Diva's obedience class tonight

Justicemom

Justicemom

Forums Celebrity
I took Diva to her Open obedience class tonight following agility. There were T-storms, hail and tornados warnings in the area and I considered not staying for class but decided since I was already there not to drive back in the storm. Luckily it missed where I was and passed east by the end of the evening.

The good thing was there only 2 others that showed up so we did an informal run thoughs. I did a mix of Novice and Open exercises and treated it just like a show(no treats, formally entered the ring, one command , no talking) in prep for our Novice debut. I didn't do the on leash heeling because I figured if she could do off then she could do the on leash.

Well Diva was really watching me as I heeled up to the ring gate and removed her leash and we smartly got on the start line. Goal one acomplished. She really surprised me as her off leash heeling was quite good, a few forges and a bit wide on the figure 8 turns but nice. I got a comment for our judge about how animated she looked. Yeah. :smile2:

The stand for exam-no issues Yeah again. During the recall, Diva got too excited and broke when the judge said "call your dog" I didn't say anything just broke my position and walked back to the setup spot. Diva followed me back, she knew she messed up. I had the judge give the command 2x before calling her. Speed was still great. Front was a bit off but nice. The going before I give the command is one of my biggest worries. It would be an NQ at the trial so I'm going to really have to proof it.

Next we moved onto the Open stuff- Diva again broke on the judges command to send her on the retrieve on the flat. Dang shelties are too smart. :rolleyes2: Start again and I really tested her wait with 2x judge commands, paused a 5 count ,2 deep breathes before I sent her. It was so funny, she had that you can't fool me look on her face as she watched me yet she was leaning forward for every test.:lol: When I finally sent her, she had nice retrieve. Fast in and out and a better front then the recall. Retrieve over the fhigh she did perfect,( guess she learned to wait), just a little crooked on the finish. last was the broadjump which we are still learning. I had a chicken wire guide out and didn't ask for a front just threw the treat between my legs. Overall, nice straight jump forward and fast turn around the guide after a front command-so I wasn't disappointed. Finally we finished the sit and down stays. I did a Open length stays of 3 min sit (with me across the room) and a 5 min down with me out of sight. No problems there.

Overall, I am very pleased. My confidence for our upcoming trial is higher. Just need to work on her wait for the recall. Hopefully more noise and distraction will not be a big problem. Little over 2 weeks more to practice. I am also pleasantly suprised at how well she was doing on her Open work. Really once she is out of Novice, she is almost ready to trial for Open once she learns the BJ front and I fade the guide. When did my wild Diva devil dog start to get her brain?
 
Last edited:
Sounds like you had a good night with Diva and glad the storms kept a good distance. I am sure she will do great come show day and mom will shine in the show ring.
 
That's great! Good girl, Diva! Sounds like she did awesome.

I did have to laugh at her breaking when the judge gave the command. Sometimes they are too smart for their own good. I've seen agility dogs release at the computerized voice saying "OK" to tell the owner that they're ready :lol:
 
corbinam said:
I did have to laugh at her breaking when the judge gave the command. Sometimes they are too smart for their own good. I've seen agility dogs release at the computerized voice saying "OK" to tell the owner that they're ready :lol:
Click to expand...

I laughed at that too! Shelties are just too smart and funny for their own good.

Sounds like Diva is off to a great start. She's such an awesome dog. Good luck at your upcoming obedience trial!
 
2GoodDogs said:
What a good girl!

Do you train the days before you trial?
Click to expand...


I usually give them a couple days off before the trial. So for example I'll work them weds evening and then nothing thurs and fri for a sat show. I figure at theat point they know it or they don't and I don't want to stress them out with my stress.

@Randi and Ashley- Ember is the master at doing what the judge says. One trial the judge was calling the heeling commands and Ember was slowing down,speeding up, turning and halting as soon as the judge said the word. I did my best to keep up with her so it looked like I was calling the shots. But I was thinking "who is in charge of this ride?" Ember also knows signals so well that if I look at her she'll start the order-down,sit, come,finish so I can't make eye contact until I want her to move. She'll do the whole thing on eye movement and breathing(deep breath to speak) who needs hand singals. :rolleyes2:One trial,she actually waited and did everything but as soon as the judge said exercise finished she jumped straight up into the air . Finally after the 4th time I said "you need to wait for me" the judge laughed and said "as long as she waits for me its ok" Nobody told me the pitfalls of training smart dogs. They are always 2 steps ahead of you.
 
Justicemom said:
I usually give them a couple days off before the trial. So for example I'll work them weds evening and then nothing thurs and fri for a sat show. I figure at theat point they know it or they don't and I don't want to stress them out with my stress.

@Randi and Ashley- Ember is the master at doing what the judge says. One trial the judge was calling the heeling commands and Ember was slowing down,speeding up, turning and halting as soon as the judge said the word. I did my best to keep up with her so it looked like I was calling the shots. But I was thinking "who is in charge of this ride?" Ember also knows signals so well that if I look at her she'll start the order-down,sit, come,finish so I can't make eye contact until I want her to move. She'll do the whole thing on eye movement and breathing(deep breath to speak) who needs hand singals. :rolleyes2:One trial,she actually waited and did everything but as soon as the judge said exercise finished she jumped straight up into the air . Finally after the 4th time I said "you need to wait for me" the judge laughed and said "as long as she waits for me its ok" Nobody told me the pitfalls of training smart dogs. They are always 2 steps ahead of you.
Click to expand...

that is too funny :lol:
 
I was calling patterns for myself, Bobby learned about turn and halt as commands. Opps. We really work on not anticipating an about turn at the gate! I havre been using left abouts, and halts with increasing ratio, and to pay me back, Im getting a lag. :razz:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top