# First trial next weekend!



## Streetcar (Apr 13, 2014)

Well, all the best to you! Hopefully even if she is very picky, you will have the opportunity to talk with her afterwards. Is that allowed?


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Spuddie was dead serious in the Rally ring... all concentration. I've never seen a dog as seriously attentive as him. Me?? What can I say... my resting face is grim. lol I know that, and I make a point of smiling as much as I can.

So we're in the ring for the last leg of Novice and the judge announced to all of us that she wanted to see some 'bubbly' interaction between dogs and owners thru the course. She was looking for 'fun!'.

I should have walked out right then and there...

Break a leg, Axel!


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Oh my! How exciting! Good luck, and I hope you get someone to take pictures or a video so we can see!!!!!


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

Axeldog said:


> ... Apparently the judge is well known for being very picky, haha! Well, I hope her pencil is sharpened for us!


I love that line! Is it ok if I steal it? You and Axel will do great!


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

Streetcar,
I am told that after the competition ends, the judge might be able to speak with you about your scores and give feedback, but this will depend on if he/she has time, and the inclination. It's not a requirement that they give feedback.

Countryboy
That is pretty funny - like being told to mix water and oil! So you never went back to show under a different judge?
Axel is so hair trigger to 100% excitement level, I have to be careful to control my tone of voice and encouragements, or he goes bonkers. 

Molly,
My husband will be there so I hope he can video it! I just hope that he doesnt distract Ax too much. Axel love him more than me! :-(

Liz, you most certainly may


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I wish you all the best and don't worry about the judge, just take care of being one with Axel and not having tight leashes. Even if you don't get to talk to the judge (which I hope there is time) you should be able to figure out where you went wrong from your score. If you do an incorrect performance (IP) of a station it is -10, retry that station and get it right the -10 goes away and you get -3 instead. If you seem likely to have had a few -1s (like you get a 95) it means she dinged you -1 for each tight leash or crooked sit.

The most important thing is to have fun and I am hoping you find the judge to be a pleasant surprise. We had a judge around here who I loved that many other people did not like showing to at all.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Good luck!  I bet you'll do great!


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## TeamPoodle (Aug 10, 2015)

Good luck, we're rooting for you!


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

Catherine, thank you for the loose leash reminder. So many things to remember!

Zooeysmom and Teampoodle, thank you for your nice encouragement. I am looking forward to the experience!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

One more thing, you should expect to be judged by the rules, but also to get a bit of a break on the walk through since you are in rally novice A.

Although it will be a long time before Javelin is ready for rally advanced, I will say it is actually really nice to get rid of the leash and not have to worry about those tight leash points. A handler who came for beginner novice routines a few times recently had her setter on a way too log and heavy choke chain. She has done a fair amount of rally and I was surprised that, when I suggested she not use a choke chain since they make noise that calls attention to tight leashes, she said no one had ever pointed that out to her before! I would not even use a martingale that had a chain portion on it for the reason of the noise it makes. Then the judge doesn't even have to see the leash go tight, just to hear it.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I hope you both have fun with it! Then it will be a success and the ribbons will follow. All the best to you and Axel!


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## Streetcar (Apr 13, 2014)

You two will do just fine .


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

Well, somehow we did it!  We qualified on our first try with a 74, and it wasn't pretty, haha! However, we got first place because there wasn't anyone else in our class 
I made two incorrect performance errors, Axel sniffed the ground a lot, and we never have been able to get that "moving side step" thing. But gosh, it was really fun!

https://youtu.be/YnYq3SQIOiE



The next day, we qualified again with an 88. I did better, but Axel was SO distracted, geez! We repeated a couple stations due to him being completely in LaLa land, haha! The judge was one of the trainers at our club, so I think that got to him, plus there was a lady who set up her stuff by the start area, and she wasnt there yesterday. We got another first place because again, we were the only ones in our Novice A class. 

https://youtu.be/VlxgJ1C-Xo4

We just did two days. Now I am curious what would have happened on the last day if we had entered. Anyway, it was super fun, and confirms we have lots to work on


