Welcome back to our blog!

I cannot believe what a great trial weekend we had!!
Beau and I got 2 of the 3 legs needed for our CD title!! On Saturday,
We scored a 185.5. I was expecting a better score until about 2 minutes before we got into the ring. Two dogs got into it behind us, then another exhibitor and her dog (a female) came and stood right by the entrance to the ring. I could see Beau‘s distraction notch up. Overall, our heeling was the weak point, and the skill we practice most, but I will take the score and hope for better tomorrow. He did slam into me on recall but I ”stuck the landing” a la Keri Strug.

I went into Sunday with hope and nerves but we had so much fun on Saturday that I figured if Sunday went well, great. BUT if we failed that was okay, too. As long as we are having fun together.

Well, friends, I came out practically speechless.

Amazed, humbled, and speechless. Not only did we have a qualifying run, we got 2nd place!!!

We actually managed to score a 188 despite, what felt like, a messy run. Heeling felt off and recall was awful, but Beau was so happy and goofy during the run, that is was all okay.

Beau will be 2 in 14 days and we likely started our competition career too early. Still, I am glad we did and he seems to have fun. He has been a crowd favorite much to my chagrin. Since we usually go towards the end of the day, at least after the Utility and Open folks, it is empty which I love.

So far, my experience has been that the Utility and Open competitors pack up and leave with maybe a few left to show in Novice or BN. Well, heck, every time Beau and I go in the ring, people materialize out of nowhere. It distracts him, distracts me and gives us a devil of a time but I guess the Clown Prince is popular.

My instructor told me we weren’t ready and, while he was right, I am glad we tried and failed at our first two shows. It taught me more than the months of class time we had up til that point. Just seeing how he takes to the atmosphere, watching the superstars (I saw a few things I am going to try to tighten up our heel), and meeting other Doberman people (Don Levinson, Sue Dehner, and others) has been so incredibly helpful. I’ll also add that it is good to see that even Utility dogs can have a bad (or really awful) run. There is something comforting in seeing experinced folks struggle that makes me feel better and motivates me.

We have our next trial in late August and are currently working on tightening up our heel, trying to get a error-proof recall, and building some new skills in anticipation of our pursuit of the next title.

Thank you for following our journey!