Spring 2011 Puyallup Cluster 

It was a productive time at the 2011 Puyallup Spring Cluster for students of Family Dog. The following are transcripts from just some of our students who attended.

Hi Family Dog Friends, We did it. Maddie did a wonderful job on her classes today at the Puyallup show in Beg Novice Obedience and Novice Rally. This was our second show and we qualified in both classes. Woooo Hooooo. So now she has 2 legs in Beg Novice and 2 legs in Novice Rally. I showed last weekend at Sequim which was an outdoor show. It was alittle harder for us both. She had a little bit of trouble keeping the nose off the ground while practicing outside of the ring, both the night before and the day of the competition. But she tried hard bless her heart. I played with her before we competed and I think, she didnt need it....she seemed alittle sluggish up there. She got a 78 in Rally (I goofed two stations- so I lost her 20 pts- I'M BAD.) and a 187 in Beginner Novice Obedience.

Today at Puyallup, She about pulled my arm out of the socket trying to get her into the building. I just kept taking her outside and let her look around, and did some practicing. Each time I took her out, I got a little more dog and a lot less pull. So I took her in her Rally class and she still wasn’t as attentive as I would have liked, but she didn’t seem to lag as much as last week. She did drop her nose to the ground at one point, but came back to me. It cost us a point, We lost most on the tight leash......(Good thing this judge didn’t see us coming in to the building this morning) We got 91 points and I didn’t screw up. Whooo hoooo :) Very happy with that.

We went into our Beginner Novice class. It finally dawned on me to REALLY "LOOK" at the stewards on the figure 8 (thank you Ingridia, Maggie and Janine last wed and of course Kathy for all the class time you have tried to get me to do it). I was happy with her figure 8, but still know that it could be a bit better. She did good on her sit for greeting and her stay in the middle of the ring. Her recall was good and straight sit, but she was (or maybe it was me) a hare off to the right by an inch or so. Still I was happy, because lately she has been turning sideways on her sits. Her heeling was good, but could be even better. We still need the attention, but it will come. We got called back to do a work off for 4th place......and I had no idea that I was one of the dogs that had to do it. I just happened to get my dog seconds before and was standing around. So when the judge called my number back into the ring for a heel off.....I was shocked and went into the ring with no warm up. Maddie started out slowly and tired, but gain momentum as we did the pattern. She did pretty good, considering we were just thrown in there. We got 4thplace out of 18 dogs....and some pretty darn good dogs. We got 196pts. WoooHooo.

I had a wonderful experience at this show and can’t wait to find another show to get Maddie into. I do think that indoor shows will be easier for her, but we will still continue to work on our outdoor shows to get us consistent. Thank you to everyone who helped with all of my questions, taping, and keeping an eye on us. I really appreciate the feedback that you shared with me. I am proud to say that I train with such a great bunch of folks.

Thanks Patti and Maddie

What a huge group of FDTC students! Congratulations to everyone who showed. Everybody had great achievements! I asked a lot of you for the three things that went really well...make sure you write these into your training log. Take pride in all the pieces that flowed really well, the steps that were smooooooth, the broad jumps that were leaped, the loose leashes in the ring, the dogs that re-focused after a distraction, the relaxed sit-stays, the well-executed rally stations, the dog heads held high during heeling, the perfect fronts.

The Family Dog students had a great camp set up in the back part of the room where one of the further-away vents was blowing cold, refreshing air. That kept our area cooler than the rest of the room. But for tomorrow, since there were several electrical outlets along the walls, you might want to bring a little fan. We all introduced ourselves and crated side-by-side and clapped and cheered for everybody's time in the ring, especially for the five Rally Novice A ladies who now have a great first experience to focus on! Our camp was awash in blue, red, yellow, white and green ribbons!

Boddington was entered in Open A for the first time and qualified with a 3rd place ribbon. His drop was instantaneous, and the front was perfect. The jump over the broad jump was a nice arc with a perfect front. He rewarded himself by shredding a dog toy from my training bag. He also earned his Beginner Novice title with a first place score of 198.5. He rewarded himself by convincing David to play tug with him using a different toy that he found in my training bag.

Caffrey earned his Beginner Novice title also today. He entered the ring with alert attention, halted quickly and straight, and sat attentively while I walked around the ring. Caffrey helped walk Tasheena and Snowy out to their car in the parking lot while I pulled my cart with Tasheena's and my heavy training bags!