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Great job, Axeldog! Thank you for posting the videos too so we beginners can learn


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

Congratulations to you and Axel!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Congratulations! You did a great job under not so easy conditions. Outside is generally harder than inside unless you practice a lot outside. It is also very hard for the dog to ignore the judge if it is someone they know. When I was in Syracuse in March I met two judges in the lobby of the hotel the evening that Javvy got his first RN leg. I knew that judge from rally nationals and I wanted to thank him for nice courses for all three classes that day. I did not know that the other judge was the Saturday rally judge and she ended up playing with Lily and Javelin. Lily was not working well in excellent on Saturday (a number of things had happened that morning) and as is often her avoidance strategy she ended up visiting the judge since she was a friendly figure who wasn't going to make her work.

Having people close to the gates and having someone sitting in line of sight just outside the ring, smells in the grass and the activity in the adjacent ring (including clapping) all were things that upped the difficulty for Axel. I think you did a great job and now it will just get easier and easier. Now go searching for the next trials to enter so you can finish that title!


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

Oh! Zooeysmom - I am glad the video is helpful, but be sure to use it as examples mostly of what not to do - haha! By the way, there is a practice match at Cal State East Bay sponsored by the Mission Trail Poodle club on July 30th. We are signed up for Beginner Novice and Rally Novice 

Catherine, I had no idea that his knowing the judge would be so challenging. I have never seen him so distracted. It still makes me smile, thinking about his starry-eyed staring... - crazy. 

I find it interesting but not surprising that as I was warming up with him outside the ring, he was working great, snappy responses, great eye contact etc. But when we went in the ring, it fell apart. Someone told me that my nervousness travels right down the leash and I believe it!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I am glad you took the plunge, hope that looking back you really feel it was fun and that you go on with it. You too zooeysmom. 

You don't even need to be attached to each other by a leash for your dog to read your stress. Two weeks ago I had a heart to heart talk with the private trainer I have been working with. She told me (and I agree) that Lily's struggles with the signals in utility are mostly on me. WE aren't on leash and actually need to be about 40 feet away from each other for this. I have gotten to the point where I was: a. majorly worried/convinced that she was going to be wrong and b. ineffective in helping her because I didn't want to make things worse. This week when we went to class, I partnered with someone who I know well but haven't worked with before. Between her and the trainer/instructor they cleaned up my body language and made me commit to doing the exercise correctly and helping Lily if she was wrong. It was a major light bulb moment for me and I think Lily was pretty relieved too. She now has done a good job in a couple of different places.


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

Very nice, Axeldog! The videos are great! Jazz and I are going for her last leg in RN next weekend. Hope we do as well as the two of you. (I have the same problem with anxiety shooting down the leash to Jazz, and the harder I try to relax, the more anxious I am. :afraid: )


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

I think dogs also smell our fear. So even if you don't have a leash, if you're nervous, they will know!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Well now, when I take Peeves to trials that have enough noise to concern him I give him REscue Remedy, but people can take it too. So JudyD maybe some rescue for you instead of Jazz....


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

lily cd re said:


> Well now, when I take Peeves to trials that have enough noise to concern him I give him REscue Remedy, but people can take it too. So JudyD maybe some rescue for you instead of Jazz....


I had the same thought--instead of giving Jazz those Composure tablets I bought for her, I'll take a couple...or three. Or maybe both of us should just sit down and share the whole bag.


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

Hmmm .... Composure tablets? Rescue Remedy? Seems like something I should invest in for myself too ...

JudyD! Best of luck to you next weekend - you and Jazz are going to to great, and get that title! (And in the process, have fun too!)


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

JudyD said:


> Very nice, Axeldog! The videos are great! Jazz and I are going for her last leg in RN next weekend. Hope we do as well as the two of you. (I have the same problem with anxiety shooting down the leash to Jazz, and the harder I try to relax, the more anxious I am. :afraid: )


Good luck next weekend, JudyD!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Axeldog I do have a friend who gets nervous when she shows and she takes Rescue Remedy herself and then also gives it to her dog.

