Our first Obedience and Rally-O competitions this year

Hello. I am Mint!

As Cinnamon reported in her last post about our first ever camping, I finally won Elementary Freestyle in a live competition five years after my debut in the sport!

In this post I am going to report about our first Obedience and Rally-O competitions this year, which were held the day after the Paws'n'Music competition.

On the day I entered Obedience Novice and Rally-O Excellent A 1 and 2, while Cinnamon entered Rally-O Advanced B 1 and 2.

The first up was one of my Rally Excellent rounds. Well, I enjoyed the course, but I didn't respond to Mum's cues quickly enough at two stations, so I lost two points, meaning it was a fail, as you need to achieve a perfect score 100/100 in order to qualify in the Excellent class.

Next I did Obedience. In fact I didn't get as nervous as I often do in Obedience competitions. When I am nervous, I tend to lag at the start. But, this time I was kind of eager to start. However, I must admit that I forgot to move precisely. For example, at left turns I was supposed to flip my back side with my right shoulder touching Mum's left leg, but I was making loose left turns. In the recall and dumbbell retrieve I had a little crocked sit.

After some wait, I did the group stays in the Novice ring. As you may know, I used to break my stays all the time in Obedience competitions, and because of that I was unable to graduate from the Special Beginners class for five or six years. However, since I became a Novice dog, I have never broken my stays, even though handlers have to stand away from their dogs with their back toward the dog. This time again, at my third competition in the Novice class, I had no trouble doing my stays! Even when a dog next to me lied down in the sit stay, I kept sitting!

After that, Cinnamon had her first Rally Advanced round. Because I was waiting in the car, I didn't witness it, but, according to Mum, Cinnamon didn't enjoy working in the ring. At the start she ran away from the ring, although she did stay with Mum after coming back into the ring. Mum says that it was very hard to keep motivating Cinnamon.

Having a rest in the car between our rounds.

Then, I had my second Rally Excellent round and I did better than I did in the first one. When I was doing the stay in the Rally ring, I heard someone calling Mum's name. It was someone sent by the Obedience judge. She said they needed us for the prizegiving.

As soon as I finished the Rally stay, Mum and I went to the clubhouse for the prizegiving. Can you believe it? I got a 3rd place in Obedience Novice!

I am proud of myself!!

Shortly after that, Cinnamon had her second Rally Advanced round. However, according to Mum, Cinnamon didn't even stay with Mum in the ring, so Mum called it off after several stations.

Now that we had been in all competitions that we had entered, I thought that we were leaving for home soon. But, after packing up all our stuff, Mum once again walked us, as she hadn't given up her hope that I had qualified in my second Rally-O Excellent A round. In fact she was right! I didn't only get a qualifying score (100/100) but also a 2nd place!

I had a photoshoot with my three ribbons
after I had a shampoo at home.

Yay! I got three ribbons in three different sports! I am so happy because Mum looks really happy!

Yes, I can stay!!!! Even with Mum facing away!!

Hello everyone. Mint here.

On Sunday I went to the North Shore Dog Training Club Obedience Championship and competed in the Novice class for the first time! This time I entered the Novice class because I graduated from the Special Beginners class, the lowest obedience class in NZ, two and a half months ago.

One of the reasons I couldn't graduate from the Special Beginners for several years  until recently was that I couldn't stay sitting or lying in the competition environment where there were other strange dogs around me. I practised stays with Mum and Cinnamon countless times on our daily walks, but I couldn't resist my temptation to stand up and walk to Mum in real competitions.

However, I suddenly felt confident and succeeded in my stays in a competition in late May, where I won the class, and in another competition in early July, where I won the class again, and those two wins graduated me from the class.

It seems that Mum had considered the North Shore show on Sunday as a practice run, because in the Novice class I had to do stays with Mum facing away from me, and Mum didn't think that it was possible for me.

Anyhow this was my on and off lead heelwork, recall, and dumbbell retrieve.

Hee hee I missed a left turn because it was right after I had a yawn :-P  Don't say I shouldn't have yawned! You know you can't stop those natural physical reactions!

After this, we did the stays. Mum looked very worried, but in fact I was very lucky that I was at the far end of the ring from the corridor and I had no other dogs on one side, because I was the last dog in the running order of the class. And, I stayed!!

There was a long wait until the results were announced. And, before the prize giving started, Mum and I were called for a run off. At that time, we didn't know what place the run off was for. It might have been the fifth place, in which case I wouldn't get any placing if I lost.

At the prize giving it turned out that I had won the run off and got a 2nd place!

Mum says that it must have been beginners luck. But, whatever it was, I was very happy because Mum looked very happy!!

Our first competitions this year in Mangawhai

Hi! Mint here!

On Saturday I was super busy like a big celebrity!

We went to our first competitions this year and there I participated in three different disciplines, Rally-O, Obedience, and Canine Freestyle.

The competitions were held in Mangawhai, nearly two hours from our house. Usually for competitions in Mangawhai we need to leave home very early before six o'clock, but this time even the first class I entered didn't start till 10am. So, we left home at 8am and arrived at the venue at 10am.

