I'm in the process of moving my blog over to AreaVoices, which will hopefully generate more readers. The new address will be allsmartpets.areavoices.com. As usual, I need some time to get used to the new site, so I'm still going to post here for a while.
Last Sunday I entered Kiernan in a UKC conformation show. He was a crypt, and is neutered. I'm so glad there's an altered class in UKC. We did about a week of training but I had no idea if he would perform the behaviors in the ring. He had never been gone over by a judge (except in obedience, of course.)
I made two mistakes - When the judge asked me to show her his bite, I had bait in my hand, which I held with three fingers & used my thumb and first finger to try to get his mouth open. Anyway, Kiernan just wanted to twist around and get the food. My bad. The second mistake was when I forgot to release him from a stand stay when we (I) started a down-and-back. Actually that one was neat, knowing he understood and generalized a stay to a completely new situation.
We came away from the show with an even better outcome... Best in Show (Altered). Here's the kicker: He did it TWICE! Gotta love the UKC for allowing two shows each day. I tried really hard not to jump up and down screaming in the ring, and saved it all for the car ride home. I'm still high with excitement! While taking pictures both judges commented on how nice he is, and what a shame he had to be neutered.
It's been an eventful month.
A disastrous start to the Bismarck Kennel Club shows with my van dying, ended up on a positive note. I learned that I really do have lots of people who care about me. Friends are precious and we can never say thank you enough. Kiernan pulled it together on days three and four, earning scores I'm thrilled with in Novice obedience. It's the first time I've ever been in the 190s, or placed. I learned tons about my handling, too, (Thanks, friends!) It was interesting how I felt after earning my second-highest score ever (189.5)... I was disappointed. It did not feel right, and I vowed never to accept simply a qualifying score. I loved the feeling of doing well, and nothing less will do any more. I've tightened my criteria and we're training harder than ever before.
The Forum published a story on All Smart Pets Training for the It's My Job feature, and I am still getting calls, comments, and emails about it. The article turned out wonderful, and I'm very proud.
Then the UKC show last weekend. A busy month.
One of my all-time favourite bands is Queen. I admire their chutzpah in singing "We Are the Champions." They really did have remarkable confidence in their abilities and never stopped believing in themselves.
Here and now I am adopting that attitude. I am taking the success I want. It's addicting - a few high scores, a couple of ribbons. I'm doing what I love, "Listen all you people, come gather round." I'm gonna sing "Don't Stop Me Now" as loudly as possible, (though not nearly as well as Freddie) because after all, "I Want It All - And I Want It NOW!"
BTW - stop on over at http://allsmartpets.areavoices.com/ too. I wrote another post on a similar topic, but less Dear Diary than this one. It's called "Hunger."
Catch you all again soon! Happy training. And thank you for being my friend!