I generally don't get nervous anymore and Peeves is the only one who seems to need it for trials, but he is super noise sensitive and when we have gone to outdoor travels he often puts his nose down and treats it like tracking! RR keeps him relaxed enough that he can listen to me.


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

Wow! Great job! What a big, gorgeous dog Axel is, very nicely put together. I enjoyed your performance, too. Definitely not bad at all for a first time, an outdoor show, a distracting judge...he did great! 

I think it's funny you mention kinda-sorta wondering what would've happened if you'd gone ahead and entered the third day. We had Agility this weekend and deliberately didn't enter Monday (even though we have the day off) so that we can actually, you know, _have a day off!_ But still, you wonder what "could've been." If you did great, it's like, _Aw, I could've gotten one more Q!_ And if you did badly, it's like, _Aw, I could have had one more chance to redeem myself!_ :lol:

I loved watching your videos; thanks so much for sharing them with us. It's a pleasure to see forum friends in action, and I for one appreciate the effort of getting the videos up. Not to mention, for me, seeing "other" sports (than my usual Agility) is a treat! (I'm only sorry I was away during the time that you first posted this thread so that I didn't get a chance to give you a pep talk beforehand!)

--Q


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

YAY AXEL!!!!!! You did it and did it well!!! Just the fact that you and Axel are competing in a dog sport is a grand thing in my book!! Now you'll just get better and all those pretty ribbons will decorate your home!! LOL!


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

Quossum said:


> I loved watching your videos; thanks so much for sharing them with us. It's a pleasure to see forum friends in action, and I for one appreciate the effort of getting the videos up. Not to mention, for me, seeing "other" sports (than my usual Agility) is a treat! (I'm only sorry I was away during the time that you first posted this thread so that I didn't get a chance to give you a pep talk beforehand!)
> 
> --Q


Thanks Quossum
I am glad you liked the videos. It helps me too, seeing what happened so I can work on improving. Your stellar agility work with Sugarfoot is so incredible and thrilling to watch, it makes obedience seem so slow and boring, haha! 

Catherine,
Sigh... how the heck do you get to the point that you are not nervous when competing? (I am hunting through Infodog this morning to find another trial so I can work on finishing his title )


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

There comes a point when you just do feel okay at the ring entrance. I think having one title done helps. I also have to say having had a spectacular failure and realizing you didn't get sucked into the ground never to be seen again helps. For me having someone who is now a friend come over and tell me that she had known all of the people at the trial and having seen all of them have all manner of bizarre and foolish looking things happen to them helped too. The day after she told me this I saw a dog jump out of a novice ring that was getting ready for sits and downs into the open ring right behind it to take the dumbbell that had just been thrown and then return to the novice ring with the dumbbell. After that it became easy to believe that any dog can decide to do any nutty thing and not to be disappointed if things don't go as planned.


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

Thanks Catherine
I hope and expect that with experience that my nerves will calm down, at least a little bit. 
Your description of the dog leaping into the Open ring and taking the dumbell reminded me of a couple silly things that happened while I was watching this weekend. 
During the middle of her Rally Advanced run, a woman had her dog repeatedly leap back and forth over the fence surrounding the ring. She went on to finish the run and I think they qualified in spite of that little snafu. I also saw another team entering the ring for their Rally Novice B run, and the dog was wildly leaping all over her and actually broke the rubber band on her arm number, causing it to fly off, which the judge nicely helped her retrieve .


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

You can still qualify despite all sorts of oddball things. In rally if the dog leaves the ring and comes back without being touched by another person you can still Q. For his rally novice title leg at PCA Javelin did a big leap in the air as we crossed the finish line. The ring photographer actually caught it and showed it to me. Sadly the memory card got corrupted and those pictures are gone.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

How did I miss this triumph!!! Well, done! Two Q's, 2 1sts, whatever the scores, you guys did it! Yay!


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