The first competition I entered was Rally-O Excellent, the highest class in Rally-O. Well, more precisely my class is called Excellent A for beginners in the Excellent class. If you qualify in Excellent A three times, you will advance to Excellent B.

As it was my first competition in the Excellent class, Mum was just going to practise new advanced exercises in the competition, rather than pursuing for qualifications or placings.

In fact it turned out that there were many rules Mum didn't know.

After my first round in Excellent, where Mum forgot to make me lie down at the "Halt-Stand-Down" station before the Finish, the judge told Mum that handlers in Excellent were not allowed to tap their laps, which she didn't know.

Also, when Mum was walking the course for my second round in Rally-O Excellent, she got puzzled seeing the sign "Three Steps Back". But, then, an angel appeared from behind, asking her if she knew what to do at the station. She was so lucky! The angel kindly demonstrated what to do for her, which Mum says that she greatly appreciated.

I really enjoyed both of my two rounds in Excellent, so I did everything that Mum told me to do. I even did stays nicely without breaking them! In Rally-O Excellent there is always a stay in the ring while another pair is doing the course in the same ring.

Mum especially praised me for being a good boy when we had to wait for four minutes in the ring without food or toys after our round and before my stay. While waiting for the judge to come back to the ring, I played with Mum in the ring.

This is a video of my second Rally-O Excellent round:

This video shows how I played with Mum while waiting for the start of my stay:

After my two Rally-O rounds, there was a loooong wait.

Next, I did Obedience. When I was doing Rally-O, it was drizzling, but when my class Special Beginners started, it had cleared and started to get very warm.

Near the entrance to the Obedience ring, I found some interesting smell, although I didn't know what it was. When I did the heelwork on and off lead and the recall, I didn't get distracted by the smell much. So, I was able to work nicely in the ring, ignoring the smell. But, when I did the group stay, I couldn't resist the smell any more! So, after staying for forty seconds or so in the one-minute Sit Stay, I got up and went to the spot outside the ring to check the smell again. Mum looked very disappointed, which I do understand, but you know I just couldn't resit it, as it was very warm and I was very tired already.

Here is a video of my heelwork and recall in Special Beginners:

In fact, after the competition, the judge praised me for them a lot ;-)

Then, after a short wait, the prizegiving for Rally-O started. Can you believe it? In the second competition I, Mint, got a 3rd place and a qualifying certificate in Rally-O Excellent A!!

Mum says that that was the last thing she had expected. Humph! Does that mean that she doesn't trust me? But, that's OK. If Mum is happy, I am happy.

My day didn't finish here. There was the Paws 'n' Music (dancing) competition next!! I thought "Are you serious, Mum?" as I was exhausted by then. So, I couldn't perform well at all.

Well, Cinnamon, who didn't enter Rally-O or Obedience, also entered the Paws 'n' Music competition. As she was not so tired, she performed her Heelwork To Music routine well enough to win the Elementary class. Well done, Cinnamon!

It was a very long day but finished with nice ribbons, although I would have liked some special treats much better than ribbon!

Yes, Mint can STAY!

It's me, Mint, again!

Today I have great news! Well, it is not such great news for myself but it is for Mum.

On Saturday I went to Hibiscus Coast Dog Training Club Obedience and Rally-O championship. The news I want to share with you today is about Obedience. I didn't break my stays for the first time in the last two years and won the Special Beginners for the first time!

When I was younger, Mum was thinking that I had potential to become a good competitive obedience dog and that I would go up to higher obedience classes easily. However, after I started having seizures, I became unable to stay still with other dogs in group stays in obedience competitions. I was able to stay at home or in a park, but I couldn't stay in a competition environment. Well, it may not be because of my epilepsy, but somehow I always stood up and walked to Mum in competitions when I was supposed to be staying with other dogs.

Because I always broke my stays, I missed a chance to win so many times. I don't remember how many times I have heard people, including judges, giving Mum advice on how to improve my stays. Staying is boring you know, but Mum made me practise them almost every day. Nevertheless, I couldn't help moving and standing up when doing stays with other dogs in a competition ring.

However, this time I somehow didn't feel like standing up during my stays. This time I didn't feel anxious at all. I was comfortable staying with other dogs. I think that practising with some other well-behaved dogs in a therapy dog class that I had attended just recently helped.

What surprised me was that I won the Rally-O Advanced A too! Well, we left the competition venue before the prizegiving. So, when we left, we didn't know that I had won it. But later my friend's mum let Mum know the result.

Don't you think that I have been doing too well lately? To be honest I feel awkward. Is it Ok for me to be such a good boy?

How we have been doing in competitions recently

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

I just realised that I hadn't posted about how we have been doing in competitions this year. Sorry this post may be boring for many of you, but I wanted to post it as a record.

As you may know, we compete in Agility, Obedience, Rally Obedience, and Paws n Music. As for Paws n Music, last year there was no competition in or near Auckland, except for a video competition which Mint won (I didn't enter it), and this year there is no competition until National Dog Obedience Assembly (NDOA) in October. So, the last competition we went to is NDOA in 2011, where I got first and Mint second in Elementary Freestyle.

