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?
As you might know, it rains a lot in winter in New Zealand. Usually we have some fine spells even on rainy days, but it is really hard to predict when we have them.
Today is one of those typical winter days. Luckily we had a morning walk without getting wet.
It wasn't so cold either :-)
But look at this! On our afternoon walk we got soaking wet!!
I, Mint, don't like wearing a raincoat!
Oh my god! I look like I had just had a bath!
We hope it stops raining by tomorrow morning so that we can have a walk without getting wet again!
From late May to last Saturday I went to a class for therapy dogs to learn how to behave well off leash.
I really enjoyed the class, meeting some new friends who were also therapy dogs every Saturday. Now that the class has finished, I really miss them!
This is Mo. I truly admire him. Mum always complains that I can't stay, but Mo is super good at stays! He can stay in one place without problem even if he can't see his mum.
This is Maddie. She is a super friendly doggie. She wants to say hello to every dog she sees.
This is Mandy. She is a charming and stylish girl. She always wears her bandanna that suits her really well. She is small but runs really fast when she goes back to her mum in her recalls!
This is Sally. She was the largest dog in the class but also the most gentle girl as well.
By the way that sweet looking black Labrador sitting behind us is Jess, our instructor's dog. She is my old friend since my puppyhood too.
On the last day of the class we sat for a graduation exam (we did a series of off-leash exercises, a long distance recall, an out-of-sight stay, and so on) and we all passed!
I got a nice looking certificate of completion of the class.
After the class, we all promised to get together again for walks. I can't wait for the walks!
Oh, I shouldn't forget to mention that Cinnamon was waiting in the car during my exam. Thank you Cinnamon!
I am sure I could have earned mine more easily than he earned his, but Mum somehow decided to do it with Mint first. I hope I can start earning my own trick dog titles soon.
Well, the news I have today is not about Mint's trick dog titles. Mum has become a certified trick dog instructor of Do More With Your Dog!
In order for a human to become a certified trick dog instructor, the human has to take an examination that consists of a written test and a video submission.
So, Mum asked Mint and me to help with her video submission in which she had to demonstrate five advanced tricks with her own dog(s) and also how to teach a dog to do several different tricks. Of course we helped her willingly, as we knew that we could get a lot of treats if we did! And Mum passed the exam!!
Now that she has become a trick dog instructor, it seems that she wants to help other dog owners learn how to teach their dogs tricks. If you have any particular tricks that you want to learn or teach your dog, let us know. We would love to help!
I am excited! I am an RA(Rally-O Advanced) dog now!
Yesterday I went to a Rally-O championship and did two rounds in Rally-O Advanced A class.
If you get three qualifying rounds under a minimum of two different judges, you can get an RA title. Although I had been competing in Rally-O Advanced A for over a year, I hadn't got three qualifying rounds yet, partly because Mum often makes mistakes and, for example, she turns right when she is supposed to turn left or she doesn't stop when she is supposed to do so. However, I have to admit that sometimes I am not focused, giving Mum a hard time trying to keep my attention.
And yesterday I finally got my third qualifying round in my first round of the day and became eligible to apply for an RA title!!
As you may already know, I get distracted easily if Mum doesn't have food on her, and I know that she doesn't in competitions. So, I always feel temped to sniff the floor as soon as Mum says "Heel" at the beginning of my round in competitions. Yesterday again I couldn't resist the temptation and put my nose to the floor at first. But, Mum did a good job keeping my nose off the floor for the most part of my rounds.
This is my first round.
There were two judges in the ring, as one of them was a probational judge. When we were out of the video screen, I had an urge to check out a sign before me. But, Mum's yell brought me back to what I was supposed to be doing, and in the end I got a qualifying score, 97 points! And on top of it I got a 2nd place!!
The next is my second round.
Again I couldn't help but sniffing the floor at first, but later I became more focused. However, I don't know why but it took me a second or two to recall what "Stand" meant, and after standing up, I couldn't stay still. Looking at what I was doing, Mum got upset and forgot to stop at the end of the exercise when she was supposed to do so! Fortunately she realised what she had missed before the next exercise, and she requested a repeat, but it cost a three-point loss and my total score of the round was 93 points when I needed to earn 95 points or more to qualify.
Well, Mum still looked happy because I got my third qualifying certificate in Rally-O Advanced A. If Mum is happy, I am happy too!
