6 months 22 days
2011/08/14
And so we went on our Big Trip.
A friend arrived with an adult Giant Schnauzer bitch, a 14-mo Giant bitch, and an adult male Malinois. Syn was leery to begin with but has good experiences of Giants so quickly decided Marquee (the younger one) was worth a good romp. The Mal, too, was fun, though he tends to play rough when he gets going so he wasn't allowed any free time (dog show coming up, y'know).
Then we drove 3 hours to my son and d-i-l's, stayed overnight, and on for another 5 hours to Calgary. We got there a day early, so had lots of time to settle in, get the RV set up and find our way around the huge show site. Syn and Stitch were once again brilliant in the car. I love travelling with dogs when I have to occasionally check to make sure they're in their crate - they're so quiet I might have forgotten them at the last truck stop…
I had rented a golf cart - one of the smarter things I've ever done - to get around the show site in. There were trams but it was hot and nice not to have to stand in parking lots waiting for the "bus". I could drive the golf cart right up to the grooming/obedience building, and close to the conformation and agility rings.
So we started. The Giant/Mal friend is one of the best groomers on the continent and has shown many Portuguese Water Dogs (and in fact evaluated Syn's litter before I got there), so I got some excellent tips on shampoos, conditioners, and what to do about Syn's floppy topknot and muttonchops. Spent most of the first show day grooming. Then - oh, frabjous day, I forgot the part where many dogs are usually absent the first day of a show and pulled up to Syn's conformation ring just as the breed finished. Actually, though, that was a really good thing because if we'd made it in time, I would have taken her into the ring unsure of where she was or why she was there. Since we got there late but prepared, with treats, chairs, shade, etc, I just sat down in the shade and let her gawk for a couple of hours, rewarding her for looking at other dogs of various strange shapes and sizes. That helped a lot. Not enough it turned out, but a lot.
Stitch failed obedience by following me out of the ring on the down stay. She wasn't happy. Don't know what that's about. Worried me a bit.
Both dogs rode brilliantly around the grounds in the golf cart, doing the queen wave at everyone we passed.
The next day I managed to make it to the conformation ring on time, and so did my friend who was going to handle Syn. Didn't get a look, but Syn did very well in the ring. Hey, she says, we're running AROUND the ring! How cool is that?!
Syn was very comfortable in the conformation ring, but not comfortable in the waiting ring. Too many dogs, too much bustle, too many people. I was afraid she might be a little jumpy in the ring because of how she felt in the waiting ring so after we were done, we once again went and sat nearby to watch the proceedings. I thought that I would move closer and closer to the waiting ring as she grew more and more comfortable, but…
There was an adult male Doberman sitting nearby. He was looking at a toy I was holding, so I handed it to him. He started staring fixedly at Syn with the toy in his mouth, then dropping it repeatedly in front of her. She'd finally decide to dare trying to pick it up, he'd say OH BOY! and she'd hurriedly drop it and cuddle up next to my leg again. They had just finished negotiating how to play with each other (and the area had cleared out considerably) when the big dog's teenage niece came along. She and Syn took one look at each other and Just Knew. Too bad they were wearing leashes - they could have had a MUCH grander time without, though the time was grand enough as it was. And that's all it took. Once Syn's New Friends left, she had a new attitude and flirted with every single dog that walked anywhere near her, even pulling on the lead a bit to try to get closer to them. She particularly aimed for Giant Schnauzers, Dobes, and, apparently extrapolating, Rotts, Standard Schnauzers, and MinPins.
And Stitch failed obedience again by lying down on the sit. That's enough of that, I pulled her from obedience the rest of the trip. Hello duh. Do I KNOW this dog doesn't like surprises (yes, I do)? Did we PRACTISE obedience before we came here (no, we didn't)? Do *I* deserve to get laughed out of the ring (yes, I do)?
The third day was huge, with all her friends in the Giant Schnauzer Specialty AND the all-breed show. The morning started with Stitch earning a perfect score in Rally Excellent and Syn earning a 99/100. Wow! Unfortunately they won't go down in the record book that way since I lost 11 points on Stitch and 10 points on Syn for handler errors. They're both looking for "I am handlercapped" t-shirts. Still, good rounds, and my widdle baby puppy has a Rally leg!
The handler/friend didn't make it to ringside when it was time for Syn to go in conformation (she was still in the Specialty ring), so I had to show her myself - and I did, and it wasn't awful. It's been a long time since I even imagined I could run around a ring, but it actually wasn't too bad (aside from the fact that I wasn't wearing decent show clothes OR decent underwear - not cool to knock yourself out while running around the show ring). And Syn got Best of Winners for 2 points! EE HAH! A Rally leg and 2 points! Wow!
