Dog Park

In preparation for the AKC Rally National Invitational I have upped Phlox's training in regards to focus. He has come a long way since his last trial and I am really enjoying the process.

Today we worked right out side of a dog park. I've made it my goal to try to work around as many dog parks as possible before nationals. It kind of simulates the hustle and bustle of a dog show and we need that.

Here are a couple of short videos. I'm really trying to film myself more often because every time I do I see something that I could be doing better. If you aren't in the habit of videoing your training sessions start!

I couldn't resist a few pictures as well

Like mommy like daughter. Baby with Phlox's dumbbell 

Rally National Competition

Phlox and I qualified for the first ever AKC Rally National Competition. I can't wait to not only compete but to watch the Obedience and Agility competitions as well. 

2013

Train to win. Trial to learn.
My new motto for 2013. I have a nasty habit of shutting down at trials and not seeing them for what they are, a great big learning experience. No more will I get frustrated at trials. I am there to learn.
On the flip side my training is no longer casual. I am training to win.

My goals are less about titles this coming year and more about being prepared.

We will be

1) Psychically prepared 

    My dogs and I should be able to work for extended amounts of time with out becoming tired. Right now   we can only work a total of 10-15 minutes before calling it quits. This also includes getting the dogs back on raw.

2) Mentally prepared

    Knowing the rules and exercises before showing in any current or new venues/sports. 

3) Prepared for anything

    Working in the rain, on grass, in crowds, tight spaces, anything I can think of we will proof for it.

I expect 2013 to be a very exciting and can not wait to get it started. We have many things to look forward to Obedience, Rally, Conformation and agility. There is also the possibility of Weight pull, Tracking, Dock dogs, Carting and IPO. The possibilities are truly endless.

Happy New Year!

UKC

In the beginning I was determined to compete in UKC obedience and not AKC. I wanted my dogs to be APBTs and not those inferior Amstaffs. The way things turned out the UKC just did not have any clubs or events close enough to me.
To be honest I like the AKC a lot and I'm happy that I started in that organization. Also, It turns out those inferior Amstaffs are just APBTs with an uppity name.

Now back to the topic at hand. I just signed up for my very first UKC obedience and Rally trial. Unfortunately Charlie is the only one I was able to register in time. He is signed up for Rally and Obedience on the 23rd.
This will also be my first outdoor obedience trial. It is going to be a great test for Charlie. He has come a long way but I usually do not trust him off leash out side. The recall over the jump will be another challenge. I don't train jumps with him almost ever and because of that they confuse him.
I have my work cut out for me but I think it will be a wonderful experience.


 

New Title and Lessons Learned

This last weekend was long and exhausting but well worth it.

On Friday Violet debuted in Utility. I was bracing myself for the utter humiliation of showing a dog that had not had enough training. I could picture her on the articles just sitting there staring at me too afraid to move or deciding that she didn't know what a go out was.
Despite my fears Violet did a wonderful job. In fact the only thing we didn't qualify on was the first article(Brought back the wrong one). Even then she only hesitated for a second before going to the pile. It wasn't a perfect performance but to my great relief I was in no way humiliated. 
It helped that I kept a genuinely upbeat attitude the entire time.


On Saturday I showed Charlie in Novice. He hadn't been to a dog show since this time last year so I wanted to get there an hour early. A little before 10am I walked in and went to get my number. The steward informed me that I was next. Chuck and I went in cold.
This heel pattern was the result

I could not have been happier. He usually shuts down at shows and his heel falls apart. I think that fact that I didn't have time to warm up and stress him out helped a lot. He did blow the recall when he got to me though. No front sit and he tried to check out the people behind me.


I spent the duration of the stays holding my breath and praying to what ever god would listen. I just knew that after a year off he wouldn't hold it. To ad to my fears there was a small boy throwing a tantrum right out side the ring not even 3 feet from Charlie.
He held both stays and qualified with a 191 1/2. I lack the words to express just how proud of him I am.
He is now

Plake's Sir Charles of Allston CD RN CGC

On Sunday Violet showed in Utility again. It was a much worse run but still not totally humiliating seeing as most of the other Utility A exhibitors where having just as hard a time. The judge loved V though and kept saying "Look how cute she is. Look at that face. She just absolutely loves you!". 

