe and decided not to go.  I could not get her to go before our ringtime!  Oh please oh please don't pee in the ring!    She didn't.   She did, in fact, get a perfect score!  GO PERRI!  She got 2nd place and according to the judge was "nanoseconds" behind the 1st place team.   Not bad, right?? 

So proud of Perri girl and enjoyed playing Rally with her.   You would never know by watching her today that she lacks confidence.  We will get there, one day at a time.

Rally Novice A Throwback

After I finished AKC Rally with Ein (up to his Rally Excellent title.) I made an informal decision that I was really not interested in future AKC Rally endeavors.  I like World Cynosport rally so much more.  I perfer the crowd, the atmosphere, the increased challenge*, the trial venues and their superior ribbons.  I like that they allow tripod or otherwise handicapped dogs to compete, as long as they are safe.  I like that there are no trials that only list "All AKC-Recognized Breeds" as approved dogs to enter. (Yes I am aware this is a decision that the hosting club makes.)  I like the wider range of fun titles that you can work towards.

But.  Here I am.  Perri is entered in two Rally Novice legs tomorrow.  Oops!  If Ein's confidence has soared from trialing in Rally-O, I see no reason why it can't help Perri.  And since she already knows all of the RN exercises and the trial is close with free parking, why not?

This blog did not exist last August when Ein and I hit our first AKC Rally trials, so I thought I would share my course maps and my experiences from Ein's journey to his first title, his Rally Novice.  Ein was my (Rally) Novice A dog.  The first dog that I ever did any dog show of any kind with.   And I had no idea what I was doing.

I entered a show on a Friday and a Sunday at a big farm show complex.  There were rings upon rings of confirmation shows and three little rings squirreled in the corner for Obedience and Rally.   I remember looking at Obedience and thinking, "Those poor people.  They can't even talk to their dogs."
I had to pay to park.  Eight dollars per day.  They made my husband pay ten  more dollars to even enter the show, even though he was carrying a crate!  Crate carrying should get you free entry.  It was ridiculously noisy.  If I had known anything I would never have chosen such a hectic venue for Ein's first show!  If I had known anything, I might have read the premium.  But hey, I was lucky that I even found the premium.  Or that I even knew what a premium was.  (Yes, I had to ask somebody.)

The Rally Excellent class listed that it started at 8am, so of course that was what time I showed up.  I didn't want to miss anything!  What if the walkthrough was at 8am! (it...wasn't.)  I set up my crate and chair, picked up my armband ("so early!" exclaimed the steward.) and spent the next three hours watching, waiting, and training Ein right into the ground.  He might forget something!

Ein was nervous, did some gazing out into the crowd, but pulled off a 94/100, 3rd place and our first Qualifying Score ever.   WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I couldn't believe it!  I remember being so freaking proud of us.   Me and my dog!  A qualifying score!  How innocent I was.

We returned two days later.  This time I only arrived one hour early.  (What if everything finished up super early and I missed everything?!  I had to be there.)  I still felt pity for those poor Obedience people.  I obsessed over our course map.  I trained Ein into the ground again.  Halfway through our course he refused to finish and instead stared panting at an intact male corgi ringside (I finally coaxed him to do it).  I thought we had NQ'd for sure!  We got a 92/100 and our second leg!  Third place again!  WOW!!!!!!!!!

Ein's RN, Leg 2.

Well!  I was walking on sunshine and entered a third trial as soon as possible!  This time I entered an outdoor trial in mid-September, 20 minutes from my house.  Free parking!  

The thing about outdoor trials is that there are Tents Flapping.  There is GRASS.  There are smells blowing around.   The distraction level skyrockets.  Fortunately for me, Ein wasn't terribly affected by anything except for the flappy tent.

This time I watched my friend in Obedience and felt a sort of, "Hm.  I think I'd like to do that someday with some dog.  What a beautiful dance." feeling.

Ein had some nerves, as ever.  Still, he qualified with a 93/100 and another 3rd place.  WOW!!!!!!!!!!!  Einey got his Rally Novice title!  My little red, an AKC-titled dog!  Sadly, we got no title ribbon.  I was devastated.  Our first title ever and the hosting club wasn't giving out title ribbons.   If I had scoured the premium for that information, I would have known.   But! That's how you learn.

Ein's RN, Leg 3

So.  Now here I am taking Perri to Rally Novice.  This time, I know what I'm doing.   I'm a big grown up Novice B handler.  I will still arrive an hour early, but that is so that Perri can get acclimated with the atmosphere.  I always like to arrive an hour early actually.  To get set up, to poke around, to look at my map (be it agility or rally-o.) and to make sure my dogs have pottied.  I don't like to be rushed, because I am neurotic and my stress will surely stress my dogs out.

This double trial is two rings adjacent to each other and I am sort of glad for that.  It will make Perri nervous, but since we will be performing things that Perri has long since become solid with, it should be a good experience for her.  And I am looking forwards to it.

*this is subject to opinion.  I find being penalized for double commands and the exercises themselves to be far more difficult in WC Rally - we had Ein's RE back in the Spring and are still struggling to get his RL3 in WC Rally.  No amount of rewarding after exercises sweetens the deal in Ein's mind.