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Stories of Spur: Dogging it in competition
Stories of Spur: Dogging it in competition
Spur competes in AKC obedience trials. He is a miniature schnauzer. This will chronicle his life on the "campaign trail" as he and his handler compete against dogs of all breeds for high titles.
Real Name: Michele McCormick Member Since: March 19, 2008 Last Signed In: May 01, 2010 Blog Views: 1727 Send To A Friend Sign Guestbook Add as a Friend
Spur Earns His First UDX Leg
Puppy Tips Trialing Should be Fun Getting Back to Basics Attention is Everything A Lively Campaign Season Launches ClearLake: A Question of Confidence Clearlake Launches Our Campaign Season Let the Campaign Begin . . . . Spur Gets Ready for '09 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 November 08 December 08 January 09 February 09 March 09 April 09 May 09 June 09 July 09 August 09 September 09 October 09 November 09 December 09 January 10 February 10 March 10 April 10 May 10 June 10 July 10 August 10 September 10 
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Spur Earns His First UDX Leg
The Truckee Meadows Obedience Trials were a lesson in themselves for Spur and me.
The past few months have been a dry spell, with disappointing NQs at our own specialty in Long Beach and at more local trials in Vallejo. It's all about perfection, and both Spur and I have had some challenges in putting the big picture together. The good news is that Truckee Meadows offered some much needed encouragement - with qualifying scores in Open and Utility we earned our first Utility Dog Excellent leg on Friday. Only nine to go! The bad news was that our scores were barely qualifying. And the learning is that the big problem is one problem: automatic finishes. After our Open class the supportive judge Mary Lou Just took me aside and pointed to my score sheet. "Look at this," she said sternly. "You finished this class with a 183. And I took 15 points off for automatic finishes." This problem isn't new. when I look back at our Utility A classes, the problem was also there, but in my mind it was overshadowed by other issues: Spur's consistent failures in go outs, his problems with articles, and his inattention on heeling. Now we're narrowing things down. His goes and heeling at Truckee Meadows were very good. His scented retrieve felt more solid. Distractions remain an issue. We failed Open on the second day when there was a loud noise just as I gave the drop command, but he was too startled to pay attention. So we will work on that for sure. It seems that the more we conquer, the more new issues loom ahead. That is the way of dog training. We're going to do our best to tackle them all. At the Trial, we got great support and some good ideas from helpful fellow competitors. Today we trucked off to a match at American River College, and got in some excellent practice with meaningful distractions. Of course there were no automatic finishes in the match ring - why would there be? That is the way of obedience, and I guess the constant challenge is a bit part of why Spur and I both love this sport so much. Our next trial will be at Carson City in late September - but I am sure there will be tales to tell in the meantime. 1 comments from 1 users
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posted by
menkeclark
on Jul 21, 2009 at 08:07 AM
Please tell SACPAWS to stop advertising for Petland!!!! They buy from Puppy Mills.
Thanks!!!
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