Mint is an RA dog now!

Mint here!

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!