Thank you to the supporting team of fellow students (past and current!) and FDTC office manager, and parents and grandparents and kids who came to cheer us on! There are SO many other brags about today! I hope to read one from each of you.

Get a great night's rest everyone. See most of you again tomorrow.
irar

Cranberry qualified in both Graduate Novice and Open A today!! I'm almost embarrassed to say her healing barely qualified, especially in Open. However her drops, retrieves, jumping and stays were great! Cranberry's score in Grad Novice was 186.5 (I think) and she placed first!! Boy! Was I surprised!! There was only two pups who qualified. In Open, her score was 178. She lost 15 points on the heeling and Figure 8. What am I going to do about that..........????

Janine Prindle and Cranberry CGC CD RN RA RE (Yellow Lab Guide Dog) and Corey (Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever)

 The Puyallup Show marked the first time Christine and Bruno set foot on any dog show grounds - fun matches included. Overall I was quite pleased with Bruno and myself. On Saturday we arrived early in order to get Bruno acclimated to the grounds. He was a bit overwhelmed by the sounds and smells but we found our crate (Thanks to Tasheena and Ingrida for getting the crates set up) and Bruno settled right in. The Rally Novice A course on Saturday was very doable once we got past the dreaded 360 to the left - Bruno does not like to turn to the left tightly without food. Overall I was pleased with our performance on Saturday and the 86 we received. We would've received an 89 if I hadn't completely spaced on the Finish sign and exited on the wrong side - minus 3! ugh! oh well. First time show error I suppose.

Sunday it was much more quiet in the Rally area but surprisingly a bit more distracting. Bruno arrived at the show grounds like an old pro. Much better attention and less interest in all the superfluous stuff going on. Again, we found our crate and Bruno settled in. This time to prepare Bruno I warmed him up with food (I did not use any food on Saturday) and practiced our left turns as Sunday's course had a left spiral around the cones dog inside, a 270 left and a 360 left. I wanted to make sure we were well prepared for those lefts. I made sure I had a better game plan for the course today and subsequently walked away with a 97 and a 2nd place!! I was thrilled. Bruno earned his jackpot and his canned food with dinner treat!! It must've been the Rottie socks I bought the day before and wore (or maybe I just learned from my mistakes!).

Overall I was very pleased with our first show and how Bruno handled himself. I'm looking forward to the next show!!

Caffrey the PBGV and Boddington the PON had a great day today, as did all of the FDTC students! I hope everyone else share's their three things that went well with this list!

Caffrey was entered in the Beginners Novice B class, and although he earned his title yesterday, I showed him to work on the things that are his general weaknesses. Today's performance earned him a 3rd place ribbon. The three things that went well for Caffrey: His ring entrance was sharp, business-like, body language told me he was ready to go! He looked confident. His on-leash heeling pattern was beautiful! We were "in the moment" together for the entire pattern. Especially transitioning into and out of the slow. I sensed the "J" of the vertical clasp of the loose leash under his fuzzy chin. At the end of the pattern when we halted and judge said Exercise Finished, I lowered my chin before releasing him and there we was, alertly looking up at me with a snappy, keen, lively attitude! I said "Good job, Caffrey!", and judge John Cox said "I agree!". Caffrey's about turn was precise, smooth and brisk. Nary a lag. His feet were pedaling to say "in the moment" with me.

Boddington also showed in the Beginners Novice B class. He also earned his title yesterday, but we showed anyway to give ourselves more ring time to practice heeling. We ended up in first place with a score of 199! The three things that went well: I also felt Bodd and I were "in the moment" together during the heeling pattern and figure 8, almost like gliding or waltzing together. Our turns were in unison. Especially on the two left turns.

On the figure 8 I made sure my head turned in synch with my shoulders. It's helping me to visual my nose staying in line with the front zipper of my vest. This helps ensure my shoulders are turning properly while I look at the posts.

Boddington - Open A Earned his second Open A leg after a run-off with fellow student Yumi! This earned him 2nd place. The Family Dog students in the class took 2nd, 3rd and 4th place in this class! (Ingrida 2nd place, Yumi 3rd place, Janine 4th place!) Boddington's heeling felt good. His Fast was in a very straight line. His Drop was very prompt.

His out-of-sight 3-minute sit-stay was solid even though the dogs on either side of him laid down. Have a great training week, everyone!
irar

First, congratulations to all of the FDTC competitors who turned out for the show and a REALLY BIG THANK YOU to Ingrida, Tashina, and the other FDTC staff and friends who were there all weekend to support the rest of us as we continued on our respective journeys.

