Saber Actually Does Obedience (and Rally)

Saber here! As promised, I am back with some news from the Obedience and Rally front. It's been about two years since I updated about this, but boy have I been busy! First, let me share a little about the practices we were doing back in early 2014 or so.

Here is a typical Down Stay practice in the grass with other dogs. One thing I liked to do to pass the time while staying was to chew some part of my body that has an itch, Here I display my phenomenal flexibility and extensive reach while chewing my right hip. Notice my use of tail lift for counterbalance.

Usually, staying is pretty boring. You just have to lie there on the floor waiting for something interesting to happen. Here we are waiting in an indoor down stay.

Sometimes, a dog isn't doing their job properly, and their person comes and takes them away. (I do not ever have this problem. I always do my job properly, for at least 2.75 minutes out of the 3 required minutes of down stay. No promises about not getting tired on the sit stay, though).

Sometimes I stay with many dogs. Other times I stay with one Corgi.

After lots of classes and practices, Mom decided I was ready for another trial in April last year (2014), She was wrong! But we had a grand time in Walla Walla because the grass in the Obedience ring was so nice and tall and smelly. I did some epic sniffing during the heel on leash and figure 8, and as soon as that leash came off I was off like a shot, romping around the ring with my tail wagging to smell all the wonderful smells. It was a sniffing festival! (This was before Mom got me going in Nosework, so I had to get my sniffing done somewhere!) The judge was not amused and excused me, but I got two more chances to sniff because Mom also entered me in Rally Advanced twice! Lots of wandering and sniffing time this weekend. No qualifying scores, but that's okay because there were no good prizes anyway.

Mom knew that I actually do know how to do Novice Obedience, so she was not discouraged (yet). Just a month later, she entered me in four more trials at Spokane and Cour D'Alene. These shows were indoors, with no wonderful grass to distract me, so she just knew I would do well! But you know, there are so many fun things to do in trials when your Mom can't correct you. Mind you, this was a year and a half ago and I was still rather immature, without the amazing work ethic I have now. Well, the three Rally Advanced trials were fun for me, but not so fun for Mom. While I was in the ring, interesting dogs were walking by and I had to watch them to make sure they were listening to their handlers and not goofing around. The broad jump looked suspicious so I carefully walked over it instead of jumping, just to be sure there were no strange creatures hiding beneath it. Some dogs were barking and whining in their crates (the nerve!) and this made it hard to concentrate. So I didn't qualify, in the judges' eyes, although in my eyes I did a fair job keeping Mom and all of the spectators safe, and preventing random dogs from breaking rules as they walked by the ring.

On the last day of these trials, Mom had entered me in Obedience again. Remember when I said that stays are boring, because you have to sit there and wait for something interesting to happen? Well, this is where the stays got really interesting! After I did all the Novice exercises, but didn't qualify due to my mother not staying close enough to me during the heeling/sniffing pattern, I went back into the ring for the group stays. There were 6 of us, all sitting lined up in a row, staying as we were told. All of us, that is, except for this other German Shepherd. You are not going to believe what this other dog did, DURING AN OBEDIENCE TRIAL. I have never seen such disrespect of rules in my life, and trust me, I work with poodles. Anyway, this dog was staring at me. I ignored him. So, DURING THE STAY, he got up and ran over to me and started SNIFFING MY FACE. Oh yes he did, and I was about to give him an obedience lesson he would never forget but my Mom yelled, "Leave it! Stay!" So I had to turn my head and stay there sitting, while this "dog" (and I use the term loosely) starts sniffing my other body parts and the Judge is yelling at the other lady to get her dog! (Yeah seriously lady, GET YOUR DOG!) I sat and stayed, I did not growl or move. I did not correct this overt display of DISobedience. And then when the lady grabbed her inconsiderate canine by his collar and started to pull him away, he had the absolute nerve to LUNGE at me and SNARL in my face! Mom again reminded me to "Leave it! Stay!" and so I did. I stayed until the exercise ended, and then the Judge congratulated me and my Mom and the other competitors applauded me for my self control. Yes, they literally applauded, and told my Mom what a great dog I am. Then I finished with a perfect group down stay. Alas, I had already gotten a non-qualifying score because of the heeling, but Mom said she was prouder of me than she has ever been, and she took me to play in the park and bought me an ice cream cone. Now isn't that better than any ribbon? I still would like to have a chat with that other dog about his lack of manners and blatant disregard for rules.

