damn good dog

damn good dog :: 46/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

Via Flickr:
Yep. Gyppie got a big juicy steak for supper last night (so did K-man)  She was running in an Obedience Trial all weekend. It was her debut in the "Open Obedience" ring ... and she came home with her CDX title. This little dog of mine is bursting with heart and a whole 'lotta try.

For anyone that REALLY knows Gyp, she is sensitive to the max and her feelings are easily hurt. She's not always the confident dog people seem to think she is. It's been a journey, let me tell you. She has learned to recover and not shutdown through a ton of reinforcement from me, and making EVERYTHING a fun game - she trusts me to keep her safe. Always wants to please, and tries to make the right choices. She's kind of like me - we try to hide when we are worried, but we aren't good liars. I am calm cool and collected with her - my blood pressure didn't even rise in the ring, she calms me and keeps me zen.

She ran in 4 trials - 2 under a woman judge, and 2 under a male judge, who I've trialed under with Kaleb, and I thought he would be soft spoken enough for Gyp to be OK with it, she really wasn't. Her first trial under him was pretty good (slightly spooked, but not bad)  - and literally only put one foot out of place all when she anticipated a dumbbell throw for an NQ - but that round would have been a 191. Her out of sight stays were ROCK solid in all 4 trials - she even fell asleep in a couple of her down stays. Her other scores under the female judge were 190 and 193 - I was THRILLED!! I always struggle with my handling and ring etiquette in Obedience, but we got better as the weekend went on.

It was nice to be able to go home in between trial and "reset" so to speak. That helped us big time. Both of us were able to step back in the ring with no memory of the previous trial, not time to obsess and get nervous. It worked well ... expect for when I nearly missed my run yesterday afternoon!!I also have to thank "The Lumineers" who kept me sane, calm and zen all weekend, their music played in my vehicle to and from the show ... it wasn't a gangster rap or hip hop weekend ... we save that for Agility :)

Her last run under the male judge was a bit of a mess, he had change jingling in his pocket and the show had cleared out and it was super quiet. She actually tried to leave the ring once after heeling. Her heeling got worse, and I actually helped her in the figure 8 and talked to her - I didn't care, I needed to help my dog, and she appreciated it. If she didn't recover at the Drop on Recall I was ready to ask to be excused. Her drop was nice, she did everything I asked. Her action exercises were VERY good and we hardly lost points. My little dog stuck it and out and kept trying for ME, She passed that last leg for her CDX.

I think that is what a team is, what a friendship is, and what can make the canine/human bond so special. We help eachother out. Thank you Gyp for being the most honest, loving and sweet dog I've ever known.