First, a follow-up to our Karco Park experiences - actually one of today's highlights. After we were done, another competitor came up to me and asked if we hadn't also been at Karco for the GSD Specialty. When I said "yes', she said, "I thought so. Did you know that you took High In Trial (for GSD's)?" That blew me away. I thanked her for putting a smile on my day! When we got home I logged in to check show results and sure enough. Our 192 was high score for GSD's in the regular events. COOL!

But Puyallup was another matter. It end up being a learning experience for me and Gitte.

Lesson one: Any day spent with your dog and human friends is a good day.

Lesson two: Just chill out, it'll be OK!! It became a challenge managing the entry of two events in different rings - we ended up needing to be in two places at once no matter how we tried to avoid it. The judges and ring stewards were very accommodating though, holding our Novice group stays while we finished in the Beginning Novice ring.

Lesson three: Logistics. We got to the site about Noon but ended up not getting into the ring until after 3 PM. Gitte, nor her handler, do well waiting around for so long. Before we compete again, Gitte will have a new soft sided crate - 3 C's was out of the one we wanted - and we'll have our own comfortable chairs. We needed to spend more time resting away from the ring and less time milling about. Dad, especially, needed to bring a good lunch/snacks to ward off the stress and migraine that developed.

Results: In Novice A, I lost Gitte during the off-leash heal to some strong distraction in the back part of the ring. I had seen other dogs having trouble in the same area. Must have been come strong scent back there. I had to give a second command but even at that, she ended up on the wrong side of me for too long. The positive part was that she did finally recover and we finished the pattern as a team. I just kept thinking to myself, "Just concentrate on your footwork and do the exercise." After we were done, the judge was very kind and told me that while she couldn't qualify the off-leash heel, I had done the right thing by not stopping for Gitte and just continuing the exercise as normal, giving Gitte the chance to eventually recover - even though we didn't Q. She reminded me not to forget to come back for the group stays. The group stays were rock solid in spite of the dog between Gitte and Snowy fussing and fidgeting to the point that the judge ended up having the steward pull it from line during the down stay and NQ'ing it. Gitte and Snowy did GREAT in spite of the distraction of the steward approaching with a lead and removing the dog.

The good parts were that sits have improved from where we were at Karco Park - still room to improve further but getting better. We had one crooked sit during the first halt of the figure 8 but her final sit was fairly straight. Stand for exam was great - once I got her stood. The Novice recall was very good with a almost straight sit on the finish - a big improvement.

At the end, as we were leaving the ring from group stays, the judge told me, "Your dog has a lot of potential, don't give up." That was nice and I thanked her again.

In Beginning Novice A it was Dad that provided the entertainment. We'd already had our NQ in Novice but I knew that they were waiting on me for group stays and, by now, my headache was really killing me. I had a lot of trouble with attention and placement between exercises - that further annoyed me and I probably wasn't dealing with it as well as I could have. We made it through to the Sit Stay. John Cox, our judge, said "When you leave the dog turn left." I was a bit confused. What he really meant was "When you leave the dog, proceed straight to ring barrier and turn left". Because of being distracted with the goings on in the other ring I hadn't paid close enough attention to watching the competitors before me - BIG lesson learned. I told Gitte to "stay" and left her, didn't go out all the way to the ring barrier and THEN TURNED RIGHT, proceeding to walk the pattern backwards!! I'm sure that Gitte was watching and thinking - "IDIOT - your other left!" Gitte did her part and when John called "exercise finished", he cocked his head and asked, didn't I mention "turn left?" -- DUH, NQ! I told Gitte, "That one is on Dad." John and I shared a chuckle and he said "We've all been there." On the recall, Gitte held her sit, was paying full attention, looking right me - piece of cake, right? Wrong! "Gitte, COME!" NOTHING. She just sat there. I waited a few seconds and ended up having to give a second command. She came but instead of coming and sitting in front of me, she decided that the black GSD just outside the gate and behind me was more interesting than I was. John called "exercise finished" and we were, mercifully, done. He and I shared another chuckle. His parting comment was, "Well, your dog did better than you today." Ouch! But true I'm afraid.

One general thing to work on from both events was that we had a lot of trouble with maintaining focus between exercises and getting her into proper position of the next exercise.

Lots of valuable lessons learned and on to Mount Vernon July 3.

