One criteria I set and stuck to was that I would not enter a dog show until we could do a stations class without Shane running off. Since stations classes didn't start until October, I had all summer to work on Shane's reactivity.
Looking at the trial calendar, I noticed there was one weekend in October with 7 dog shows, so I decided to enter the NADAC trial in McGregor. I figured it would have the least number of crazy dogs. Also, it was the weekend after our first stations class.
Thursday morning, I took the leash off Shane and put him into a sit-stay. We did our exercise and right next to us at the next station, Susan and her border collie were working. Border collies were one of Shane's triggers, especially fast ones like Flirt. We did every station and I didn't have to use my recall treats once. Went home to pack for the show.
Our first run Friday night was Hoopers. When it was over, I broke down. I didn't realize how worked up I was about coming back. After that we had our usual problems - no dog walk contact and knocked bars - but we managed the reactivity! I can tell he's still terrified out there and I'm not sure what to do next. After a run in class, Shane is jumping and happy. After a run at a show, he stands there staring like a deer in the head lights. I'm happy with our new start line routine, now I need to figure out a finish line routine.
We took 1st place with qualifying runs in everything that didn't have a dog walk or jumps to knock down. When I saw them dismantling the dog walk for Chances, I just squealed. So only 5 Qs out of 13 runs. Brought home toys for Maggie. Had a fabulous time.
1 comment:
he looks proud of his achievements but thrown off by the flash.
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