Regular Member Josie Posted May 10, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted May 10, 2015 (edited) My dog Josie had her first trial today-I entered her in 3 novice A runs at a CDSP trial. She took first place in her first and third run! I was so excited. She did everything nearly perfectly in her second run, but during her down stay she decided that the floor smelled really good and that she should stand up and follow the scent LOL. Overall I am very pleased with her performance, it seemed with each trial she was more confident and focused than the one before. The novice class goes like this: 1) On leash heel pattern, with right, left and about turns, also fast and slow time 2) Off leash figure 8 around two people 3) Off leash "moving" stand for exam 4) Recall over a jump with a finish 5) Sit or down stay (your choice) while handler walks the perimeter of the ring So this means that if Josie has one qualifying novice run at the next trial, she will earn her novice title! Yay! Then it will be on to the open class... Here is Josie with her ribbons Edited May 10, 2015 by Josie 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member DawnMichele Posted May 10, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted May 10, 2015 Congratulations!!!!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member goldfishgirl82 Posted May 10, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted May 10, 2015 She's adorable! Congratulations! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member motherredcap Posted May 10, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted May 10, 2015 Good dog! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Shahbazin Posted May 10, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted May 10, 2015 Congratulations! That's a lot of work for both of you to get to the point of qualifying - & a big bonus to place, & 1st place at that! I do think Open is more fun than Novice - the jumps & retrieves add variety, & the drop on recall is a useful command. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Flipper Posted May 10, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted May 10, 2015 that's awesome! What a good dog... And trainer 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Josie Posted May 11, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 11, 2015 (edited) Congratulations! That's a lot of work for both of you to get to the point of qualifying - & a big bonus to place, & 1st place at that! I do think Open is more fun than Novice - the jumps & retrieves add variety, & the drop on recall is a useful command. Thank you! Yes I agree-open and utility are waaaaayyy more fun for the dog and handler. We have already been working on dumbell retrieves (flat and over a jump), go outs, and scent articles. I feel pretty confident in the open class except for our go-outs, which need some work. The next trial isn't until the end of June, so by then I think Josie should be able to complete her last leg of novice and hopefully qualify in at least one leg of open. We are also working on agility and flyball, and I plan to have her evaluated for herding instinct. I have no idea what breeds she is but she is pretty high energy/drive so we will see if she likes sheep too Edited May 11, 2015 by Josie 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member 4prettyfish Posted May 11, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted May 11, 2015 Awe! Isn't she a cutie. Congratulations on all the ribbons. What a good girl and smart. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Josie Posted May 18, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 18, 2015 (edited) So on a whim I decided to enter Josie in a Barn Hunt trial today! Barn Hunt is a really cool dog sport that I recently learned about. Basically there is a course made out of bales of hay set up in a barn with rats hidden in them, and the dog has to find the rats in a given period of time! What a great way to let your dog use their natural instincts! It turned out to be a lot harder than I thought. The dog is in charge, and the handler needs to be able to really read their dog to know when the rat has been found. Josie and I entered in the "instinct test" and novice. We didn't pass either one LOL but it was our first time ever trying it and it was still a ton of fun. Watching the experienced dog/handler teams was amazing! We got to meet a lot of nice people, and in a couple weeks we are going to a different farm so that we can get some practice in before the next trial. In her "instinct test" Josie found the rat, but immediately decided to pee on the ground next to it, so she was disqualified. On her novice run I started freaking out because I thought we were running out of time and I didn't let her work the whole course before I guessed where the rat was...and of course I was way off! Hopefully once we get some practice in Josie will know that she is looking for a particular scent, and I will learn not to freak out, how to read her rat indicators, and to trust her-I am used to being the one in charge so it is a big change for me to be following her lead LOL! Of course there are more rules to it-like during each course a dog must go through a hay bale "tunnel" and also execute a climb. And don't worry, because the rats are completely safe. They are inside very strong PVC tubes so the dogs can't hurt them. There are also hidden tubes with just dirty rat bedding in them to try to trick your dog! Oh, and the rats are somebody's pets-they are very spoiled on their days off Here is a picture of Josie hanging out on a hay bale after her attempts: Edited May 18, 2015 by Josie 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Flipper Posted May 18, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted May 18, 2015 Wow! Sounds tough! I wonder why she peed Keep up the good work you two! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Josie Posted May 18, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 18, 2015 Wow! Sounds tough! I wonder why she peed Keep up the good work you two! Thanks! Well, the event took place in a barn where there was lots of smells and I am sure the farm cats had peed in there already. About half of the novice dogs peed and were disqualified, so at least we were in good company! The experienced dogs who knew that they were there to work did not seem to have that problem 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Flipper Posted May 18, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted May 18, 2015 Maybe their owners somehow prepped them for the pee 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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