k9kreationz
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I'm sorry it wasn't a good weekend for you. I was hoping to go watch this past weekend and couldn't get away. I aspire to do as well as you and Koji did in the videos.
My dog is back to refusing to budge on the teeter, but now I know he knows how to do it. I'm thinking of going to an event they have later this month for fun, just to try it and see what Shadow will do on a course and equipment he's not familiar with. Oh and a different judge, it took him 1 1/2 years to warm up our instructor, there is no rushing Shadow.
Bummer you weren't able to make it and bigger bummer that Shadow isn't budging on the teeter again. He'll get it. One day, it'll just click. If you're interested in the NADAC trial in November, definitely give it a try. Trust me, when I finally started Koji on Standard runs, he refused the contacts because 1. they were rubber and 2. He'd never seen them before and 3. it probably didn't help that they were black. He'd stop in front of it and look at it. Or just place his paw on it. So frustrating.
But the one thing I love about NADAC (and this is why I'm urging you to go if you want to start competing), is that you can train in the ring. Yes, you'll get an E, BUT, it helps teach the dog "different" things. I was so frustrated at one trial, with the contacts because Koji was refusing them all, seriously, the JUDGE says to me, "help him up, he needs to realize it's okay". So I did. I E'd but at the same time, it's like it clicked in his head that this equipment was okay. The rest of the weekend I'd try to run, but if he'd stop, then I'd go push him up and over. After that, it's like he didn't care anymore, strangest thing. But I could never have done that in AKC and kept running. They would have booted me off the second I touched him. I'm glad we can keep running, because I believe it's a "treat" for the dogs. They got past their fear and now they get to run.
So, something to think about. And they really are nice with newbies. They're all very helpful and try to make your first time the greatest thing ever. Even if Shadow runs off, if you can get him back, you can continue running. Heck, you can keep going until the judge says "thank you" and trust me, I've only seen it happen once or twice in the past year.
If you're ready to compete, I think it's a great venue because you can train in the ring and help your dog along and not get kicked out of the ring. You may not Q, but if all you need is experience, this is the way to go.
You know this morning I was reading an article in Cleanrun that talked about the honeymoon phase and when you're passed it, lol