Early this year we had to withdraw from quite a few competitions because of Mint's frequent seizures. So, we haven't been to many competitions this year. We have been to three Agility competitions, three Obedience competitions, and one Rally Obedience competition. We haven't done any agility since mid-March after Mint had multiple seizures on the day after our last agility competition. Although we don't know what caused those seizures, we haven't done agility at all since the day just in case.

In the last Agility competition we went to, I won Novice. As I was doing really well in agility at that time, Mum wanted to continue to compete with me in Agility but decided to have a break because it was getting cold towards winter anyway.

Mint has competed in three Obedience competitions this year (I haven't competed in Obedience this year). In the first one Mint did really well in heelwork but broke his stay. In the second one, his heelwork was not as good as it usually is but he managed to get a 4th place because he didn't break his stays. And, in the third one last weekend, although his heelwork was better than the previous time, he broke his stays again.

In the only Rally Obedience competition we have been to this year, Mum made a lot of mistakes because she hadn't practised Rally-O for a long time. Because of her mistakes, I couldn't qualify in one of two rounds that I had. But, I got a 3rd place in the other round in Novice B. Mint qualified in both of two rounds he had, but he didn't get placed. Now that Mint has got three or more than Novice qualifying certificate, he is eligible for a RN (Rally Novice) title, which lazy Mum hasn't applied for.

Currently we train in Obedience and Paws n Music once a week on the same day. In Obedience Mint's biggest challenge is stays and mine is the dumbbell. (I can't sit close enough to Mum with my dumbbell in my mouth.) In Paws n Music both of us are just staring to work on our new routines.

Our last competition of the year

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Last Saturday we went to Cambridge for our last agility & obedience competition of the year.

The venue is one hour and a half away from home and entries were to be taken from 7:15am. So, we got up very early when it was still dark outside and left home before 6am.

Leaving home at dawn

Many people were camping at the site

This time Mint entered Novice, Intermediate, and Jumpers C, and I entered Starters, Novice, and Jumpers C. Detailed report of each run of ours may be boring for some, so here I report the result only for agility.

Having a rest after having two runs each

Mint went clear in all of his three runs, even in his very first Intermediate. Well done, Mint!

Mint was flat out after finishing all his runs

I missed a clear round in Novice, as I entered the weaves from the wrong (left) side. But, yay, I got a 2nd place in Starters (Mini & Micro combined) and WON Jumpers C (Mini & Micro combined)! It was my first win after my very first win in Elementary B at the same venue in the same competition last year!

Me won the Jumpers C!

Well, as I said at the beginning of this post, this event was an agility & obedience competition, and Mint entered Special Beginners. This class consists of five components, on-lead heelwork, off-lead heelwork, recall, sit stay, and down stay. Mint did very well in the first three components that each dog does separately, but he broke his sit stay by standing up and sitting again, which lead to a big point reduction. But, he still managed to get a 2nd place.

Mint got a 2md place in Special Beginners in Obedience

Overall, Mum looked really happy with how we did, which makes us happy too! It was also good that we finished off the year with good results.

Now we will have a long break from training with instructors, but I am sure Mum will do some training at home occasionally. I hope both Mint and I will do even better next year!

Mangawhai & Whangarei Agility/Obedience Ribbon Trial

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Well, perhaps Mint would be the right person to write this post, but I am writing as usual, as Mint is busy napping after a big day out.

Yesterday, on Sunday, we went to Mangawhai, over one hour and a half hours away from our house, for Agility and Obedience ribbon trials. Well, we hadn't to plan to go, but at the last minute, at night on Saturday, Mum decided to go to the trials with us if it didn't rain. As they were ribbon trials, we didn't need to enter in advance.

On Sunday, Mum, who usually has trouble getting up early, got up before 5.30am, packed her snacks and our treats, put us in the car, and left home before 6.30am. (In fact I am very impressed that she got up so early!) Although we had showers on the way to Mangawhai, it didn't rain at all while we were at Mangawhai Domain where the trials were held!

Preparing for our rounds

Both Agility and Obedience trials started at 9am. As the first agility classes on the day were higher levels than those we wanted to enter, Mum entered Mint in Obedience Special Beginners class which also started at 9am.

Mint was the third in the running order. Although I didn't see him competing in the ring myself, as I had to wait in a crate in Mum's car, it seems that he started off nicely in his on-lead heelwork. But, he did what I, not he, usually do, shortly after he started doing his off-lead heelwork. He suddenly ran off, sniffed around an edge of the ring, picked up something, ate it, and finally came back to Mum!! Of course, Mum was very disappointed with what he had done, but she said that she didn't get as upset as she had used to.

Mint doing his off-lead heelwork

In fact Mum was more worried about Mint's stays, as he had broken his stays many times before. But, to her relief, he finished both his one-minute sit stay and two-minute down stay with no problem. Well done, Mint!!

As a result, despite a big point deduction for his wandering off, he got placed the fourth!!

The first Agility class we did on the day was Starters. As we usually do, I went first and Mint next after four dogs between us (There were only six Mini dogs in the class). I did very well for most of  the course but had to redo the weaves twice. Mint had no problem with this class, getting placed the 7th in the whole class (48 dogs) which includes all larger dogs.

Next, I did Elementary A and got placed the 2nd in the whole (unsplit) class (only 11 dogs).