The fourth day Stitch got another Rally Excellent leg, Syn got another Rally Novice leg, and we were cannon fodder in the conformation ring. I was very happy with Syn's conformation behaviour, though, and she was bold and confident in the waiting ring. My going-around-the-show-ring criteria is "she has to do a jackrabbit bounce at least twice or the outing was unsuccessful". So far so good.
One behaviour she needs for conformation that we haven't practised much, but which she picked up immediately in the ring, is the ability to move out in front of the handler, putting a couple of ounces of pressure on the leash so she knows where I am without having to look back at me. She got it. Immediately. And her Lazy Leash went completely out the window. It's GONE. Between learning to put pressure on the show leash, a brief outing on a Flexi-lead, and her newfound attraction to other dogs, this day was enormously frustrating for me until I finally made a decision. Stop fussing and let her pull until these shows are over and we get back home? Or take several days off and remind her now of her job? Nope, I'll stop fussing. She's doing so well in the show ring I'll wait until we get home to solve this problem.
Now (sorry for jumping back and forth between IS and WAS - I should have written this while I was at the show, but it was pretty much get-up-at-5, work-all-day, fall-into-bed the whole time) we have 2 days to rest and drive 5 hours to Edmonton for another 4 days of shows.
What have I learned so far?
Should have practised obedience with Stitch. (facepalm)
Should have practised show-lead-walking vs Lazy Leash with Syn. It's OK, but if I'd practised, I wouldn't have remedial LL to do when I get home.
I'd like to send a bouquet of dog biscuits to those lovely Dobermans (and their very kind owners) who played with Syn and told her that dogs at dog shows aren't really scary. In Edmonton a woman introduced herself as their breeder (she started the conversation by saying "So THIS is the brown Portie everyone's talking about!"), so I got to tell her what I thought of her dogs.
Also to the Malinois who barked a lot and eventually convinced Syn that dogs in crates who swear at her really have nothing to do with her.
It's very difficult for a 6 mo puppy to switch back and forth between conformation and Rally. Her Rally scores will be going down every day, I can tell. She's not ready to switch, and she's had no work on duration of behaviours - that is, performing for 3 minutes at a time with no treats. She's going to start gawking. Still, I'm not assuming she actually knows how to do any of these behaviours, I'm sort of herding her through the courses.
She actually knows a lot. I can't WAIT to get back to the Levels and teach her more. Dear little Tat.
A friend arrived with an adult Giant Schnauzer bitch, a 14-mo Giant bitch, and an adult male Malinois. Syn was leery to begin with but has good experiences of Giants so quickly decided Marquee (the younger one) was worth a good romp. The Mal, too, was fun, though he tends to play rough when he gets going so he wasn't allowed any free time (dog show coming up, y'know).
Then we drove 3 hours to my son and d-i-l's, stayed overnight, and on for another 5 hours to Calgary. We got there a day early, so had lots of time to settle in, get the RV set up and find our way around the huge show site. Syn and Stitch were once again brilliant in the car. I love travelling with dogs when I have to occasionally check to make sure they're in their crate - they're so quiet I might have forgotten them at the last truck stop…
I had rented a golf cart - one of the smarter things I've ever done - to get around the show site in. There were trams but it was hot and nice not to have to stand in parking lots waiting for the "bus". I could drive the golf cart right up to the grooming/obedience building, and close to the conformation and agility rings.
So we started. The Giant/Mal friend is one of the best groomers on the continent and has shown many Portuguese Water Dogs (and in fact evaluated Syn's litter before I got there), so I got some excellent tips on shampoos, conditioners, and what to do about Syn's floppy topknot and muttonchops. Spent most of the first show day grooming. Then - oh, frabjous day, I forgot the part where many dogs are usually absent the first day of a show and pulled up to Syn's conformation ring just as the breed finished. Actually, though, that was a really good thing because if we'd made it in time, I would have taken her into the ring unsure of where she was or why she was there. Since we got there late but prepared, with treats, chairs, shade, etc, I just sat down in the shade and let her gawk for a couple of hours, rewarding her for looking at other dogs of various strange shapes and sizes. That helped a lot. Not enough it turned out, but a lot.
Stitch failed obedience by following me out of the ring on the down stay. She wasn't happy. Don't know what that's about. Worried me a bit.
Both dogs rode brilliantly around the grounds in the golf cart, doing the queen wave at everyone we passed.
The next day I managed to make it to the conformation ring on time, and so did my friend who was going to handle Syn. Didn't get a look, but Syn did very well in the ring. Hey, she says, we're running AROUND the ring! How cool is that?!