My friend Trish and her dog Grace also earned their RA on Sunday with a first place! Now I'm hoping to get her into regular obedience too ;-)

All through out the weekend I also got to see Phlox's siblings Dot and Dylan and their owners. I enjoyed getting together and talking about our dogs and the breed in general. His siblings are both beautiful and I hope to see more of them in the future. 

Looking back at the weekend gives me renewed hope that Violet is still young enough and enjoying Obedience enough to continue. I made huge improvements on my attitude and have a new commitment to train year round and not just right before a show.

Winner!

I rarely if ever win contests but once in a while my luck changes.

I won a Lapper from http://www.ollydog.com/ in their Friday contest on Facebook.com. I chose the orange squares and think it will look great at trials.

I really like a lot of their products and prints. I particularly like their treat bags. I had one for a while but lost it when I lent it to a client and never got it back. 

Frustrating

I had a frustrating class with Phlox this afternoon. From the outside Phlox looked great but to me he was slow and unfocused, even if he did look up at me the entire time. Every little thing he did bugged me. To me he even played tug wrong today.

I know I shouldn't be so hard on him. I think at times like this I am actually getting frustrated at myself. I can see all the tiny holes in my training, in my ability to train. There in that little black dog all my short comings are set out for every one to see. To judge.

Rather than brush the day off as a failure I decided to really dissect it.
What today showed me is that my training has been slow and unfocused. I have been doing too much of the same thing and not pushing forward, becoming bored with the whole process.

My plan of action
Move on to more advanced exercises- I'm brunt out on heel, stand, stay, come, sit and down.
Train more often- it's hard to make changes and improvements when you only work once a week.
Train in new places- new environments are challenging and stimulating.
Keep the big picture in mind- Everything we are doing is leading up to our final goal.

Phlox will be doing his first match this month and I'm hoping for a very positive reaction to his training. Because I train mostly on my own shows and matches are the only time I get feedback from other exhibitors and judges. If there are any gaping holes in my training they are sure to be pointed out.

AKC NOI

The 2011 AKC National Obedience Invitational was this last weekend.
I have been aware of the event since I started competing in 2009 but I have never really looked into it.

This year I've had NOI fever. If it were televised I would be the nut with a giant foam finger sitting inches from the TV screaming at the screen the entire time, "how could the judge take a point of for that?" or "I can't believe they don't consider THAT legging!" etc. I even went through the catalog to see if I knew any exhibitors, combed through the rules and regulations and looked at pictures and results from past events. I was excited that the AKC would be posting updates and photos from the show.

Well the excitement was pretty short lived. The AKC did a terrible job of keeping us "fans" updated. Very few pictures, and results were posted late Sunday night. There were no gripping updates through out the weekend :(

Updates were not the only thing that were non existent. There were also no bully breeds. Just a flood of Goldens and other "traditional" obedience breeds. Thats what it seemed like any way. In reality there were breeds from all the AKC groups along with the very first all american dog to compete in the NOI. Even the toy dogs got in on the action.
I've been following one of these little dogs on Youtube.com for a while and recently started following their blog. Mr. Rugby did very well and placed 1st in the toy group.

The lack of Amstaffs got the competitor in me all fired up. I've decided to try for the 2013 Invitationals with Violet. I keep trying to think of a reason why I shouldn't and I can't come up with one. Violet and I are about ready to hit the Utility ring and our scores have been steadily increasing. I have learned a lot in the last few years and my handling keeps getting better. Plus it's not that hard to get to the top of the obedience amstaff list. There are just not that many competing at all let a lone at a UD, UDX level.

We may not make it and even if we did I wouldn't expect a miracle. I just think it would be a blast to show up with my 12 year old "pit bull" and do our thing in front of the top competitors in the country.

For the Invitational results and photo's click here. 

Getting Ready for Reliant

The Reliant series of dog shows is coming up at the end of July. This show is special to me because with out it I would have never gotten started in competitive obedience.
This July marks my 3rd year competing. I was hoping to have Violet ready for Utility but we simply have not had enough time to practice. I will however be showing 3 dogs.

Here's the line up
Plakes Sir Charles of Allston(Charlie) - Rally Advance
Violet - Either Open or Rally Advance/Excellent
Badger(Great Pyrenees) - Novice Obedience

There will be a few students there as well as my mother showing her Pug/pit mix in Rally Novice. I'm hoping that all of my students who participate or come to watch will be bitten by the obedience bug.

Here is Badger working on some very distracted heeling a while ago.

Also I got a chance to take a few pictures of Phlox the other day. He is now 6 months old.