We did it! Maisy got her ARCH this
weekend! This has been a long-term goal of mine, and one that I had
feared would be unattainable. And yet… we did it!
The ARCH is a multi-level APDT/WCRL
rally obedience championship title. In order to earn the ARCH, you
must first earn the level 1 and level 2 titles. Then you must earn a
Q in both level 1 and level 2 at the same trial. Each Q must have a
score of 190 or higher. And you need to do this 5 times. While you
are doing this, you have to earn points; you get 1 point for a score
of 191, 2 points for a score of 192, and so on. You need 100 points,
30 from level 1, 30 from level 2, and the remainder from either
class.
And we did it!
For a long time, I didn’t think it
would be possible because getting the double-Q means you are at a
trial for a long-ish period of time. In 2010, Maisy’s limit was
about 2 hours; not enough time to earn the QQs. I finally pulled her from
competition because she was getting worse at trials (behavior-wise, I mean; her scores were always decent), not better. We didn’t return to
APDT rally until April of this year when we earned 2 QQs towards the
ARCH.
I was hoping- but not expecting- to
earn the ARCH on Saturday. To do so would require doing six rally
runs for 3 QQs, and doing them well. It would require Maisy to do what I told
her, and for me to cue her correctly. Oh, and I had to
actually, you know, do all the signs (I seem to have a harder
time with that than I should!).
But we did it!
It was a long day. We got to the trial
site around 7:30am, and didn’t leave until 4:30 or so. After
earning her first perfect 210 in the first run of the day (which
yay!), her scores steadily went downhill. By the end of the day, she
was T-I-R-E-D despite the naps she was able to take in the car
between runs (it was mid-60s, a serious stroke of good luck for a
July trial!). In fact, she was so tired that as we approached the
sixth, and last, run of the day, I was concerned that she wouldn’t
be able to score high enough in order to finish her ARCH.
 |
| Best. Scoresheet. Ever. |
So I got out a secret weapon: sugar.
There have been some recent studies showing that performance improves
when a dog gets a glucose boost, so I went for it. I emptied two
sugar packets into my hands, and she ate those suckers up. Fifteen
minutes later we were back in the ring and…
We did it! A score of 206 (her second
best of the day!), and her ARCH.
The final tally was six runs, scores
ranging between 194 and 210, four 2nd places, one 3rd
place, one 4th place, her ARCH, and she was the
high-scoring mixed breed for the day! I am so, so, so, so proud of
her.
Also, I'm bringing jelly beans instead
of dog treats to trials from now on.
3 comments:
WOOHOOOOOOO!
So many congratulations to you both!
Great job to you both!! Did you notice a difference after the sugar?
Excellent job for both of you! Congartulations!!! Rally truly does show me that my dogs are smarter than am.
As an insulin dependent diabetic though, too much sugar and the resulting drop in BG an hour later can be worse than no sugar! Sounds like you had the right amount this time! Jelly beans are harder to calculate how much of a jump in blood sugar you will get....Good luck, Marsha
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