Over the summer, we did some more practicing in Obedience and Rally, and then in September 2014, Mom entered me in the local shows. Those are outside in the grass! I was thrilled. She entered me three times in Rally Advanced, during which I did lots of great sniffing (think she was getting the hint about Nosework yet?) The best part was when I was at the start sign with Mom and saw a figure 8 with food bowls way over on the other side of the ring. I was drooling in anticipation! Was it hamburgers? Hot dogs? Leftover lasagna? As soon as Mom said "Heel" I ran straight over there for lunch, but some rude person had put plastic grates over the top of the food! What a rude joke. How am I supposed to heel when there is lunch caged up in a bowl right in front of me? I got 3 non-qualifying scores. I also got 2 NQs in Obedience: one because I was still sniffing a lot, and the other because, after doing a much better job on all the exercises, I got tired on the sit stay and laid down for a rest. (I personally think a 15 second rest during the one minute sit stay should be allowed, even encouraged. Perhaps that will be one of the Obedience regulation changes in the future, along with removing the grates from the lunch bowls in Rally).

After all those NQ's Mom kind of gave up about the trialing for awhile. She stopped taking Obedience classes and stopped going to Rally practices. We didn't even do any run throughs or anything for almost 5 months. Instead, we started Nosework! Oh, that is so fun, and much more useful than stays! I am, after all, an expert sniffer, as demonstrated in all the preceding Obedience trials.

Mom finally decided this February to take me to a Fun Match and see if I remembered any Obedience. Sure I did! And no other dogs got up to sniff me this time. I kept an eye on them though.

We didn't do anymore practices or classes, but Mom wondered if maybe I was finally ready to give it a try again. So after over 6 months of almost no Obedience or Rally, in April she took me to  Moses Lake for a trial. And all of that break time paid off! I got my first CD leg with a first place ribbon! I also got this cute squeaky toy as a prize:

On the second day, I got another CD leg and a 3rd place! Mom was so excited and I was just glad we were 2/3 of the way to being done with this Novice stuff.

The best part of the trip was getting to play in the park after the trials! I got to go down the slides with my girl...

 

...swim in the lake...

...and fetch sticks!

Two weeks later, Mom took me to the Walla Walla trial (indoors this time) and I got my second leg in Rally Advanced!

Well, finally Mom learned her lesson about what this Shepherd needs to win in Obedience: way less practice, and way more time sniffing! Now that I was active in Nosework, I didn't really need to be so sniffy during obedience trials anymore. Plus, since we never practiced anymore, it wasn't as boring. Mom got the point and for the next 6 months we did no Obedience or Rally practice (one or two run throughs, that's all) and lots of nosework! I was one happy puppy!

Last month, Mom entered me in the trials at Cashmere to see if I could finish either of those titles. We did not practice at all; Mom just brought me to the trial, let me wait in my crate, and then took me straight into the ring when it was time. And I rocked it!

Here I am with my New Title ribbon in AKC Novice Obedience: Saber Jet, CD! (Companion Dog)

The next day I rocked it again, and earned my 3rd Rally Advanced leg for the RA title!

This has been such an adventure! Mom was so happy when we finished these titles and promised me she would never make me do Obedience trials again if I didn't want to. But you know what? There are jumps and dumbbells to fetch in the next level of Obedience... so game on! I'm ready!

Saber Jet, RN

Hi everyone! Saber here. I have been so busy dealing with the sick cat, or rather, just knowing there is a cat constantly in my house, that I have neglected to update you on my latest adventures! But don't worry. I am a dog of great diligence and reliability, and will always do my duty to inform the public of my affairs.

Mom says I did something really wonderful earlier this month! She took me to a 3-day AKC Rally obedience trial in Moses Lake, WA, where I stunned and amazed everyone by not only getting my last two legs in Rally Novice, but also earning a leg in Rally Advanced! Let me tell you about it.

The trial on Friday was in a nice, big, open building with a lot of Collies around it. Apparently this was a Collie Specialty show. I assume I was invited because I am so much like the famous Lassie, who was very intelligent and did many great things for her family. I also have a long pointy nose, so I fit right in with the Collies. Anyway, when I got into the ring I paid very close attention to Mom's commands, except when I was distracted. There were a lot of Collie smells, and because I am a great tracking dog I had to sniff the new, never-before-seen-by-me mats which were connected together with duct tape. I had to redo one exercise, the Halt-Sit-Down, because just as I approached the station there was some very interesting and exciting obedience with jumps going on in the next ring and I forgot to sit. But I did the exercise perfectly the second time, and I qualified and got a pretty green ribbon!