Syn was very comfortable in the conformation ring, but not comfortable in the waiting ring. Too many dogs, too much bustle, too many people. I was afraid she might be a little jumpy in the ring because of how she felt in the waiting ring so after we were done, we once again went and sat nearby to watch the proceedings. I thought that I would move closer and closer to the waiting ring as she grew more and more comfortable, but…
There was an adult male Doberman sitting nearby. He was looking at a toy I was holding, so I handed it to him. He started staring fixedly at Syn with the toy in his mouth, then dropping it repeatedly in front of her. She'd finally decide to dare trying to pick it up, he'd say OH BOY! and she'd hurriedly drop it and cuddle up next to my leg again. They had just finished negotiating how to play with each other (and the area had cleared out considerably) when the big dog's teenage niece came along. She and Syn took one look at each other and Just Knew. Too bad they were wearing leashes - they could have had a MUCH grander time without, though the time was grand enough as it was. And that's all it took. Once Syn's New Friends left, she had a new attitude and flirted with every single dog that walked anywhere near her, even pulling on the lead a bit to try to get closer to them. She particularly aimed for Giant Schnauzers, Dobes, and, apparently extrapolating, Rotts, Standard Schnauzers, and MinPins.
And Stitch failed obedience again by lying down on the sit. That's enough of that, I pulled her from obedience the rest of the trip. Hello duh. Do I KNOW this dog doesn't like surprises (yes, I do)? Did we PRACTISE obedience before we came here (no, we didn't)? Do *I* deserve to get laughed out of the ring (yes, I do)?
The third day was huge, with all her friends in the Giant Schnauzer Specialty AND the all-breed show. The morning started with Stitch earning a perfect score in Rally Excellent and Syn earning a 99/100. Wow! Unfortunately they won't go down in the record book that way since I lost 11 points on Stitch and 10 points on Syn for handler errors. They're both looking for "I am handlercapped" t-shirts. Still, good rounds, and my widdle baby puppy has a Rally leg!
The handler/friend didn't make it to ringside when it was time for Syn to go in conformation (she was still in the Specialty ring), so I had to show her myself - and I did, and it wasn't awful. It's been a long time since I even imagined I could run around a ring, but it actually wasn't too bad (aside from the fact that I wasn't wearing decent show clothes OR decent underwear - not cool to knock yourself out while running around the show ring). And Syn got Best of Winners for 2 points! EE HAH! A Rally leg and 2 points! Wow!
The fourth day Stitch got another Rally Excellent leg, Syn got another Rally Novice leg, and we were cannon fodder in the conformation ring. I was very happy with Syn's conformation behaviour, though, and she was bold and confident in the waiting ring. My going-around-the-show-ring criteria is "she has to do a jackrabbit bounce at least twice or the outing was unsuccessful". So far so good.
One behaviour she needs for conformation that we haven't practised much, but which she picked up immediately in the ring, is the ability to move out in front of the handler, putting a couple of ounces of pressure on the leash so she knows where I am without having to look back at me. She got it. Immediately. And her Lazy Leash went completely out the window. It's GONE. Between learning to put pressure on the show leash, a brief outing on a Flexi-lead, and her newfound attraction to other dogs, this day was enormously frustrating for me until I finally made a decision. Stop fussing and let her pull until these shows are over and we get back home? Or take several days off and remind her now of her job? Nope, I'll stop fussing. She's doing so well in the show ring I'll wait until we get home to solve this problem.
Now (sorry for jumping back and forth between IS and WAS - I should have written this while I was at the show, but it was pretty much get-up-at-5, work-all-day, fall-into-bed the whole time) we have 2 days to rest and drive 5 hours to Edmonton for another 4 days of shows.
What have I learned so far?
Should have practised obedience with Stitch. (facepalm)
Should have practised show-lead-walking vs Lazy Leash with Syn. It's OK, but if I'd practised, I wouldn't have remedial LL to do when I get home.
I'd like to send a bouquet of dog biscuits to those lovely Dobermans (and their very kind owners) who played with Syn and told her that dogs at dog shows aren't really scary. In Edmonton a woman introduced herself as their breeder (she started the conversation by saying "So THIS is the brown Portie everyone's talking about!"), so I got to tell her what I thought of her dogs.
Also to the Malinois who barked a lot and eventually convinced Syn that dogs in crates who swear at her really have nothing to do with her.
It's very difficult for a 6 mo puppy to switch back and forth between conformation and Rally. Her Rally scores will be going down every day, I can tell. She's not ready to switch, and she's had no work on duration of behaviours - that is, performing for 3 minutes at a time with no treats. She's going to start gawking. Still, I'm not assuming she actually knows how to do any of these behaviours, I'm sort of herding her through the courses.
She actually knows a lot. I can't WAIT to get back to the Levels and teach her more. Dear little Tat.