Sunday Salutations: Dante’s Obedience Debut
Dante made his exciting debut in AKC obedience, and we have videos to prove it. We also have a 50 Word Throwback - one of our Postcard stories!
We are just getting caught up on all of the dog items. As some of you already have heard, Dante and I just completed into our very first round of competitions a few weeks ago. Dante is just over a year old. I figured it was time for him to get ring experience, something I didn’t do with Crokell right away. Not only is Dante such as super-fast learner, he is also a bit of ham. But with help from our brilliant instructor (who always throws in some distractions at us), I had high hopes for his debut and he sure met my expectations (see the video below).
So what’s next? Well, we are just getting started, and Dante is already in Obedience at the highest level I have ever titled. So, next year, we have our work cut out for us, with more titles in obedience, a CGC, and trick dog title(s). After that, I will look into rally. If there’s one thing I learned with Crokell, it’s that obedience is no joke and it’s way harder than rally! That seems backwards, because rally has so many more tricks and commands to learn. However, in rally you get to cheer your dog on the whole time!
On the other paw, in obedience… Silence is Golden. That’s pretty tough for both me and the pups. You have to stand still, keep quiet, and keep all signals on mute, frozen, or otherwise absent, except for the very limited allowed signals.
If you’re new to the world of AKC obedience, here’s a quick peek behind the curtain: your run is scored out of 200 points, and you can lose points for just about anything! Some examples are: a tightened leash, dog lagging, the dog moving in front of you a little, missing a cue, and the dog not sitting the second your feet come together.
Here are the Beginner Novice (BN) exercises:
Heel on leash with signs – Basically, here we have simple signs (like in rally), that show us what we need to do, turn right, turn left, walk fast, or slow. It is like a GPS map for a dog.
Figure eight on leash – Here we weave around two cones and sit when the judges says to. And repeat.
Sit for exam – Here is one of the hardest ones for Dante. He has to stay sitting like a statue while the judge pets him. You have no idea how hard it is for him not to jump all over her.
Sit stay – The next is sit stay, while I make a lap around the ring. Dante can watch me, but isn’t allow to move his feet (or butt).
Recall – After being told “come”, this isn’t just about Dante zooming across the ring to me, he needs to be “under control” and is expected to sit right in front of me.
Ready for a challenge? Here’s Dante’s first-ever official run. Can you spot all of our goofs, big and small? And guess our score?
Chaos Critters in Motion
50 Word Throwback
One of the best series Raconteur Press via The Three Mom’s of the Apocalypse did was their “Postcard” series. We each got a different, random picture that we then wrote a fifty word story (no more, no less). Here, we’ve redone pictures similar to what The Three Mom’s used. To see the originals, buy the hardback books here https://amazon.com/author/casasent.
This story first appeared in Postcards from P-Con.
Delivering the Goods
On final approach, asteroid cannon propellent sprayed wildly. The packages went flying into space. Hamish leapt and caught the last pie. Only to have the filling explode and ooze through his paws.
"Drat, another delivery ruined."
Hamish radioed the delivery company, "The squirrels must have cut my brake lines again."
Chaos Tip of the Week
If your dog is a ham, consider all the ways you can turn those crazy moments into tricks on command. After all, it’s only “bad” when they do it against your wishes. Having them open doors and turn on lights will get you your very own personal canine butler.
Chaos Question of the Week
Which dog trick was the easiest for you to every teach your critter? And which one is a constant struggle? Do you ever wonder if it is even worth it, due to how many treats it has taken to tame the beast?