Novice Obedience Fun Match

I can't believe our first Rally trial is in 2 days!! gahh! I'm so nervous and excited! The facility - Companion Dog Training Center in Flint, MI - where the Rally trial is going to be held, holds Fun Matches on the last Wednesday of every month. Basically, a Fun Match lets you go through an obedience run -either Novice, Open, or Utility - but its just for practice (i.e. no points/titles awarded). I like them because it gives Red and I exposure to working in the ring - even though its for an obedience trial and not a Rally trial. The main thing was for Red to get used to the building and environment as much as possible before going for the actual trial on Friday. We attended last month's Fun Match as well.

My main concern today was timing - I mean, you need to arrive to a Rally trial at least an hour before you are scheduled to go into the ring. So in the meantime, what do you do with your dog? Some dogs do better in a crate, some in the car, some with their owners, some without warm-up, some need warm-up, etc, etc. So I need to figure out what works best for Red.

I don't have a travel crate yet, and am not sure if I'm going to get one. I have a feeling Red wouldn't do well in it. I know he wouldn't relax in it - if anything, I think it would make him more anxious. There are some people there who don't use crates either. So we'll see as we get further down the line, but at this point, I'm leaning away from a travel crate...

Anyway, we got there an hour early, so I could set it up like a mock trial timing-wise. I left Red in the car, took in my chair and bag, signed up and paid my money (only $5.oo per run), and then went back out to get Red. We went straight to the potty area where he marked like 3 trees, then we went inside to sniff around. It was pretty empty at this point, but it was filling up fast. We did a few warm-up exercises, but he was still pretty wound up, so I took him back outside. We walked around the building and up the street a little ways. Then we went back in to check on our stuff. Did a few more exercises, and tried to get him to play quietly with his tennis ball, but that didn't work too well considering he kept dropping it and it kept getting away from us. So I decided to put him in the car for a little awhile. I felt horrible for leaving him out there, but thought it would be best to try and see how it worked.

On my way back into the building, I met a woman with a 4 year old black Doberman named Maximus. Very handsome, well-mannered boy. We chatted a bit and I mentioned about putting Red in the car for now, and she made a comment about how sometimes they get very anxious and end up doing worse. At this point I'm picturing Red freaking out in the car, so I promptly go back out to get him. I can see him turning circles on the backseat, clearly not sitting patiently. I get him back out and take him back out to the potty area, and then back in, thinking I'll just sit in my chair and he can play with a toy or something next to me. But the place was so full by now that there was barely room for him to move without coming too close to the husky sitting next to us. She got a little nippy one time when Red accidentally put his butt in her face while playing with a toy, so I decided to get back up again and go back outside.

We walked a little ways and found a decently-sized patch of lawn in front of an office building. I took Red off his leash and he was sooo happy! He bounded around and we played fetch with a tennis ball for about 10 minutes. This seemed to make a big difference in his behavior. When we went back in, he was more willing to sit or lay in one place for longer. Or maybe it was because I got out my camera to snap a few photos and he's used to sitting still when the camera is out =) Either way, I think the off-leash run was good for him. I hope I can do this for the trial day as well. I purposely didn't take him for a run today before the match - and haven't been doing it before training class either - because I've heard the dog seems to have more energy and drive, but I'm thinking its something I'm going to have to do for Red before an afternoon match or trial in order to keep myself sane while waiting our turn. I'm pretty certain he will still perform in the ring. I guess this is something else I will have to see as we go.

Anyway, it was time to start group sits/downs. The novice group was so large that we had to go in two groups since 10 dogs are only allowed in the ring at once. Red and I were in the second group which still had about 6 dogs. We were on the far side of the ring, against the fence where other dogs were sitting crated on the other side, so this served as extra distraction. But Red did really well for both the 1 minute sit/stay, and the 3 minute down/stay. His focus was excellent - I was really happy with him. In training class, I was told not to make a huge production for the reward after the sit/stay, considering the exercise goes right into the down/stay and you want to keep your dog generally quiet. So I rewarded and praised quietly after the sit/stay, and Red didn't even move out of the sit position - it was great! Then we did the down/stay, and he rolled onto a hip for the down, which always makes me feel more secure about his down/stay. Again, his focus was good, and I did a big reward after this exercise was finished! These long sit/down/stays used to be a big obstacle for us, and I'm really proud of him.

After that, it was time to start the actual runs. Red and I were #3 in line. We played tug for two runs ahead of us, and he managed to rip his tug toy that he's only had for not even a week! There goes 10 bucks... Also, there was an elderly man sitting next to us that Red wouldn't leave alone! He kept licking his ears and giving him kisses! I couldn't figure out what the hell this was all about, then I wondered if Red thought he was supposed to give kisses to this older gentleman because he's supposed to give kisses to all the older people in the nursing home with white hair! =D

Anyway, then it was our turn to go. I took off my treat pouch since I want him to get used to working without me wearing it. I asked one of the stewards if she would mind videoing our run. She was more than happy to, and even went around the other side of the ring so she could get a better angle of us.

Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXf4dqLivG8

The judge was very nice and offered me suggestions throughout. You'll see she was talking to me after the "stand for exam" portion - she was basically telling me to put the dog in a more secure-looking stand, because Red looked uncomfortable and may be likely to move his feet which would be a deduction. I was under the impression you couldn't touch the dog in the ring, but they said you can touch the dog for this to get them in position. Good feedback, I thought. Her other advice (as you'll see just before the recall portion) was give my dog more signals during heeling and give myself more time on the turns - I was stiff and didn't give him much warning of what I was about to do. Again - very useful feedback. On the recall, I didn't realize I did it, but she said I sort of bowed my head when I said "come!" which is a non-verbal cue and would be a deduction. Something else to be more aware of during training. The recall wasn't the greatest - he didn't come in straight and I had to take a step back to get him lined up. But all in all, she said it was a respectable run and we should do fine for our Rally trial =)

After we left the ring, Red took it upon himself to give himself a jackpot by shoving his nose in the treat pouch that I threw on my chair. I held it for him for a second or two, then gave him his tug back. No less than 3 women came up to me and starting chatting with me and giving me friendly feedback about our run. They complimented us, but also mentioned about working my footwork so the dog can anticipate what I'm about to do. This is an area that I haven't done much practicing in. I'm still having trouble remembering to do everything at once - listen to the judge, arm placement, watch the dog's performance, etc. But I will really have to start putting my footwork into higher priority. I think I will have to practice it and get it mastered before using it when heeling with Red. Because if it's not second-nature, I know I will have a hard time executing it when I am thinking about everything else.

The other piece of advice the ladies had was to remember that the reason we are all here is to have fun with our dogs! Relax and have fun and try not to take it so seriously. This is great advice that I think I should try to remember when I am nervous on the actual trial day!

So anyway, I packed everything up, put Red's flat collar back on him, took him out to the car, then came back for the chair and bag. I gave him the rest of the jackpot once we were back in the car, which is our normal routine. He was so excited or happy because he kept licking my ears for the first 5 minutes of the ride back. Maybe to say he had a fun time? I dunno, but I had a fun time too! =D