Then, both Mint and I did Jumpers C. Well, I didn't do well in this class, as my nose caught some interesting smell by the ring and I couldn't help checking it! Mint also felt like checking out the same thing, but he came back to Mum as soon as she called him. In this class he again gor a placing!! He got a 6th place in the whole (unsplit) class (45 dogs)!

At the end of the day Mint did his first ever Novice, which includes contact obstacles, and got a Clear Round! Well done, Mint!! He was placed the 4th out of 18 Mini/Micro dogs but the placing was not good enough to get a ribbon.

Ribbons we got yesterday :-)

It was a long but fruitful day. Altogether, Mint got three ribbons and I got one!

Finally back in competitive obedience after a long break!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

In a recent post I wrote about agility and Rally-O competitions, but Mint and I didn't compete in Obedience for a long time. However, late last month we went to an obedience trial for the first time in the past half year.

Mum didn't take us to obedience trials for such a long time, because she thought that both of us had lost interest in obedience. Yes, she was right. I didn't enjoy competing in obedience, feeling bored every time Mum took me into the competition ring, as I had to do the same things all the time.

Although we didn't compete for a long time, we kept doing obedience training. I still get bored sometimes, but I am starting to enjoy it a little bit.

In the first obedience trial after a long break, I entered the Elementary class and Mint entered the Special Beginners and Elementary classes. In fact it was Mint's first Special Beginners round. The exercises in the Elementary class are Heelwork (on lead with about and right turns), Recall, Sit Stay (30 seconds), and Down Stay (1 minute), while those in the Special Beginners class are Heelwork (both on lead and off lead with about, right, and left turns), Recall, Sit Stay (1 minute), and Down Stay (2 minutes).

In the Special Beginners class, Mint did wonderful heelwork but broke the sit stay. However, as many of other competiters didn't perform as well as they usually did, Mint still got a fourth place.

In the Elementary class I did the heelwork pretty well, without sniffing the floor as I often did. My recall was so so. On the other hand, Mint's heelwork was not as good as what he usually did. In the stays which Mint and I did together at the same time, Mint lay down when we were doing the sit stay, while I did both stays without problems. After all, I got a 2nd place!!

Two weeks later Mint went to another obedience trial. I didn't enter this time, because the Elementary and Special Beginners classes took place at the same time. If I had entered too, Mum would have panicked.

In the Elementary Mint didn't do the heelwork as well as he usually does. But, he didn't lose points in the stays, and he WON the class!! As it was his second win in the class (He got his first win a year ago), he cannot enter the class anymore.

In the Special Beginners he did the heelwork pretty well but broke BOTH stays!! How stupid he is!! So, he didn't get any placing...

Now that Mum knows that Mint's stays are a problem, she has been practising stays with Mint every day!

It is not only our human who's been working hard!!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

I know that my blog posts have been slack again, but it is not only our human who's been busy and working hard!

Last month Mint and I went to two competitions, one agility competition and one rally obedience competition, and on Saturday we went to another agility competition. And, tell you what! We brought back at least one ribbon from all of these competitions!!

On 12th and 13th May we went to NorWest Jumpers Championship. Both Mint and I entered six Jumpers C rounds, and Mint got one clear round each day and I got two clear rounds on Saturday and one clear round on Sunday. In one of the two rounds from which Mint got clear rounds, he even got a 2nd-place ribbon!!



On 27th May we went to Manukau Rally Obedience Championship and entered the Novice A class.

As we hadn't done any rally obedience, Mum was very worried how we would perform. I have to admit that Mum's concern had a reason. In the last rally obedience competition, she was upset by my performance, as I wandered off many times, ignoring her commands. But, this time I enjoyed my round and did much much better than the last time, and I got a 2nd-place ribbon as well as my second qualifying certificate!



Mint also did very well despite the fact that it was the very first rally obedience competition for him. When our rounds finished, Mum actually thought that Mint had done better than me. But, later she realised that she had done something wrong in his round. She had forgot to make him sit before laying down, when she had to do so. So, Mint lost ten points for that mistake. However, he didn't make any fault otherwise, so he managed to get his first qualifying certificate.

Last Saturday we went to Counties Agility Ribbon Trial and both of us entered Jumpers C, Starters, and Elementary A.

In Jumpers C we both did very well but weren't fast enough to get a ribbon. When ribbons were given up to the 3rd place, I got placed the 4th and Mint the 5th.

In Starters Mint did extremely well and WON the class!! Well done Mint!! But, I didn't do so well. I was so excited at the start that I didn't wait until Mum said 'OK', and when I started running, Mum was so upset that she forgot how she had planned to run, resulting in three faults.



In Elementary A we couldn't run as fast as we usually do, as we were already very tired, but it seems that many other dogs in the class were feeling the same way. As a result, Mint got a 2nd place and I got a 3rd place.

Now that Mint has got a win in Starters, he has graduated from Elementary A, which means that he will be entering Starters and Novice in the next competition.

Besides competitions, we demonstrated dog dancing with another doggie at a primary school last week.

