Confessions of a Ribbon Whore

I love ribbons. While many of my friends donate theirs back to the host club, I keep mine, every single one. Even the Q ribbons, boring as they are. I like the shiny satin, the golden lettering. I like that they prove yes, my dog was awesome that day. I like showing them off on the internet, to friends and family, and even by hanging them on my cubicle walls at work.

To be fair, ribbons aren't the only reason I compete. I also enjoy the process. I enjoy training and the challenge of getting a flashy ]heel. I enjoy watching my dog go from skill-less to a superstar. I enjoy going to dog events and hanging out with other people who “get it.” But I'd be lying if I didn't say that I also like the ribbons.

Still, as much as I enjoy the training and the trialing and the trophies... I would give it all up in a heartbeat. Because here's the thing: I love my dog. I love her silly mismatched ears. I love the way she teases me, snatching away the ball when I reach for it in some twisted game of canine keep-away. I love the way she snuggles with me when my alarm goes off in the morning. I love her enthusiastic greetings when I return home, even if I only took the garbage out. I love her joy and enthusiasm in everything. And I love spending time with her.

Training and trialing are fun, but only because they are something for us to do together. There are many things I like to do with Maisy, and honestly? Trialing (and even training) are probably at the bottom of that list. If I'm honest, there's nothing better than a good off-leash hike in the woods. Or endlessly throwing a ball in the backyard. Or even just sitting with her pressed up against me while I read a book.

So yeah, I love ribbons. I know which clubs have awesome ribbons and which are lacking... but I keep them all anyway. And yeah, I display them prominently and proudly, and not just because it strokes my ego to do so. Mostly, I love my ribbons for their sentimental value. Ribbons don't prove anything, but I love them as shiny reminders that my dog and I are a team, and that no matter what life throws at us, we can succeed. Together.

***

I wrote this entry months ago. So many months ago that I never imagined that Maisy would nearly die, that I never dreamed I'd have a second dog by the end of the year. If I were to write this post today... well, I wouldn't. Today, faced with the prospect of both endings and beginnings at once, ribbons mean much less to me than they did once.

Still, I love the sentiment behind this post. If there's anything that the past few months have taught me, it's that my ribbons mean nothing more than the fact that, as I wrote, Maisy and I are a team. Life has thrown us some nasty curveballs, and we will succeed. It's just that the idea of success... well, it doesn't mean winning anymore. It might not even mean living.

As for what it does mean... well, I don't know. I suppose it's about being brave in the face of the unknown. About being fully present in the life we do have available to us. About the fact that really, today is no different than the day before she got sick: a beautiful gift.

Trial Report

Maisy and I went to an APDT rally trial at Proper Paws University in Racine, Wisconsin on Sunday. (Which was an absolutely lovely trial site, with wonderful workers, and friendly competitors. I would absolutely go back in the future, even though the drive was a bit long.) We were entered in two Level 1B runs, and two Level 2B runs.

I had two main goals for the weekend. First, I hoped to have one really nice run, which I defined as Maisy being relaxed and focused in the ring. At our last few trials, Maisy has been stressy in the ring, which manifests itself as being distracted, sniffy and scratching herself a lot. Even when she’s had technically good runs- by which I mean, she had high scores- I didn’t feel connected to her. And I wanted that connection. So, how did she do? Well, judge for yourself:



That run was a 209 and 4th place! We lost our only point on that tight leash in the first 5 seconds, and I can hardly be upset by it, because she was just so excited to go! The run felt really good. She stayed with me, checked in with me frequently, and was clearly having fun. Afterwards, another handler told me she loved the way Maisy and I work together.

Our second level 1 run was nice, as well, although she did get momentarily distracted by something on the floor, causing us to lose one point. Overall score was, again, 209, but no placement. (There were SIX 210s. We were seventh.) It, too, was a solid run, lots of attention, and no stress behaviors.

She did really well managing the environment, too. While we were hanging out after our run, Maisy was all butt wiggly and schmoozing the trial secretary and the other judge! She had full-on helicopter tail, and was totally unphased by the woman who came up to her and loved on her, and didn’t even mind the HUGE white dog that “just loves little dogs.” (Although I did quickly remove her from that situation. Please, no matter how much your dog loves other dogs- please ask first. Mine isn’t always so happy to say hi.)

Our second goal for the weekend was for me: if, at any point, I felt that Maisy was stressing in the ring, I would immediately tell the judge I’d like to NQ in order to do a cookie run. Well, we met this goal, too.

While Maisy did a really good job managing the trial environment, it appears that her limit is about three hours, because that’s when her brain started to seep out of her head. During our first level 2 run, we were first in the ring (drat those short little legs!). This is always hard for us because there isn’t much time to warm up and get connected before we go in the ring, and because there’s a lot more chaos ringside right before we enter.

Just before we entered the ring, Maisy was very distracted by a German Shepherd, and although I thought I’d gotten her attention, I clearly hadn’t. When I took the first step of heeling, she ran off toward the corner where the dog was. She came back immediately when I called, and quite honestly, I could have salvaged the run if I’d wanted to.

Instead, though, I looked at the judge, and told her that I was going to NQ ourselves so that we could do a cookie run. I treated her liberally throughout the course. She did a lovely job, and just absolutely nailed her halt-side step right-halt and the moving down. They were just gorgeous. Her heeling was really nice, too. Now, granted, I got great performance in part because the rate of reinforcement was so high, but I do think we could still have scored in the high 190s or low 200s. It was worth taking the NQ so that I could reinforce working with me so well after bouncing back from a stressful event. Afterwards, the judge commented that I had probably made the right decisions since Maisy settled in so nicely.

