SacPaws.com

    On a Saturday morning, there's hardly a more enlivening place to be than at a Fun Match, and the Sierra Pacific Great Pyrenees' Club event at Hagan Park in Carmichael was no exception.  By mid-morning, more than 200 dogs had been entered in obedience, rally and conformation activities, with more expected to arrive as the day proceeded.

    For obedience competitors, these Fun Matches, put on by various dog clubs around the area, are virtually a lifeline.  They offer a no-pressure opportunity to give our dogs an experience that is much like being in an actual trial ring.

    That means a chance to check on a dog's training level.  Is he ready for the real thing?  It's also a chance to help the dog from becoming too trial-ring-wise.

    A a real trial, there are no treats allowed in the ring, no corrections, no second commands, and no activity that the judge perceives as training.  Trials are 100 percent performance.

    But Fun Matches are indeed meant to be fun, and anything goes.  That means I can surprise Spur's good heeling with a reward of the cheese I keep hidden beneath my watch.   I can correct him for sniffing at the grass instead of the scent articles.  I can hide a treat at the end of the ring for his go out.  I can play more lively in-ring games between the exercises.  And, above all, I can praise praise praise when things go well.

    My hope is that when we do enter the trial ring, Spur will spend our short time there locked into the solid belief that a cookie could come his way at any instant.

    The dynamic atmosphere at Saturday's event was every bit as energetic, if not more so, than at any trial.  And there's a hint of chaos which is ideal for teaching any dog to manage distractions.

    The rings were defined by fluttering ribbons strung between posts.  There were no stanchions or posts, so Spur's go-out target was . . . absolutely invisible.  He ran the length of the ring based on his utter faith that he would find a treat there . . . and so he did.

    He also had a chance to practice being calm around all kinds of people and dogs.  A few stopped to take his picture.  A child or two asked if it would be OK to pet.  And more than one dog managed to nose into his personal space uninvited.

    Our volunteer judge pointed out there were things she could do to make our ring time easier, but I asked for the opposite.  I did signals directly in front of the area were most people stood.  I declined the offer of a mini-size traffic cone to mark his go out spot, but sent him, essentially, to nothing.  I sent him to the glove in the busiest corner.

    As a result of all this, mistakes were made.  Hopefully, I was able to successfully use them to reinforce the right way to do things, to more clearly share my wishes with Spur.

    Some handlers feel it's important to complete several error-free Fun Match showings before going on to trial.  If that were true . . . we'd never get there!

    Instead, we had fun at the Fun Match, and hopefully, some learning also took place.  Are we ready for the real thing?  Honestly, l don't know. 

    On Thursday of this week, at the Northern California Terrier Association Trials, I'll find out for sure.