This photo was taken at home before we went to the school for our demo

It was great fun!! Over a hundred kids watched it, and they were a wonderful audience. As their teachers had told them to stay calm and quiet so that we dogs didn't get over-excited, they didn't rush toward us to pat us like children often do when they see dogs. Also, unlike other public displays, there was no one eating something and there was no food around us. So, I could concentrate on my performance, although I wandered off a little bit at the beginning of my routine, and I could hear the kids laughing every time I did a trick.

Mint did well too, although Mum didn't look happy with her own improvisation for the last part of Mint's routine. The audience also enjoyed watching a limbo dance by our dancing team mate, Fletcher.

What I thought was wonderful was that between our dance performances a teacher demonstrated clicker training with a couple of volunteers from the young audience. The children really enjoyed it, and later I heard that young children had been doing it for the rest of the day.

Our Year 2011

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Can you believe that another year has passed already? What was the year like for you? The year has brought us a lot of changes and surprises.

January 2011

In mid January Mint was hospitalized. It seemed that Mint had eaten something toxic, which paralysed his nerve system, but the vet couldn't figure out what Mint had eaten. It took a few weeks before he got back to his normal self.

In the following week after Mint came back home, we moved from our previous house to a rental house where we lived for two months until our humans found, bought, and moved to our new house. When we were living in the rental house, we had a chance to go on a trip to Rotorua.

In late February there was a big earthquake in Christchurch and many humans and doggies lost their houses, which was really sad. And less than three weeks later there were even bigger earthquakes in Japan. Watching roads and buildings being pushed away and flattened by big waves caused by Tsunami was really saddening. Many lives were lost. Now, more than nine months later, there are still areas no one is allowed to enter because of radiation contamination. All I can now is believe in people's strength to overcome challenges.

Four days after the earthquakes and tsunami in Japan, we moved from the rental house to our new house. Our previous house was close to the city centre, only fifteen minutes by bus from a bus stop in front of the house to the city centre. Our new house is far away from downtown, but for giving up the proximity to the city centre, we got a great living environment for both humans and dogs.

In early June, I had the honor to be a member of the judge panel for my friend Honey the Great Dane's "Dancing with the Doggie Stars" contest. It was rewarding to see so many doggies and their humans with no experience in dancing working so hard on their routines while enjoying the time spent together. A few days later Mint got placed the first for the first time in an Obedience trial!!

In mid July my dearest boy friend Mango the Mastiff took me to a Dream Date full of adventures!!

In late July I turned four years old and on my birthday I enjoyed my birthday cake that Mum had made for me.

In late October we went to Porirua, Wellington, 600km away from our house, to compete in a national dog dancing competition, and, as many of you know, I won and Mint got the second place in the Elementary Freestyle class!

In November Mint made a debut in an agility trial, and in December I won the Elementary B class and Mint got his first clear round in another agility trial!

December 2011

Well, that's our year 2011.

We wish you all the best for the year 2012!!!

Resurgence of Cinnamon the Agility Beagle!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

I did it! I did it! I won in an Agility trial for the first time!!

I entered my first agility trial two years ago just before I turned two years old, but I had to stop doing Agility a few months later because I started having pain in my hip joints. After retiring from Agility, I started doing dog dancing instead, with restriction that I must avoid jumping moves, and in fact my training in dog dancing has helped improve my hip condition, as the muscles around my hips strengthened through regular exercises.

Because I don't feel much pain in my hips anymore, my humans have decided to let me do my favorite dog sport, Agility, once again. But, this time they are doing it with caution. When I was doing Agility two years ago, I practised it almost every day, but now I practise it only once a week in order to avoid too much stress on my hips.

As I reported on this blog earlier, last month I made a come-back in Agility trials after a two-year break. Although I got a clear round in Elementary B in the trial, my run was far too slow to get placed, partly because of my Mum's clumsy handling. Two weeks later, I went to another Agility trial but couldn't get a clear round because of a refusal at a tunnel.

This weekend we went to my third trial, in Cambridge, about 150 km away from our house, and both Mint and I entered three classes, Elementary B, Jumpers C, and Starters.  Elementary B is a class for new handlers with new dogs, who have got no previous wins.

Our first runs of the day were in Jumpers C. Mint went first and I went after several dogs following him. Mint started nicely but missed a jump near the end of the course and had to retry it, resulting in not a clear round. I ran wonderfully and Mum looked super happy when we finished the course. But...it turned out that Mum had made a critical mistake of missing a jump, resulting in a disqualification! Silly Mum again!! 

Cinnamon

Then we ran in Elementary B. This time I went first and Mint went after several dogs following me. Both of us did really well, and in fact I WON it and Mint got the 2nd Place!! It was also Mint's first clear round!

After a long wait, Mint entered an Obedience trial in Elementary class. But, he was tired from the two agility runs already and looked absent-minded, according to Mum. His heelwork was so so, but in the recall he didn't sit in front of Mum straight away and instead he walked around Mum before sitting nicely in front of her. I had been entered in the same class, but I didn't do it because I had my next Agility run at the same time. Also, Mint couldn't do the Stays in the Obedience trial, because it collided with his next Agility run.

