The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

We won!

It was not in the Advanced Class!

It was NOT pretty!

The second day of the Tropical Treat Cluster went better than the first but again I had to pull her out of the Advanced class. Half way through, the brain shut off. The frustration of repeating a command while Roxy was looking to see what that Whippet over there was doing proved too much for me. I hate to watch people dragging their dogs around any class and I certainly didn't want to be one of those people you see who's voice escalates with each wrong move by the dog. Back to work we go!!
We won the Novice B class but it was NOT a pretty round. We had one retry and she never really was totally focused on me until the end of the course. She scored an 84 which is a qualifying score but I know she can, and has done better.
I've realized we need a lot more ring time AND it's definitely a handler error in the ring. Outside the ring, and I mean right next to the ring she did everything perfectly. Sam is my witness and even he couldn't believe it. Back to work in class and around town with all sorts of distractions.
Since I always believe in finishing on a positive note, even while blogging, I'll just let you know that we have also started agility training. This is proving to be fun for both of us and also gives us another venue to practice with lots of dogs and people around. I think this will give both of us some more confidence and help us in the long run.

Rally Advanced

YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT??

Yesterday was the start of the Tropical Treat Cluster sponsored by the Caribbean Kennel Club and the Ponce Kennel Club. It's a four day show with conformation, obedience and rally.
I have Roxy entered in Rally classes Advanced A and Novice B. Advanced is the second level of Rally and all stations are performed off leash. I've also entered her in Novice B(for dogs or handlers with previous titles)for some more show experience. If you'll recall, we were having some problems with distractions and the whole show experience being totally overwhelming for her.
Well, yesterday was still quite overwhelming. I ended up pulling her out of the Advanced class only 4 stations into the course. Being off leash wasn't necessarily the problem, it was just that there are so many other very interesting things to see that I was having to ask her to do things like 3 times. Rather than start a bad habit of ignoring me, I decided to retire.
Novice B is on leash. She did an OK job, not brilliant by any means but not awful. I know she was fed up by then since we'd already been at the show for close to 3 hours. I have learned in the past that it's not good to over work her or practice too much and that she doesn't like to hang around. She kind of shuts down.
Today we are back to the show this afternoon and entered in the same classes. I plan on getting there quite late!
On a positive note, I did notice that she was much more relaxed during the show. I might not have had her full attention but she was not nervous or freaking as she was at the first show. Slooooooow progress.
Next week, we'll be back in class and back to work.

Way Too Much Fun!

We've just been having way to much fun lately to sit down at the laptop and write. Last week we celebrated Huey's 4th Birthday in fine style at El Morro.

The dogs had a great romp in the park and really wore themselves out. We've been having beautiful days with clear blue skies and a good stiff breeze. The temps are getting up there but it's still cool enough to run around during the day.
Everyone enjoyed pupcakes and cookies at our house and we opened presents too.


Roxy has been working hard getting ready for her next Rally show in which we will be competing in Advanced. This class is off leash so we're really trying to do a lot of proofing with distractions. She has attention issues still when other dogs are too close to her but she getting a lot better.
With all the nice weather we've been frequenting the beach and yesterday was the perfect day. The beach was empty and the water was calm and clear. Lilly was really wound up but took a break to show off for a moment.

Roxy spent most of her time investigating and retrieving coconuts.

They were all super energetic and really seemed jazzed up by the wind. Check out the ears flying!

Tomorrow, Roxy and Lilly are headed over to Huey's house to spend a few days while the humans jet off to Bocas del Toro, Panama for some sailing and diving. See ya next week and Happy Easter to you all.

Getting Started

Rally, also called RallyO or Rally Obedience is a relatively new sport. It was officially accepted by the AKC and competitions began in January 2005. According to the AKC, it's their stepping stone from the CGC(Canine Good Citizen) to traditional Obedience and Agility.
In Rally classes(competition)the team of dog and handler move continuously and perform the exercises indicated by a sign at each location. After the judges "Forward" command, the team is on its own to complete the entire sequence correctly. Unlimited communication from the handler to the dog is encouraged and not to be penalized. So, you see, there's a difference right there from traditional obedience. You can TALK to your dog. Isn't this something we all do with our dogs? It's the most common way of teaching your dog.

There are 3 levels of of Rally: Novice, Advanced and Excellent. Novice is done on leash and includes 10-15 stations, while Advanced and Excellent are off leash and involve more difficult exercises as well as more stations including a vertical and/or broad jump.
You can read more about Rally, including regulations and search for shows here:Getting started in AKC Rally
The reason I'm talking to you about Rally is because I'm just getting started and thought it would be fun to let you all see, firsthand, how my preparations are going. Could be more of a laugh but we're having fun.
At a friend of mines insistence(you're gonna pay S.)I've entered my first Rally trial to be held next week. I've been keeping a log for the past 3 weeks of what I've worked on every day and how Roxy(my 2 yr old Great Dane)is progressing. Since we've had no formal training in Rally and only basic obedience, I've been doing a LOT of reading, internet searching and forum chatting with Rally people to get myself informed and hopefully, adequately prepared.

Last night we attended a fun match put on by a local club. Now, for Mr. No Dog Experience Spectator, you would have seen my round as a disaster. But for me and Roxy it was a great learning experience. She has a big strike against her in that she is not at all used to being around lots of people and dogs, so EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING, was very new and exciting. She did very well warming up outside the ring but decided that once in the ring it was much more interesting elsewhere and was very unfocused on me. No problem, the judge knew we were inexperienced and was very nice. This was an obedience class, not rally, but I talked Roxy through it anyway. It's only practice, right?! On a high note, I ran in to a trainer friend of mine who offered to let me do a run through of a real Rally class on Monday night. YIPPEE!

So that's what's happening on my little island. I'll be keeping you updated weekly on our progress. Until then, Train, don't complain.