UKC Rally Trial, Day 2

As you can see, we qualified again today.

It was a pretty good day. Maisy was tired this morning- she didn't really want to get out of bed- and as a result, she was a little edgy initially. She had shark teeth, and was wuffing a lot more than yesterday. She even through a little lunge in there! I thought that I probably wouldn't even bother going in the ring unless she calmed down significantly. Then, I gave her some Rescue Remedy and dosed her with DAP. Remind me that I just need to do that no matter what at trials. She almost immediately calmed down and began taking treats softer. (Incidentally, I also used Rescue Remedy both days, and it really helped me feel calmer. I like this stuff.) She even began to offer "flat dog" (where she lies on her side), so I knew she was feeling okay.

I tried warming her up, using fewer treats to make sure she would be able to transition to fewer treats. She did really well, and gave me lots of attention, even when we heeled the length of the ring and back without anything other than verbal praise. I decided we would go in the ring. I asked the judge if we could excuse ourselves if she was stressed, and he agreed that was fine, so in we went.

I decided that if I saw any stress displacement behaviors- excessive sniffing, yawning, scratching- we'd just end the course there. Otherwise, we'd go for it. And we did. She was distracted, and definitely not her best, but she looked pretty happy. I got video, and on playback, I agree: much happier, though definitely distracted. (I'll try to upload the video later and post it this week.)

So, we have our second leg towards our URO1 title, and she scored a 90, which is an improvement over yesterday. But the more important improvement is that she was able to run the course without being stressed. Since that's what this weekend was all about, I'm pretty happy.