The first attempt was..... ok. His nose was plastered to the ground before going in the ring, so I wasn't sure what to expect.... he did *OK* all things considered... his heel isn't "perfect", but MUCH better than it was when we were in Advanced... the biggest problems were mainly ME, but he did refuse to do the "back" exercise staying in the heel position. Upon leaving the ring, the judge told me what was wrong with our performance... too much verbal stuff, tapping of the legs and I clapped to get his attention... and of course the "he needs to practice the "back" exercise" "yes, I agree, and thank you" I said as I left the ring knowing we didn't Q. BUT since we had several hours till our next performance, we focused on heeling better and that blasted "back" exercise. Oh, and we took the opportunity to take some photos ;-)
He's so darned photogenic... and such a good good boy :)
Happy Happy Kota dog :)
And I think this is my favorite.... kinda cool :)
So then we went back to the car, I watched the rest of a movie (brought the portable DVD player since I knew I'd have time ;-) ) and caught some z's :) Before going back in the ring, I went to see what the scores were from our 1st run, and I found that NONE of the three dogs entered in Excellent A qualified... and to top it off, Kota and I had the best time! :)
We went back in to the building, practiced some, rested some and went back in the ring. His heel wasn't as good, and I had given a lot of verbal encouragement, but I made sure not to tap my leg, clap my hands or anything else "forbidden" :) And to make me even happier, HE DID THE BACK EXERCISE! :) He was weird in the ring, but in the end, we did all of the exercises and I felt ok about it. Worst case was that we NQ'd again... we had fun ;-)
We checked the scores and we QUALIFIED!!!!! And not only did we qualify, but we got SECOND place.
It was a good day for Kota and I... I think we needed it :) A bonding day without the kids :) In the process, I met a lady who does rally, obedience and agility training not too far from me, who is willing to work with me and my crappy schedule so I can get Kota better trained. I think with some real training, this dog could do all those things I wanted to do (get his CD etc). once we get through the Beginning Obedience/Agility course, we'll focus more on agility as I think he'd LOVE it, and I promised Trooper (rest his soul) that Kota would make him proud in the agility ring, since I knew how much Troop loved agility... Now we'll be on our way :) I'll also enter the other two in classes with Cindy too, since I think they can at the very least, earn Rally titles :) Its fun and SO not stressful :)So overall, we had an ok day :) The bonding was well worth it :) Now we're a third of the way to our RE :) I love this dog so much.... and I could never thank Carolyn enough for convincing me I needed him :) Words will never be able to do how i feel about him any justice....
