Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

Rottweilers. Computers. Cameras. World Domination. Not necessarily in that order.

Rottweilers.
Computers. Cameras.
World Domination.
Not necessarily in that order.

First Level 2 legs for Freya!

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Even though we went into it with some doubts, or at least the human half of the team did, our first attempts at UKC Rally Obedience Level 2 went quite well today. Freya qualified and placed in both trials, earning two of the three legs needed for the URO2 title.

The original plan was to complete Novice/Level 1 titles in AKC, UKC, and APDT before attempting any Advanced/Level 2 titles. But due to the number and proximity of UKC trials during March, April, and May, we altered our game plan not too long ago and started practicing off-leash.

Off-leash? Why, yes. I am very proud of Freya for being A Very Good Dog today. Not perfect: she did veer off to sniff one of the food bowls on the Offset Figure 8 in Trial 1, and some unknown but very enticing thing/spot/whatever in Trial 2, but she came back to me and got back on track without too many commands. She did not try to escape the ring, nor create her own path around it, and for that I am very grateful!

Our scores were not particularly high, but on this day were good enough to place in RO2A: Trial 1 88 points and 2nd place, Trial 2 95 points and 2nd place.

I was not planning to trial tomorrow, especially since Daylight Savings Time is depriving me of an hour of sleep, but I’m now considering doing a day-of-show entry and hope we can keep it together for one more trial to finish the title. So I’m off to get at least some sleep. Check back to see what we actually end up doing!

(NaBloPoMo | March ’10: 13 of 31)

Freya: preparing for her next trial

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You may recall that my original plan for Freya’s Rally Obedience career was to earn the on-leash novice level titles in all three of the venues we are competing in before moving on to the next level in any of the venues. That plan has changed slightly, since there are a number of UKC trials nearby during March, April and May.

UKC’s Level 2 is done off-leash, but unlike APDT’s Level 2 and AKC’s RA, it does not include the jump that we’ve only just begun to train. The two trial weekends in March are both at clubs where we have trialed before. Next weekend’s trial location has two rings going simultaneously, but they are set up with a barrier in between so the working dogs aren’t distracted by the activity in the other ring. The rings are also set up so there are very limited escape opportunities. So even though I’m still not 100% sure of how we will do with the Freya half of the team off-leash, it’s worth a try.

One good thing about training for all versions of Rally Obedience is that even with the last minute change in plan, I had only two new exercises to train at the last minute. One, the Offset Figure 8, is a Figure 8 around food bowls which contain treats but are also covered with a screen so the food can be smelled but not accessed. The Figure 8 itself is easy, but ignoring food does not come easy for a Rottweiler. Or at least, not for any Rottweiler I’ve ever owned. Training the other exercise, Halt – Leave – Call Dog Front While Running – Finish, went very well, though, especially considering it was completely new to us.

I was a little surprised, but maybe I shouldn’t be. Freya is a good working dog. She is not consistently good because I’m not. In the hands of a more skilled trainer, she would reach her full potential. In my hands… well… I’m happy that we’ve done as well as we have so far.

Since I did have the new exercises to train, I opted to miss a fun match that I probably should have gone to today. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided that training the new exercises in class, where I could get help if needed, made the most sense. Now I just have to try and relax, and keep our training and practice this week very positive.

(NaBloPoMo | March ’10: 6 of 31)

What would Jake do?

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Note to self: If you do “Save Draft” and not “Publish,” then no one gets to see what you write. Not that it would always be a bad thing, but, yeah.

I was deciding whether to post Freya’s Saturday class video and commentary, or write a little more about Sunday’s trial. But for some reason I am thinking about Jake, mostly because APDT Rally Obedience encourages disabled dogs and handlers to participate and goes as far as allowing certain exercise modifications so that they may do so safely and successfully. I think this is absolutely wonderful.

Jake has been gone for over seven years now, but he was one of my heart dogs so he is never far from my thoughts. He was an amputee due to accident, which is what took my post in this direction. Only a few of you who visit me here probably remember him in real life, but you can read what I wrote about him about a year ago.

Although the APDT and rally obedience were both in existence during Jake’s lifetime, I didn’t know much about either one until later. After he had recovered fully from the amputation surgery, my challenge was to keep this active dog busy and happy, or at least out of trouble. Since Schutzhund competition involves a 1-meter jump and an A-frame, it was not something we could easily return to. So I just started to look around for things we could do, and titles we could achieve.

All AKC titles were then, and still are now, off the table for disabled dogs. The Canine Good Citizen test was a possibility. In 1998, the CGC guidelines which encouraged participation for disabled handlers were already in existence. The guidelines that now exist, welcoming disabled dogs to participate, did not exist at that time. There were more than a few clubs that chose to defer to the AKC show rules which referred to disqualification of dogs who appeared lame. It took way more phone calls and emails than I ever imagined to get a club to allow Jake to test. And then he failed his first attempt. He did pass on a later attempt, even though at heart he was more outlaw than good citizen.

I don’t even have to look up the names of the people who helped me in my quest: Mary Burch from the AKC, and Tammy Dean from Glenbard All Breed Obedience Club. I like to think we are all part of the reason that the CGC evaluator guidelines now specifically state:

Dogs with disabilities such as the loss of a leg, deafness, or blindness in one eye are welcome in the Canine Good Citizen Test. Dogs must perform all of the 10 items to pass the test, however, handlers may use hand signals, gestures, or other cues to which the dog has been trained to respond.

Anyway. He also got a doctor’s note to be allowed to take ATTS’s Temperament Test, which he passed with flying colors despite his outlaw leanings. I was not even their volunteer webmaster yet at the time.

Back then, UKC specifically allowed disabled dogs to participate in obedience competitions. I went so far as to register him with UKC, but since their CD, unlike the AKC CD, involved a jump, I decided not to put him through it. For the rest of his life, we got out to club and as much obedience and protection training as he could handle.

Titles aren’t important… yet, they are. I would have so loved to do Rally with him. He was truly my best working partner and we would have had a lot of fun with it. Miss you, Jakey. I hope you are proud of me and Freya.

(NaBloPoMo | January ’10: 25 of 31)

Almost forgot to show the proof!

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Freya finished her UKC Rally Obedience 1 title back in November, but I never did finish discussing our performance at those two trials. I should still do that before I’ve blocked a less-than-stellar performance from my memory.

But enough about the missing play-by-play. I forgot something really important: visual proof that we got the title!

Here’s the official certificate:

Here’s our bit of the New Titleholders section of UKC’s website:

I will get to the details of the trials, but probably not until later this week. Axel’s heading back to the shows tomorrow, so we all need to spend some quality time together tonight!

(NaBloPoMo | January ’10: 3 of 31)

First Rally-O title for Freya (and me)!

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Back in July, Freya got the first of three legs needed for her UKC Rally Obedience 1 title. Today we earned the remaining two legs at For Your Canine’s trials. The lovely Freya is now:

URO1 Sciroco’s Freya vom Viersen CGC, TT!

Here she is, resting up after the stress of trialing with her clueless handler, and flashing some demon eyes at that clueless handler sticking her Q ribbons in her face.
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We’ll have our official new title photograph to show off soon, and hopefully a few action shots as well.

It was not particularly pretty. Our score in Trial #1 was 87 (out of a possible 100 points) and 80 in Trial #2. Nowhere near good enough for placements, and most of the point deductions are on me, not Freya. But it was good enough to qualify (70 points is a passing score) and today, that is good enough for me.

I’ll go into more detail when I have a bit more energy. Hopefully that will be tomorrow!

(NaBloPoMo | November ’09: 15 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 260 of 274)