See you all in class. Larry Paise

Hi All! First, a HUGE thank you to Tasheena who watched the specialty rally competitions with me on Friday afternoon and said "see? Doesn't that make you feel better?" after a couple of dogs just decided that they either no longer knew how to sit, or just weren't interested in doing anything at all. It was also very inspiring to see Tasheena and Snowy's very confident Novice Obedience run on Friday- great precision teamwork, even without the sits! I also appreciated the many reminders on Saturday to breathe!

Second, another HUGE thank you to everyone from FDTC who came and just chatted, hung out, shared their prior competition experiences, and just generally provided a terrific, supportive environment at the show!

And last, but definitely not least, thank you Kathy for the magic drop command, and for the advice to trust my dog. He heard you, even I didn't!

We arrived just a little after ten- about four hours early for our run, as it turned out. But Merlin didn't seem bothered by all the hustle and bustle. We put out a blanket between our chairs and he settled down for a nap. I picked up the course map early and saw two 360's and two come fronts. Merlin has been losing his come front skills lately, and I know from the tickers and fun matches that he lags on the 360s without food to draw him along. So, about once an hour, we got up and did a little bit of heeling, some 360s and 270s, come fronts and drops with LOTS more food than he's used to getting. He was very alert and attentive, which was a great sign! We also took a little walk through the confirmation building during the lunch hour, which probably helped my nerves more than his.

I appreciated the judge's pre-competition briefing and the stern reminder about tight leashes. I use a shorter leash to begin with because I just get it all tangled up anyway, but after the judge told us that he wanted to see a loop in the leash, I let it out more than usual, which I think ended up reducing the number of tight leash deductions I would have otherwise received.

I took Kathy's advice and stuffed Merlin full of food right up to the moment we entered the ring. I figured, at the very least, my hands would have a stronger treat smell that way! [?] I don't honestly remember much of the run itself-- I do know that Merlin was a lagging a little on the first 360 and decided to take a good look out into the crowd at the first turn. On the first come front, he looked like he was just going to skip the sit and go right on around me, but he came back toward the middle and did his trademark wonky sit. Merlin did nail his drop (stop and down), and his second come front was beautiful, especially since the finish left that followed it was done in very tight quarters between the sign and a row of cones. Merlin was jubilant when we hit the "fast" sign, but settled down for the "normal," and he earned a score of 91 plus all the treats he could eat! We had three tight leash deductions, two deductions for wonky sits, and four deductions for the dog being out of position. I am so, so proud of my little guy! He's come such a long way since we adopted him last March, and so much of that is the result of the training and advice we've received from everyone at FDTC! Thank you!!!!!

My husband filmed the Novice A award ceremony, which can be viewed here: Video
And if anyone would like to see Merlin doing his thing, his rally run can be viewed here: Merlin

See you in class! ~Nellis & Merlin

Darby completed his AKC Companion Dog title at Puyallup on Saturday, but our Graduate Novice title will have to wait for another show.

Graduate Novice title will have to wait for another show. Three things that went well in Novice or Grad Novice

1. Stand For Exam

2. Long Sits & Downs (Novice) + Long Down (Grad Novice) - even though the dog next to us got up & followed its owner as we walked across the ring

3. Drop on Recall

Three things that we need to improve

1. Phasing out the praise during heeling

2. Phasing out the food until the end of the session

3. Getting Darby more jazzed up just before we go in the ring

 It was great to visit with so many Family Dog students at the show.

Gayle

I know this isn't obedience but Patrick my bearded collie who takes home obedience and rally classes. We took BOB both days and a group 4 on Sunday!!

So proud of him:
Owned by Julie Froning Bred by Debra Thomas DVM PATRICK CH.Pentangles Forever and Back Pt

Condition: The overall environment was not just noisy -- to some extent “wacky” was the description. There were a couple of dogs with really nasty barking around Rally and Obedience rings. (as most exhibitors noticed there, these dogs barked as in “ I get you” type aggressive mode with growling.)

Topper certainly did not appreciate it when the barky dog was just 1 crate away from us. I was watching and rally stewards were also noticing: since they asked, I pointed which crate was the source; but, I think they did not take further action. Finally, I decided to move my dogs away from this dog to keep some peace.

