Rally On, Baby! -- September 9, 2007

Pete taught Bing to roll over. He taught it in his own way, without my input or knowledge. He also taught it in a way I wouldn’t have, with repeated cues and luring using Solid Gold Cinna-Bones. Bing learned to roll over on a verbal cue, along with a lot of other superstitious (extraneous) behavior. But Pete taught it to him, and he was proud of it, and I am proud that he took enough interest in the youngster to teach him something.

We’ve taken his show on the road on numerous occasions…reactive class, agility class, dog shows, the park, etc. But never in my wildest imaginings would I conceive of what he did on Friday night…

We all loaded up and drove to Lewisberry, PA, so I could judge a Rally-O trial. The ride there started out fine but we quickly found ourselves in a succession of traffic jams which required three hours to complete the 95 mile drive. Needless to say, I was a bit frazzled upon arrival. I had just enough time to potty myself (Pete took care of the dogs!) and check out the course that had been expertly laid out for me before I started my judging assignment. The hostess, Steph Capkovic, assured me that we had enough time to run our own dogs prior to actually starting the trial…so while Pete unloaded crate, chairs, cooler and other items, I took Bing into the Level 1 ring. He did great, considering not only did we have NO time to warm up but we also haven’t worked on Rally-O at all this summer (we’ve been working on agility). While Bing was in the ring, Pete got Acacia all excited (and seeing Bing in the ring always helps)…they scored a 202 and 206, respectively!

We then went over to the Level 2 ring. I had little expectation for Acacia to do well at all this evening, mostly due to the humidity, but at least there was no sun in the pole building. I honestly was torn between trialing Bing in Level 2 at all, after his terrible performance in the spring. We are clearly in need of more heel work, and his fronts are awful. However, since this was an indoor trial, I decided to at least use it as a training opportunity. I took Bing in first again, and aside from some crazy happy behavior (forging and hopping instead of walking), he completed everything and ended up with a 197. He even did some skills we have hardly ever worked on, such as the Halt Leave Dog Call Front While Running. Acacia followed again, and again came in riled up by Pete, and she was a most incredibly happy worker! Hooray! Her recalls were phenomenal, and she got a 201 for her efforts. It suddenly dawned on me that we had just gotten a QQ toward our ARCHX title…our 4th needed out of 5! OMG!

 

Bing and Ali pose with Bing's new ribbons in front of one of the flower
gardens at home.

I judged my second class for Level 2 and saved my dogs’ performances for the end of the trial. Bing came in first. I wasn’t sure he’d do so well; he can really get nutty and wild sometimes. He is still so young and doesn’t have much experience. NONSENSE!! He did great (not perfect by any stretch of the imagination) but he CLINCHED his performance with something I will never forget…at the end of the course there is a bonus exercise. In this case, you had to sit your dog, leave your dog, walk about 10 feet away from him, tell him to lay down, and then return to your original position next to your dog. Since he was a bit fidgety the last time we did this exercise, I gave him his cue in a slightly less cheerful tone (not harsh but not happy-go-lucky), and as I began to return to him, he rolled over! There were HOWLS of laughter coming from everywhere…anyone who was in the building! He remained in his down position and got his bonus points, scoring a 203 for the course!

His timing for comic relief couldn’t have been more perfect as Acacia’s big moment approached. This was her opportunity to get another QQ and get her ARCHX!!! She started her run looking a bit lethargic…frankly I’m still stunned that at 10:30pm she was still willing to do ANYTHING (she usually puts herself to bed at 10:30). But she perked up after only 2 or 3 signs and gave a beautiful performance, scoring a 201 AND GETTING HER ARCHX!!! Proud can’t even describe how I feel about her these days. She’s lost weight, which she needed to do, she’s happy and sociable and seems to like to do rally and agility again…all things I never thought I’d see in my reactive dog. Wow!

Since this is Bing’s Blog, I have to add that I’m ever so pleased and proud that he stood or sat in his crate all evening and didn’t emit a peep. No barking, no foaming, nothing. He simply enjoyed watching the entire goings-on, and he had his big sister in there with him for much of the time. He’s been learning about being calm in the crate from her and she’s been learning about being happy and sociable from him. How much more perfect can it get??

****Are you wondering what some of these Rally-O terms mean? Please join me here so I can explain to you what it’s all about!!!

So, high as a kite, I judged my Level 2 class (a bunch of very nice folks), judged Steph’s dogs (mostly Westies, and all very cute), and prepared for the second round of classes. I had determined that I would probably not ask either dog for a second performance, but they seemed to be so happy that I just went ahead and did it. Not really having to stop and consider whether it was a good idea, in this case, was an indication that they were in good shape to work. In the Level 1, Bing again did great and got a 204, only to be outperformed by Acacia with a perfect 210! Pete had hit the jackpot as far as figuring out how to warm up my old girl! Yay for Pete!

Ali

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