Rally-Ooooh.....

So I've been saying for YEARS that I would get into the performance ring...somehow. Herding? Nothing close. Obedience? Too picky. Agility? Not sure what happened there... Rally-O? Ok, maybe I could give that a try.
After way too many failed prospects - I finally decided to try the Princess - Robby's dog - Skye Bear - the Diva - the dog who will literally walk by and glare at me. Yea...

Knowing she can have a mind of her own was fun. Some days she would give me a look that said "You want me to do what?! I don't think so...I'm going to bed." Other days it was "Oh! Anything for food!!!" And then still, there was the "Ok, I know I have to, but I don't want to, but just to make you happy, I guess I'll give it a 50% effort."

Despite all of this, it was fun watching her catch on to stuff. She still tries to throw in her own variations, which is hilarious - because you can see that she knows what she has to do, but it's one of those "But, I'd rather do it THIS way!"

We went to Wichita Falls this past weekend for a long, boring day...and a match. So glad mom went with Skye and me, or else who knows how much worse it could have been. I was able to watch several dogs through all of the class levels (Novice, Advanced, and Excellent) - plus the various stages of training each dog was in. I knew Skye wouldn't be as bad as the Sealyham who couldn't keep his nose of the ground and was eventually excused. But I knew she wouldn't be as good as the Dobe who scored a 99 (out of 100), ack!

The match didn't go as planned, but I was still able to get her in a ring setting and work on some commands. I now know that she won't be bothered by the mats, or the ring gates, or the cones...she wasn't distracted by the people outside the ring, either. But, I also know not to wear her out with the laser pointer before we go in! I thought it was going to be awhile longer before the match started, so I took her out and let her play around with the laser. Not 5 minutes later they were calling us to the ring, oye! Nonetheless, she did good. Her stays had a little to be desired...but her heel work, which had been a problem at times with her forging ahead, was great!

I dropped off the entries today for her first real competition. April 2nd & 3rd in Oklahoma City at the OCOTC shows. There's two on Saturday, and one on Sunday. Three shows....she needs three "legs" or qualifying scores, to get her Rally Novice (RN) title. Maybe? Just maybe it'll happen.

I've scattered in some pictures from the weekend. It was fun. My first foray into performance...very different from conformation...and I felt a little lost...but it was fun. Let's see how long it takes before I catch the performance bug, hehehe!