Then, Ingrida came by and talked to the owner – I was listening how she nicely talked to the owner. Since the owner did not have anything to cover the crate, I offered my large cover so that her dog could have better chance of ignoring people and dogs walking by. (dogs barking was really affecting all other dogs, not just Topper)

Topper: Rally Exc B – He was showing uneasiness from the barking from early AM. When we were in the ring, the sharp barking happened. Also, there was a unique coincidence that the judge walked right behind dogs and the dog’s barking bounced all over as if it came out from the judge’s direction. (I could feel that way too)

Topper temporary forgot me and went toward the gate like he just wanted to go in crate.  I had to call him as in talking like “Topper, come” “let’s go”  -- he recovered his sense and we completed the course- qualified.   Advanced B: by this time, the barky dog got settled a bit since we offered the cover. Topper could shake off some of the stress by Adv. class and worked better as a team. We got both Q’d and got another RAE leg – 6th leg to RAE;)  This ring was hard situation for him.

Colby: Grad. Open –tried it again.  He had serious lagging problem. Funny thing is that, he was heeling nicely outside.  In the ring, he refused/stopped heeling at Signal exercise (did not continue at all) that our routine ended there and obviously NQ.  Directed Retrieving – he marked well and took the glove. But, he stopped coming back to me. (maybe he felt bad after stopped heeling at previous exercise)   Moving Stand: this is my confusion since we did not complete Signal Exercise. I forgot that this was moving stand that I was supposed to leave the dog and keep continuing. (I did not do my part)   Recovering from these went wrong so far, cheering Colby up, “Go Out” went nicely as we practiced previous day. (-1 pts).   Directed Jumping (Bar) – he hesitated a bit but jumped well.   I still don’t get why he “stopped” heeling in the ring ….

Open A: some thinking and trusting what we practiced (knowing that Colby is lagging like a hell), I went in the ring at least with more determined mind.

He lagged and lagged at heeling middle part – maybe, second revolution on Figure8 was an OK level as I saw his nose more.  Other parts went well that he had only -3.5 pts total deductions after heeling parts.  We got 183.5: 3rd place after a run-off with Ingrida & Caffery: they won with a great heeling ;)  – for us, the 2nd leg for Open A.  

** All FDTC students qualified in Open A on Sunday -- lined up at award ceremony. It was a nice view if Kathy could see us there :-)

It was nice to see FDTC buddies at both Sequim and Puyallup.  I have some elements to work on both Colby and Topper. Yet, I’m happy that both boys went thru two weeks trialing and had some good moments. A special note here is that, this past week was Topper’s 5th birthday. So, Colby and Topper must be happy that we are all here together and even did a couple of Pair events!!

That’s all for me from this past two weeks –I feel I can get some rest now and think about next practice/fun menus for the boys. Whew :-)

Yumi, Colby and Topper

Hi All, Flint and I stepped into the obedience ring after a 4 1/2 year absence while doing agility. I was discouraged with his Rally Novice performence in Eugene 4 1/2 years ago. Even if I had been covered in the finest pate I could not get his nose off the ground. He did get his title however the performence was not our best. So we focused on agility at which he has done fairly well. After Kathy's encouragement to enter Beginner Novice at Puyallup we did. We did good! (Note to self get a video camera).

Saturday:

 I tried to remember all the things we are taught in class. Especially "TRUST YOUR DOG"!!!!!! I can't stress this enough. It works. I also walked into the ring believing I OWNED IT. I've learned with Flint you always have to be 50 steps ahead of his thinking. He has a dominant Terrier personality at times. I made it my territory before he mades it his. ( And no I didn't mark in the ring) I put my Pack Leader Suit of Armor on. We have also been on a strict diet of NO FREE LUNCH. He also has to get permission to jump on the bed and be with us in the evening. We started all this about 3-4 weeks ago. We entered the ring. Flint in heel position, off we went. I feel he was with me all the way. His figure 8 was great I'm told. He did the dreaded sit for exam. And he did it well. He also did the leave your dog walk around the ring. He had a crooked sit in front on the recall. We came out of the ring with a 196!!! WOW!! Patty and Maddie also had a 196. Hence a Run Off. Flint and I were at the end so I still had my dog. Patty had to get Maddie. She was shocked, I wasn't. They looked great and WON the run off for 4th place. CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday :

We did not qualify. ALAS HANDLER ERROR struck. Flint was working very well heeling beautifully. Thanks for watching Ingrida. Then on the leave your dog and walk around I did not hear the judge say leave? forward? I said OK. He said yes. I confirmed with another OK. Flint heard OK and followed me. I should have paused Said GOOD if anything. And proceded or kept my mouth shut.

Will check with Kathy in class. Thanks to all who helped with the sit for exam over the last 2-3 weeks. LOTS of Thanks!!! Thanks for all the support from all there. FDTC family you are the best. And of course to our fearless instructor many thanks. Whether you know it or not you were there in spirit. I'm sure I heard you on the figure eight say LOOK AT THE POST!!

