# Neely Qs in his first attemts at BN and RN!



## mvhplank (Dec 5, 2012)

Neely (UCH URO1 Piccolo's Niall Delaney CGC RLP) earned his first AKC qualifying scores with 2nd place in Beginner Novice A (181) and 3rd place in Rally Novice B (87) by virtue of winning a tie on time.

We were at Mason & Dixon Kennel Club trials just outside of Hagerstown, MD.

He's still young and goofy, but I see lots of potential.


----------



## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

Congratulations! Good job!!!


----------



## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

*:cheers2:Congratulations! *I'd say Neely has realized a nice bit of his "potential" already! :whoo:


----------



## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Definitely looks proud of himself!


----------



## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Congratulations, very impressive especially as it was his first attempt.


----------



## mvhplank (Dec 5, 2012)

CT Girl said:


> Congratulations, very impressive especially as it was his first attempt.


He does have UKC RO1 (level 1 rally) and one Q in CDSP obedience, which has off-leash elements. THAT one was a surprise! 

I'm pretty happy with today's performance, but we'll have to work on focus, for sure.


----------



## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I meant at his first attempt at BN and RN.


----------



## mvhplank (Dec 5, 2012)

CT Girl said:


> I meant at his first attempt at BN and RN.


I agree, especially since he's not familiar with the buildings. Last weekend we tried CDSP Novice, since I had some free runs coming. That venue has a lot of off-leash work (figure-8, moving stand for exam, and recall over a bar jump--there's an on-leash heeling pattern to start, and an on-leash honor stay at the end). Our first two runs were NQs, but the third time was the charm.

Several people thought starting him off early in conformation would help get him used to the hubbub of other shows and trials--I think that turned out to be good advice. He's not nervous and is happy hanging out in his crate.


----------



## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I think that was excellent advice as the hustle and bustle can be very stressful but it sounds like Neely just takes it in stride. I have to work on my dog being happy to hang out in his crate. He is fine with it in the car or at home but he is nervous in a show environment.


----------



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

Congratulations! Well done! He's a great looking fella and you two have some real team work going on. Way to go!!!:clap2:


----------



## mvhplank (Dec 5, 2012)

*Update: BN leg 2*

The weather was just awful here today--rain, heavy rain, sleet, and snow! I'm SO ready for spring.

Neely was the last dog standing in of Beginner Novice--4 B dogs and he was the only A dog--so, automatic first place with the lowest possible qualifying score, 170. As the judge said, they don't put the score on the title!

Evie (his breeder) said she'd send me a picture of him with his ribbon later. She took one with her iPhone.

Rally? Dog passed, handler failed by missing sign 13.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Congratulations Marguerite! I missed this the weekend you were at Mason/Dixon since I was at AKC nationals. I have spring break this week, so I am catching up with older PF news.


----------



## mvhplank (Dec 5, 2012)

lily cd re said:


> Congratulations Marguerite! I missed this the weekend you were at Mason/Dixon since I was at AKC nationals. I have spring break this week, so I am catching up with older PF news.


Thanks--and congrats on getting into Nationals! My budget prevents me from doing a lot of showing this year, but I am getting out when I can trade for free runs (I steward, secretary, and judge CDSP obedience and UKC rally).

Something I learned at Mason & Dixon is that if I don't want Neely to wander off and entertain himself, I need to work on that "watchful heeling" or "attention" I saw discussed in another thread. I don't need him to "wrap around my leg," just pay attention to me instead of checking out the stewards, judges, or dogs outside the ring. He's a young, friendly intact boy and is still learning what his job is. (Right now, it's sleeping under the desk with the terriers.)

In the CDSP venue, I can speak to him without penalty, but watching me will need to go on autopilot for UKC and AKC. 

I'm in a UKC club that also offers CDSP trials, so I'm more likely to show in those venues. AKC shows rack up the $$ quickly.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

We had a good time at rally nationals. It was definitely a learning experience for me too. In addition to being entered for RAE, I stewarded for NOI on Saturday. I hear you about the $$. Thankfully I am able to do most of the shows I want without too much worry on the budget. I would love to try for an OTCh with Lily once we get through utility, but I am not sure that my checkbook will stand for that!

In addition to the thread on watchful heeling that you've seen, we have one for rally and I just started one for obedience trainers in this (performance) subforum. All venue conversations welcome, so hope to see you there.


----------

