So...
My club was struggling for trial entries and on a whim I decided to enter our fall trial this past weekend. The AWMA was able to send me a score book right away which made everything possible. I did not have much prep time, we did go to a practice the night before but I literally had only been teaching a recall two weeks prior and she learned to finish from a front in 3 days.
Here is the BH video with judge's critique at the end:
Stuck came to me with very good foundations in all three phases of IPO. Stuck came to me with good engagement and a nearly finished heel. I've spent the last six months working on teaching her a finish to the left, a left about turn, and heeling with some duration. However the BH was the longest I have ever heeled her without giving a reward. She does get flat at times in the video but perks right back up. At the end when I go to leash her she thinks I have dropped a toy for her :p.
While I cannot take credit for the heeling I am extremely proud of myself for stepping up to support my club and I am proud of the relationship I have built with Stuck. I don't believe she would have performed as well for me if I hadn't invested the time that I have to try to train and work with her. I can take credit for her awesome recall and her turns (which aren't too bad actually.). I am proud of myself for last minute entering a trial because I have really bad performance anxiety and it would have been easier not to do it, especially since we didn't have much time to prep.
I honestly couldn't be happier with our routine. Seppel's routine was nothing like this one. This BH with Stuck is probably the best obedience routine I have ever had and it was super cool to be in between two trainers I really respect and be included with them in a really nice critique. It felt amazing.
I'm hoping to try for our IPO1 in the spring. We have no protection routine, no send out, and no retrieves. Hoping I can pull it together by then and be decent enough that it is worth trialing. After this past weekend I know the dog can do it and I know we can be a good team.
It's hard for me to believe this is the dog that I felt like I couldn't train. We are currently working on the jump for the retrieve and I think teaching the exercise will be a breeze. I finally feel like we are starting to understand each other and it is super awesome.