Maggie and Flint

Loki and I entered our first Rally Advanced runs not knowing what would happen but hoping for the best, especially since the January cluster was good for us. Saturday, we got there early, like we normally do, so we could settle in and calm the nerves and wake up some. Was hoping for a good cup o joe, but darn the coffee shop was closed!! Once we got the course map and saw it wasn't going to be too bad, except for the jump and figure 8, we practiced the other moves upstairs and outside, and Loki was doing well....until we entered the ring and I lost his attention. He did stay with me and he did the jump, except he knocked the bar off but Good thing #1....he did the jump!!! Then Good thing #2 was he ignored the treats in the bowls. I think we would have qualified except for the jump bar deciding it wanted to come with us! Needless to say we NQ'd. Our first off-leash attempt was over and I didn't feel too bad as Good thing #3...I took the leap outside my comfort zone and ventured into the unknown. Sunday was another day and hopefully could only improve. Even tho it felt better and I seemed to have Loki's attention and our practicing was like the Loki I knew, it again went south once we entered the ring. From the get-go I lost 3 points as I guess I pulled up on the leash getting him into the starting sit which I didn't even know I did :( On Sunday there seemed to be a lot of good smells in the ring so this time around Loki refused the jump twice, better to smell it then jump it he thought! and the toy they had in the figure 8 smelled super good, altho he didn't grab it...think the prior Irish Wolfhounds who did steal it left too much slim on it for him to ignore!! He did stay with me for the most part and our left turns weren't as pretty as I know he can do but we finished without being excused...another NQ from the jump, oh well. In all I did feel good for taking that first plunge and even tho it didn't turn out quite like I was hoping we finished and we survived and all in all didn't feel too bad even tho it was disappointing. It's back to Novice B for us, not as failures but to work out the kinks and make our team really a team like I know we can be. Besides....this way if I'm able to, I can do an outside one on leash to see how he'll do!!! Onward and upward and better luck for us next time!

Shelley and Loki

Colt and I started going to fun matches outside of FDTC this year doing Obedience and Rally and did fairly well for our level of experience (which is to say, none for either of us). A few months ago Kathy suggested that we try Rally Novice A for real at Puyallup, so I signed us up.

We arrived at Puyallup at 10am, after 45 minutes of Chuckit in the backyard at home to burn off some youthful energy. Colt went in the crate to wait. Rally Novice A and B was after lunch, so Colt and I took a walk at lunch. Colt was very jumpy in the Obedience building and I was not totally sure why, although I know he did not like the slippery floor and the noise/intensity level. After the walkthrough from a very friendly and reassuring judge I got Colt out to prepare, as we were #8, and all he wanted was to go back to the crate and not be out on the floor, even for treats. When it was our turn we got in the ring hurriedly but Colt calmed down when he felt the mats under his feet. We started ok, with moderate attention until the signs along the ring side where people were sitting. Colt gawked at the people between signs, but I was able to get his attention back fairly quickly for each sign and Colt even caught the normal after the fast at the end. We left the ring feeling pretty good and the scores posted – 84!! Our first leg ever! Whooo hooo.

Sunday same morning preparation. We had a harder course and a stricter judge according to other FDTC students. The pre-ring time was better for Colt, as he actually paid attention for food. We got in the ring and was away. 1st was the inside spiral – hard for us as Colt tends to forge. We did that pretty well and the Moving Drop was great! I was encouraged until we got to sign 8. Colt froze, staring outside the ring away from me. I tried everything allowed, voice, hands – to get him back but no dog. I finally gave up on that sign and we went on. I had moderate to low attention for the rest of the course and we left the ring to a NQ (63 points). Outside the ring I had several people tell me that a lady with a black standard poodle was outside the ring playing with her dog with a toy when Colt froze, staring at them. Colt loves to play and loves poodles for some reason. Oh well.

Good things about the weekend (thanks Ingrida for reminding me to remember them)

1) On Saturday, I was able to get Colt’s attention back every time it wandered for each station’s performance

2) I did not miss or misread any signs

3) I kept my cool on Sunday when I had no dog, and finished the course the best we could despite the issues

4) I had fun both days, despite everything on Sunday.

Thanks to all the FDTC students and instructors that were there to talk to, get advice from and to commiserate about various difficulties. It was good to hear other’s experiences with odd/strange things happening during a run, and you just say Oh Well, learn and go on.

Cheryl & Colt