I entered the dogs in a rally trial tomorrow. Actually, there are 2 trials in one day, so Stout is doing both trials & Porter is doing only one.
I'm beginning to freak out though. This will be Stout's first time in Advanced (off-leash!) & Porter's first time in Excellent. A LOT of things have changed since Porter last did rally... those signs are hard now!
I gave myself plenty of time, and we have been practicing, but I foresee some problems. Stout rocks all the signs, his problem will be the off-leash issue.
Porter is just a weirdo. I kind of take for granted all the shaping & clicker work that Stout has done... Porter doesn't understand that very well. So it's been hard to teach a lot of these signs to him. And he just gets frustrated at the lack of food delivery if my schedule is slightly off what he feels he deserves...
Here is Stout doing a little practice.
Stout looks good although I can see he might be tempted to wander off. I am going to try and get an RA on Wilson before the versatility points change June 1st. I need to get busy training. He is enjoying what little I have done so far. I think Wilson can be trusted to do his job off leash, but like Porter, food is important! I'm not even going to take a chance w/ Jimmy. He is too likely to think it's agility! Plus he has his versatility so why spend the money ;-)
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