Mint

I did very well in Starters too and got another clear round, although I wasted a few seconds because of Mum's mishandling again. (Later it turned out that I had got a ribbon for the fourth place!) Mint ran very well too, but he couldn't go through a collapsible tunnel, the second obstacle from the last, and he got disqualified.

All in all we did wonderfully. Don't you think so? I wanted to show ribbons we got in the trial here, but I can't because we couldn't stay until the prizegiving so we had to ask someone else to take them for us and bring them back to Auckland.

Our next Agility trial is in January in the New Year. In the next trial we are not eligible to enter Elementary B anymore now that I have won once. But, I hope I can report good results again.

Mint is too good!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

I hope everyone had a good weekend. We had a very good one. We went to Kawakawa Bay on Saturday, and on Sunday Mint went to All Breeds Dog Training Club Obedience Championship Show.

In fact Kawakawa Bay was one of places my humans were thinking about finding a new house for us, because they had heard that the area is not too far away from towns and houses are not too expensive. However, we didn't have a chance to visit there when my humans were still looking for a house to buy. So, they decided to visit there this weekend.

This bay has beaches, but at least the beach we walked on didn't look like what we usually imagine when you think of a beach. Beaches should have sand along the shore, shouldn't they? But, the beach we went to doesn't have sand and instead it has pebbles. Also, there were many dead snappers washed up on one side of the boat ramp and many oyster shells on the other side, so Mum didn't let us off leash to wander around, because she thought both the snappers and oyster shells were dangerous to us. Snappers have hard sharp bones, which might have hurt our stomach if we had eaten the fish. Oyster shells have sharp edges, which might have cut our paws easily if we had stepped on them. We still enjoyed a short walk there.

When Mint went to the obedience show on Sunday, I was left home with my Dad, because Mum thought it was not worth entering me in the trial. Yes, I have to admit that in my last trial I was like a Zombie and walked very slowly without following Mum closely. But, who can do such a boring thing without getting any food? So, this time I didn't mind being left home at all, and I enjoyed a nap on a couch while waiting for Mum and Mint to come home.

When they came back, they brought home a bag of various yummy treats and a blanket. When I saw them, I thought that they had dropped by Animates, which opened a new shop in our neighbourhood just recently, and Briscoes, which sell homeware. But, I was wrong. They turned out to be a prize that Mint had won in the obedience show. Mint won the Elementary in the show!!! Yes, he won!!! And he did it in his third trial! He was the third place in his first trial, the second in his second trial, and the first place in his third trial. It is amazing, isn't it? I am so proud of my little brother!!

Mint's debut in an obedience competition

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Mint finally made a debut in an obedience competition at Manukau Dog Training Club's Championship Obedience Tests. When we entered a competition in April, Mum took advantage of the opportunity and 'practised' with us using a toy and food, instead of competing. But, this time we actually competed!!

This time again I went first and Mint next. I think I did well enough to make Mum happy. But, apparently Mint did even better, so Mum chose him to do the Stays with, and he got placed the 3rd in the Elementary class!!

According to Mum, Mint got two points deducted in the Heelwork, because he stopped and turned back to see a dog that was practising in an unused ring next to our ring. She says that Mint did very well otherwise. Also, it turned out that my point deduction was only two pints and a half, which means that I might have been placed as well if I had done the Stays.

Sorry, this time we have no videos to show you because our cameraman, our dad, didn't go to the competition. But instead he took a photo of Mint with his ribbon and prize at home.



The next competition is two weeks away. I will do my best so that Mum chooses me to do the Stays with next time!

Before I go, I would like to remind my blog friends that I am not ignoring them. I still can't comment on my friends' Blogger blogs. I hope the problem will be solved soon!!

Obedience trial

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

On Saturday both Mint and I entered an obedience trial. It was Mint's first ever trial. Because Mum didn't want us to feel too stressy or bored in the competition ring, she entered us for practise, not for competing. If you are not competing, your human can bring toys into the ring or get out of the ring to give you some food reward between exercises, if the judge agrees. Although I competed in several obedience trials last year, Mum wanted to use the opportunity for practise again to make a fresh start.

Well, Mum's bad feeling was right. I found it a little boring. So, I didn't stay as close to Mum as I should in the Heelwork, and at the end of the Recall I just couldn't help going to check something I had found during the Heelwork and eating it, when I was supposed to sit immediately after running to Mum.



In the hindsight it was kind of unlucky. The trial was scheduled to start at 1pm. So, Mum started warming-up with me just over ten minutes to one. However, when the judge and steward came to the ring, it was already 1:30pm, which means we had to wait on the ringside for more than thirty minutes! But, I know I shouldn't complain, as such things happen all the time in competitions.


Comparing to me, Mint was lucky because he didn't have to wait on the ringside so long. Mint was waiting in our crate in the car until my run finished. After my run, Mum went back to the car, took Mint out, did some warm-up with him before his run.

It was his first trial, but he didn't look stressy or anything. Although his nose went to the floor for a second right after he started walking in the Heelwork, he did great otherwise, according to Mum (I didn't see it because I was waiting in our crate in the car).



Mum did the Sit and Down Stays with Mint. Mum was not confident with Mint's stays, as he often lies down when he is doing the Sit Stay. But, it seems he stayed sitting without problem.



