The first day was terrible! The three big mistakes...
1) He was sent for glove number two, but didn't turn with me all the way and took glove number one instead. Luck was on our side however since the judge said the gloves were put out too close and let us do them over again. The second time he got the right glove.
2) On the moving stand, he stood on the Judges command. I think I played if off pretty good and the judge scored us as if we did the exercise correctly.
3) On the directed jumping, he gave me SUPER go-outs, and the first jump he did perfectly over the bar. Then again... another great go-out and another perfect bar jump. :-p Who needs the high jump anyways, right?!
Saturday's Utility score breakdown :
Signals: 1
Scent: 1
Directed Retrieve: 1/2
Moving Stand: 1/2
Directed Jumping: NQ
What a BUMMER! At least we still had Open, to redeem ourselves. He got a 196.5 in Open, and was High In Trial!!!
Saturday's Open score breakdown -
Heel Free and Figure 8: 1
DOR: 1
ROF: 1/2
Broad Jump: 1
After the show, we set our jumps out behind the hotel in the mud and sopping wet grass and practiced directed jumping. We got some advice to slow down our signals so we changed that during the practice.
Rugby was exhausted after the show and slept straight through till 7 pm, when he decided it was time for me to feed him.
TODAY was much better. The only big mistake in Utility was my stumbling on the moving stand exercise. I forgot for a second what I was doing and almost did a stand like in the signal exercise (where you stand beside them before leaving). Other than my mistake, it was great!
Sunday's Utility score breakdown:
Scent: 1/2
Moving Stand: 1
Sunday's Open score breakdown:
Broad Jump: 1/2
Heel Free & Figure 8: 1/2
I am so proud of my little dog! Rugby got a 198.5 in Utility and a 199 in Open. He was both High in Trial and High Combined!!! This is the Utility Run from this morning, Rugby's FIRST Utility leg!
I will take pictures of Rugby with his ribbons and trophies sometime this week. On to the next show!!
Woo hoo! Congrats on your 1st UD leg! Ruby looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteGooooooo Rugby and Sam!!!
ReplyDeleteSo proud of you guys!! Cabot says you've set the bar very high for him.
Gooooooo Rugby and Sam!!!
ReplyDeleteSo proud of you guys!! Cabot says you've set the bar very high for him.
WOW!!! Just WOW!!! You guys are such an inspiration. HUGE congrats!!!!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that one could do bumper legs (is that the right term?). Good to know going forward. I am training my client's dog, Magoo, for Open right now. We aren't ready yet, but good to know we can do some practice on the previous level, which comes after the main event, I know.
ReplyDeleteSo much fun reading about your team's adventures.
Well done Rugby!!! What an amazing achievement! I absolutely love the way you get super excited when it's over. You are such a cute dog!
ReplyDeleteVery cool!! Such nice scores!!
ReplyDeleteI do have a question for you. Why are you continuing to trial in Open? Are you doing it stay primed for UDX legs? Just curious!
Thanks!! I am thrilled with Rugby!
ReplyDeleteRobin - yes bumper legs are allowed, but the rules are a little different for Novice. I *think* you can continue to show n Novice B and Open A until you earn a CDX leg, then you can only do Open.
Another thought, if you are looking for ring experience is to enter Rally and Open, instead of Novice and Open. Then it doesn't matter if you have one, or two, or three legs!
Lindsay - Yup! Looking forward to that UDX title! Showing in both classes is mentally draining for him. I would rather him get used to it now, when Open doesn't really count than when I am looking for UDX legs.
Love your green hat! I saw my first Utility competition at the Purina National last weekend. Rugby is much faster getting the dumb bell than the dogs I saw! Congratulations
ReplyDeletewoooo hoooooooooo! Congrats on his first utility leg! That's awesome. I'm gonna go watch your video now. :)
ReplyDeleteI like your heel command. I've been wondering what to do with my little, dog, Jet, since you can't use a verbal heel command in utility.
ReplyDeleteSuper nice job! And congrats on the HIT and High Combined, wow!
ReplyDeleteIt's fun watching your videos. All my dogs have been big dogs, I have my first small dog now, so am learning all the small dog handling. :) Though Jet, at 20 pounds, is still bigger than Rugby :)