I probably should have left after that, but we were in the middle of the running order for the second level 2 trial, and so I was hopeful that she could pull it together. (I admit, I was still sort of hoping for a QQ towards her ARCH, too.) We played look at that with the German Shepherd (whose handler was very gracious and helped us with that. I didn’t get a chance to thank her, so on the off chance she’s reading- thanks!).

As we headed up for our turn, I could tell that Maisy wasn’t focused at all. I told the judge that Maisy wasn’t going to be able to do it, and that I’d like to go in and do one really sign really well. She said that was fine with her, so I did the first sign, and I swear to you, she was so focused and did such a nice job that it was very tempting to complete the course. But I followed through on what I said I was going to do, and ended the trial on what I felt was a very high note.

I could not be more proud of my dog. Not only is she more focused at trials, but she’s more relaxed, too. She actually took a nap, you guys! She’s never done that before. She also bounced back from her reactive moments really quickly, and was willing and eager to work. I am very pleased that we’ve built up the level of working relationship that we have, and I’m grateful to see so much improvement.

Maisy, RL2, RL1X, CGC

Did you notice the new initials after Maisy's name? She completed her APDT Level 2 Rally title today, and earned an Award of Excellence because all three legs were over 190. Good dog, Maisy! In addition, she picked up a third place and and second place.

We had some really lovely moments today. Both courses had jumps in them, and she did the jumps both times! I introduced her to jumps last summer, but didn't do much training with them. Then she had a back injury in the fall, so we really haven't been able to train much on jumps... needless to say, I was a bit worried about an NQ on that station. I needn't have worried; she just flew over those jumps.

She did well on the off-set figure 8 (AKA, the food bowls), too. Okay, "well" might be an overstatement, but we did them! It was actually kind of comical. I wish I'd gotten it on video, because she was looking at those food bowls so hard that I had to slow waaaaaay down to keep her with me. Still, she only sniffed one- and it was the last one, after she'd resisted the rest.

She had some really nice heeling moments, especially anything to the left, but she also did the fast forward from a sit! Twice! Since we've struggled so much with the fast pace, I was very proud of this!

Although she wasn't at her best today- and I'll talk about that in a future post, because this is a celebration post- she worked her tail off for me. One of the things I really love about Maisy is that she always gives me everything she's got. Sometimes, that isn't much, but she'll always give it anyway. She was stressed today, but even so, she turned in a solid performance, and I'm incredibly proud of her.

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.

The Year in Review, Part 1: Trials and Accomplishments

With the end of the year upon us, I thought it would be nice to look back on all of the experiences and accomplishments that Maisy and I shared. Although there’s still a lot I’d like to work on with Maisy, I’m really proud of how far we’ve come. This post will be the first of three reviewing our year together, and will cover our trial accomplishments this year.

When January began, I never dreamed that we would spend the year going to trials, but perhaps the fact that we went to TCOTC’s run-throughs on New Year’s Day should have been a sign of what was to come. I had no idea what to expect from a run-through, and was surprised when I was told that we were ready to tackle rally obedience in competition. There were no ribbons or awards, but I loved working as a team with Maisy, and decided I wanted to try this whole trial thing.

Here is a video of our first time ever doing a rally course at the run-through:


We went to the Minnesota Mixed Breed Club’s APDT rally trial held on January 31st and February 1st. We experienced our first Q, and our first NQ at this trial (apparently, you have to do all the signs). Maisy and I ended the weekend with 3 Qs and our first title! We also earned an Award of Excellence (because all of our scores were over 190: we had a 195, a 197 and a 200, which was 4th place, 3rd place and 3rd place, respectively) along with our shiny new RL1 title

Next, we went to a trial in Illinois in June. I was very nervous about this trial! I was afraid that our previous success was just a fluke; the first trial was held at our home club and I didn’t know how Maisy would hold up in a strange location. As it turned out, she did great. It was a very tight space, but Maisy did really well chilling on my lap. The competition was stiff, but we still did well: a 200, a 206, a 207 (and 5th place), and a 204.

Only a few weeks later, we went to a trial in Des Moines. This trial was a huge success for us. Maisy had excellent scores, including her personal best of a 209 (which was a 2nd place), a 204 (and 2nd), a 208 (and her first 1st place!), a 208 (5th place), and a 201. But, the best part was that following one of our runs, the judge commented that Maisy looked “very happy.” I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a nicer compliment.

August brought two more trials. The first was another MMBC trial. This trial was a truly mixed bag for me. We had great successes mixed with great disappointments. Despite the wonderful things we accomplished in this trial, due to her reactivity, the sense of connection was lost, and I didn’t enjoy it as much. This trial really solidified my understanding that dog sports are another expression of my relationship with my dog, not about a chance for accolades.

Anyway, we had scores of 188, 206, 206, and 205, and earned a 1st place, two 3rd places, and Maisy was the high scoring mixed breed dog of the day on Sunday! We also completed our RL1X title, which is the single-level championship title.

Only a few weeks later, we headed to Omaha for another trial. Maisy did much better at this trial. Although she did have some reactivity, I had learned from the MMBC trial and managed her better. She had scores of 198, 203, 201 and 204. We also tried level 2 for the first time! Ironically, it was this spur-of-the-moment entry that gained us our highest score and our only placement of the weekend: a 208 and 2nd place! (We had to do a run-off for the placement and we won it!)

What all that boils down to is a total of 5 trials and 2 titles. Our highest score of the year was a 209. We earned 1st place twice, 2nd place three times, 3rd place a whopping four times (we’re apparently very good at 3rd place!), 4th place once, and 5th place twice, plus the high scoring mixed breed dog honor! We also have one leg towards our level 2 title. What a great year! Check out all those ribbons!