Well, I have to admit that Mint beat me this time. But, I did great too when I entered a trial for the first time. So, you never know how he will do next time! Hee hee.

Mum, remember that you are the handler!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Yesterday we went to an obedience competition, the first competition since I started training in the obedience class in early August. Do you want to hear the result? Well, I'd rather not tell it. But, I think I don't need to keep it secret either. I got the fifth place. However, to tell the truth, I was the last or the second from the last in the competition. Nevertheless I got a placing, because there were far less entries than usual.

In our run the biggest problem was that Mum and I walked too slowly in the heelwork. Otherwise, we did great. Mum says that she couldn't speed up because I was walking very slowly. But, I want to say the same thing back to her! She is the handler. So, if she walks slowly, I walk slowly! That's what an obedient dog should do, isn't it?

For the too slow speed of our heelwork, we got two points deducted, a big loss! After our heelwork, my dance and obedience instructor came to us and said "Too slow!!" Also, she said "YOU have to speed up" when my Mum said apologetically "But, Cinnamon was so slow." See? It was all Mum's fault!!

However, I can tell you that Mum was not so disappointed, or rather happy, because I behaved very well while I was in the competition venue. I didn't bark even when several other dogs around me started to bark, so she gave me lots of treats and praises, which was very good!

Sorry there is no photo of me competing this time. But, instead I will show you a photo of Mint and me waiting in front of a bakery while Mum was buying some bread. Mint barked when he had to wait there for the first time, but he doesn't bark anymore :-)

My first obedience class ... and some report

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Well, as you know, I have been training hard with Mum recently and I often go out without Mint. He says he gets bored, as he has so much time without me. On Sunday Dad took pictures of Mint to show us how he was doing when Mum and I were not home.





Last night Mum and I went out without Mint again. I attended my first obedience class. Ah, well, that is not really true. I thought I was attending a class, but it turned out that the course had finished a week before, and yesterday they were doing a practice Elementary obedience test, or a mock trial, instead.

Of course we entered the trial and my running order was the third, as my Mum registered our entry very early without knowing how many people and dogs were coming. If she had known that so many were entering, she would have let some other people register their entries before us so that she had time to prepare herself for the trial. I could sense Mum's extreme nervousness from her voice and breathing.

When we were called in the ring, I tried hard to calm her down by ignoring her a little bit. Then, I was given a tug on the lead as soon as we started walking, because I was still trying to calm Mum down by sniffing the floor. But, I realised that that was not what Mum expected of me doing, so I brought my head up quickly. Then, somewhere in the middle of the heel exercise, I picked up some nice smell and was tempted to go to find where it came from. But, seeing my nose starting to move away from her leg, Mum said "Leave it!" firmly, so I brought my attention back on her. I think the source of the smell was treat that someone had dropped while practising before the trial. The rest of the heel work was not too bad, I think, although Mum didn't look entirely happy.

The next exercise was the recall. When Mum left me, I waited without moving an inch. But, when she said "Cinnamon, come!!", I suddenly remembered about the smell I had picked up earlier. So, instead of going straight to Mum, I went over to the spot the smell came from before going to sit nicely in front of her. Later she told me that at that point she had thought about going home without doing the stays. But she decided to stay and I did the stays without problem in the end.

When we were waiting for the result, we were called into the ring to do the recall again in the runoff. This time I did it nicely without detouring.

And ... to my surprise I was placed the second and got a certificate and a toy as a prize!!



Although Mum's face was clearly saying that she couldn't believe it, I was just so happy and proud!! Mum, you always worry too much!


Before I go, I have something to report today. Now I can stay in my crate calmly without barking or digging my bed when my humans are out!! How do you think it happened? A trick is my brother Mint. My humans have decided to move my crate to beside Mint's so that I don't feel lonely. Look at this photo. We stay in our crates happily even after Mum opens the latches of the crate doors when she comes home. :-)

Obedience trials again

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

I entered obedience trials again on the weekend. As there has been no dancing competitions or demonstrations since my public dancing debut in April, my humans thought that it would be a good idea to enter obedience trials to get used to the competition environment.

As I reported in my previous post about my first obedience trial, I didn't get placed in the trial despite my great performance, because my mum made mistakes without knowing the competition rules. But, now that Mum has learned the rules, she has no excuse.


Now I am handing today's post over to Mum so that she can write about the weekend's trials, as she says she wants to keep the record of them.


Hi. This is Cinnamon's mum here. As Cinnamon has just mentioned, I am going to write about how we did in our trials as our trial record.

The trials we entered on the weekend were part of a championship event, AEC Benefit obedience Championship. You have to register your entries in advice in order to enter championships, but the Elementary class is not a formal competition, so we registered our entry on the day (Entry fee was five NZ dollars each day).

In Saturday's trial, Cinnamon's heelwork didn't go as well as it did in our first trial. Her attention was not focused, and neither was mine, because I hadn't seen Cinnamon do her business in the morning and I knew that Cinnamon cannot focus when she wants to go to toilet. Originally our running order was the second, but I asked the judge if we could change it to a later order, hoping that she would finish it by then. Fortunately the judge was flexible and agreed to make it so. But in the end Cinnamon didn't do it until our turn came.