The next day, we were in a different building without a lot of Collies. We had a different judge and a new course, and even though I did a bit of sniffing again, I got an even better score! Funny thing though. The judge had a Halt-Sit-Down sign in this course, too! So I did it exactly the same way I did that station yesterday: walked past it a bit, didn't sit, and made my Mom redo the whole station. I figured it got me a ribbon last time, so I just repeated my perfect behavior and YES! We got another ribbon, and my first Rally title! Now I am Saber Jet, RN. I suppose they would like me to start working in a hospital or nursing home like all the other RN's I know, but that's really not my thing. Besides, I don't even have a nurses' hat yet. But if it makes them feel better calling me an RN, I will allow it.

The night before I got my final leg in Rally Novice, Mom started looking at the Advanced Rally signs and trying to figure out how to do them all, just in case I surprised her and got to move up. And so she was ready when on the third day of the trial, we moved up to Rally Advanced. However I personally was not accustomed to working completely off leash, and a few of the exercises were new to me. But imagine my delight when we walked into the ring, she took off my leash, and there were two shiny silver FOOD BOWLS in the middle of the floor just ahead! I could not believe my good fortune! No leash AND food bowls left on the course? Oh, you can bet I was "ready" when the judge asked, "Are you ready?" Because when we got over near those food bowls, I went right over for my mid-day snack! Alas, not only did Mom tell me to Leave It, but there were also plastic grates on top of the bowls. And instead of food, they were full of toys. What a disappointed shepherd was I. Anyway, when Mom redid that station I paid better attention to her and did my figure 8 nicely. But in the back of my mind I was thinking what a mean joke it was for someone to put those food bowls out like that, with no food in them. Anyway, since we were off leash in a new place, I was a bit distracted and Mom was talking to me and calling me a lot to keep my attention. I was doing some sniffing, I knocked a sign over with my tail, and Mom had to redo a 360 left turn. But there was also a jump, and I LOVE doing jumps! It reminds me of agility, and I was looking for a tunnel to get sucked into after the jump but there was no tunnel at all. I guess they forgot it. Someone should look into the person who set this course up with no food and no tunnel.

Mom said she worked really hard for that Q. Yes, that's right, I qualified and got my first Rally Advanced leg! I truly am a wonderdog, says Mom. Sadly, no one got any pictures of me in the ring, but here I am afterwards with my ribbons:

But the best is yet to come! Because I did such a great job, after the trials Mom took me to do some of my favorite things! Frisbee:

And fetching sticks in the water!

Oh it was great fun! Apparently this is Moses' Lake. I don't know who Moses is, but he sure has a lot of sticks.

Then, Mom took me to Woody's Drive In for a bone sundae! I love bone sundaes. Doesn't everyone?

So you see, it is hard work being a German Shepherd, but my Mom makes it worth it. I am looking forward to another fun trip this weekend, when we go to Walla Walla for Obedience and Rally! Smell you there!

Saber Starts Rally! And a New Obedience Title.

Saber here with an update on all the fun things my Mom and I have been up to! You already know from my last post that I am a fantastic obedience dog, but did you know I am a Rally star too? Yes, this little black and tan puppy is a creature of many talents. In fact, I have not found anything that I do not excel at. Do not ask the cat for her opinion on that, though.

Anyway, a few weeks ago Mom and I started taking classes to learn AKC Rally obedience. Here are some pictures of us practicing in the Clubhouse and at the park. I'm the one with the pointy ears and the perfect sit:

After our second class, I so impressed my mother that she entered me in a Rally trial this past weekend! We were already going to Spokane for the obedience trial and lure coursing, so why not? She didn't think I would qualify, but I sure surprised her! Look at all my pretty ribbons!

Yes, that is right. I got my first Q in Rally Novice, even though there were TRAINS barreling past the ring just as Mom and I entered. I thought those things only appeared when we are in our car, so imagine my shock when two of them came right by us without any windows or car parts between us! I guess they heard about the trial and wanted to watch me perform. Who can blame them?

So I did my best work for Mom and the Judge gave me a pretty green ribbon!

Then we went inside to the Obedience ring and there was a different Judge there, waiting to see the amazing, famous, blogging Shepherd. When I appeared, he gave his orders and Mom and I did all of the obedience exercises he asked for. He was so awed by my talent and beauty that he gave me not only a green ribbon, but also this gorgeous red rosette and a polka dotted fleece blanket! That was pretty nice of him but he forgot the bacon. Maybe next time. Anyway, Mom was happy, I got second place in Beginner Novice and earned my AKC BN title!

But that's not all! See that orange ribbon hanging from my collar? The next day Mom took me to my FAVORITE activity (besides eating): lure coursing! It was lots of fun, I ran fast and caught the bunnies right at the end (they tasted like plastic), and I got that ribbon. I just need two more to earn my AKC CAX title!

Well after all that hard work, I am a very tired puppy. Lucky I have this new blanket to keep me warm and cozy. Good night!