Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Upcoming Novice Obedience Trial

Wyatt and I will be competing Sunday in AKC Novice A obedience. We have not competed in about a year. We have one leg (you need 3 to get the Companion Dog title). I took some time off since he was going down on the long sit and I wanted to fix that and also practice a lot more to improve everything.

Here is some of the dialogue going on in my head.

"I hope we get another leg. We could have our CD by the National."

"Expect nothing. You never know what could happen. They are dogs after all."

"Yes, but you have been practicing and proofing for over a year. You and he should do very well. What kind of score could we get?"

"Just do your best as a trainer. The rest if up to the dog. Don't worry about the results. It could take a while to get the CD. What if he has trouble with stand for exam? He can be skittish."

Why hire lawyers when you have at least 2 good one in your head?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I symapthize as obedience is the most difficult event for me mentally. I tend to psych myself out of it. Patty Ruzzo once told me that when people ask her how she did after the dog didn't qualify she tells them "He's a good dog". She said that regardless of what happened in the ring it's always true and people don't tend to press on to ask further, they all seem to accept the "Good dog" reply. This has helped me to put things in perspective a bit and also helps me to breathe easier before I head into the ring. Good luck this weekend, where is the trial?

Lisa

Pangaea said...

Best of luck to you!! Breathe deep and forget about the Q's. Instead, focus on the wonderful partnership you have with your dog. (Now will someone please tell me that when I go back into obedience again?)

Anonymous said...

First of all good luck!

It's a very true statement that you never know what could happen. I showed my 3 year old whippet, Nate in Feb. I waited so long because he tends to get the zoomies and has a lot more fun than he is entitled to. We managed to come home with two Novice Obedience legs and two Rally Advanced legs! We... I mean Nate, placed second in OB both days and first in Rally both days.
-- Alice

John Heffernan said...

I like that Patti Ruzzo comment. We will be competing again this weekend in East Freetown, MA.

I did not feel too nervous this weekend except during the groups when I knew we had a good score/Q going and that group sits can be a problem.

Nice job with Nate, Alice. Good to love seeing whippets placing in obedience and rally!