Without having done a warm-up that we usually do before any kind of competitions, we went into the ring. I got a little panicky when I saw Cinnamon's nose moved downward, as soon as the steward asked 'Are you ready?' and I said 'Yes'. But, to my relief, she brought her head up soon after, and she started walking nicely. However, at the first about-turn, Cinnamon went a little too far from me, and at the end of the exercise she sat in a little angled way.




After our run, our dancing instructor Jan told me that my walking had looked like shuffling, which needs correcting.

In the recall, again her sitting position at the end was angled, perhaps because I was standing with my feet closed, giving no room for her to sit in front of me.



In the 30-second sit stay, I got a little panicky again, when I turned around and saw Cinnamon scratching her neck with a leg, but she held and stayed sitting without standing up. Good girl, Cinnamon!

In the 1-minute down stay, Cinnamon did really well, staying laying down, even when some of the dogs stood up after a dog barked.

Overall, we were placed the third and got our first ribbon!!




It was raining heavily on Sunday morning. I think the noise of rain hitting the roof somehow disturbed our concentration. Cinnamon's heelwork was not too bad, but in the recall, she took off when I was about to leave her after the final command, although she eventually came back and then did a nice recall.

It seems that Cinnamon wanted to go and check the next dog waiting at the entry to the ring. Actually this is her usual response when I release her soon after she sees a dog coming in her way or passing by. When we practise tricks and dancing in the park or a tennis court of a nearby primary school, she always does this, which I have been struggling to correct.

In the hindsight there might've been another reason for her take-off. Although I knew that Cinnamon responds better to hand signals than to verbal commands, I forgot to use a hand signal - placing a hand with the palm open in front of her nose - in the recall.

In the stays I was very impressed with Cinnamon's behaviour. When the dog next to Cinnamon stood up as soon as the 30-second sit stay started, she looked at him but didn't stand up!



She looked very relaxed even when she was doing down stay that she hates. Usually she starts shaking, perhaps from stress, as soon as I put her in a down stay. But, this time, she was so relaxed that she was even resting her chin on the floor, which she rarely does outside.



Overall, we weren't placed of course, because of the big deduction for taking off in the recall. But, otherwise, Cinnamon did very well again I think.

Considering that Cinnamon has to perform off lead in dancing, we will have to work on her response when she is released from the lead. Also, maybe we should attend some obedience classes to get better understanding about obedience trials.

Lessons learned:

* Don't worry about toilet. Cinnamon can wait. Trust her
* Use hand signals especially when putting Cinnamon in a stay or wait

Issues to work on:

* Angled positions when heeling and sitting
* My shuffling walking in small steps in the heelwork
* Cinnamon's response when released from the lead

My first (unexpected) obedience trials!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Tell you what! I entered my very first obedience trials on the weekend!

As you may know, I have done hound racing, agility, and dancing, but I have never attended an obedience course to prepare for competitions. I did attend a five week obedience course when I was a puppy, and more recently I have been doing some social obedience training at Manukau Dog Training Club that I belong to for dancing. But, that's it! So, when a trainer at the training club told my mum on Thursday that we should enter the trials on the weekend, she looked a little confused.

As Mum didn't know what to expect in the trials, she asked Bodie's human by email if it was something even those with no experience like us could enter (Bodie the Border Terrier is an experienced obedience competitor, and also his human always gives us helpful advice on dancing). In her reply, Bodie's human assured us that there would be no problem with us and explained what kinds of exercises we would have to do. Thanks, Bodie's human!! Then, on Friday, the day before the trials, Mum finally decided to enter them.

There were two trials in one day, one hosted by All Breed Dog Training Club in the morning and the other hosted by Counties Dog Training Club in the afternoon.

The first trial started at 9am in the morning. Our turn was the third in the Elementary class. It started with heel work, which I did excellently. The next was recall, where Mum made a mistake by telling me to move a little closer to her to adjust my sitting position after I sat in front of her, without knowing it was subject to a penalty. Brody's human, who had been watching by the ring, gave us advice on the mistake. Thanks, Brody's human! After all the competitors completed the heel work and recall exercises, we all did sit and down stays together. Then again Mum made a mistake and used hand signals while I was staying. She thought extra commands were allowed in the Elementary class, but she was wrong! After our trial finished, several kind humans reminded my mum of her mistakes, but it was too late. Actually it turned out that we would have been placed if Mum had known those rules and there hadn't been reductions for them!! I was a time for the sixth place, when up to the fifth were given ribbons.

Despite her own mistakes, Mum is not only pleased with the result but also thrilled with my performance, especially my heel work which got only one point deducted from the full points (20)!

Here is a video of my heel work and recall.



In the afternoon there was another trial. When the second trial started, I was already very tired, as I hadn't had a decent rest since early in the morning. Do you still want to know the result? Well, this time I made mistakes. In the recall exercise, I couldn't wait while Mum was walking away from me, because I had found a piece of food on a corner of the ring when I was entering it, and I just couldn't resist going there to pick it up. Also, in the down stay exercise, I couldn't resist the urge to lick my bottom and I forgot that I had to stay laying down. But, Mum didn't blame me because I had done wonderfully in the morning.