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Post by hooligan on May 25, 2013 19:30:22 GMT -5
Yes, Jack is now officially a Begleithund. As Monica and some of the rest of you know, this is a HUGE hurdle overcome. Last time Jack tried his BH, he threw a tantrum of epic proportions, one that will long be a reference point for how badly wrong things can go.
Today’s performance wasn’t Jack’s best by any stretch, but he held his long down, despite the very strong and icy Arctic winds that were howling across the field near Stayner (and the clucking chickens, and the horse and yappy beagle next door, and the unending herd of motorcycles thundering by).
Jack being Jack, though, he pulled a new one on us. He has never had a really speedy, really snappy sit, but today he decided to act as if this were the first time he had ever been expected to sit at the stopping points during the routine. His sit was PAINFULLY slow. The judge could have gone for a coffee and bathroom break while waiting for Jack to decide to put his bum on the ground. LOL.
Still, he did well enough to pass easily and the judge commented that some of his work was excellent. So we’re very proud of the little dickhead!
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dreambarks
Junior Member
Every Dobe has his day!
Posts: 66
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Post by dreambarks on May 26, 2013 10:37:15 GMT -5
Congratulations!
Sounds like the G litter has brains. Jack is probably just bored with the routine. I bet he'd be enthusiastic about agility. Or maybe the ground was just too cold! Sounds like he performed well with all the distractions.
What's next on the agenda for Jack?
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Post by Lisa on May 26, 2013 11:14:44 GMT -5
Congratulations Dyanne! That's a huge accomplishment. I know how much work you put in...
Great job Jack! Is IPO1 your next goal?
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Post by hooligan on May 26, 2013 18:17:16 GMT -5
Congratulations! Sounds like the G litter has brains. Jack is probably just bored with the routine. I bet he'd be enthusiastic about agility. Or maybe the ground was just too cold! Sounds like he performed well with all the distractions. What's next on the agenda for Jack? I think you hit the nail on the head, Marion. Everyone in the sport says that the BH is the most boring obedience routine and, sometimes, the hardest to get through. That's because the dog and handler must do the routine twice, once on lead and once off. This takes about 10 minutes, and then the dog must hold a down while another dog does the routine. (In a strange twist, given Jack's history with the long down, he was the only one of our four club dogs who actually held the long down yesterday -- though none of them broke it in quite the spectacular fashion that Jack managed to achieve last time). In the IPO 1, 2 and 3, dogs must do the obedience routine only once. Off Lead. And it includes fun stuff like retrieves and jumping. As for what's next, we'll keep at SchH and see how far we can take Jack. He loves training but not trialing, when he tends to pick up on every little bit of stress that's floating around the field. And some people are very, very serious, so there's often A LOT of stress!
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Post by dobermoms on May 27, 2013 5:23:03 GMT -5
Congratulations to you, Bill and Jack. We know you have put in "countless" hours with him.....an excellent achievement for all of you!! We are so proud!
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Post by Dobereich on May 29, 2013 22:45:12 GMT -5
WooHoo!.. and a big fat congrats to all of you... especially Bill. Send a pic and I'll post it on the website Dyanne. But I tell ya, Dobes always have their own way about they choose to do things. Its why I tell people they best have a hardy sense of humour if they plan to enjoy living with a Dobe. Just when you think you know what to expect from them, they turn a twist and remind you that they are silly and clever lil devils...lol.
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Post by hooligan on May 30, 2013 9:12:11 GMT -5
Thanks, all. Jack may already be regretting the BH, because it has given us added ammunition. I think he's getting sick of hearing, "Is THAT how a Begleithund behaves?" LOL.
I didn't realize it on Saturday, but his down had a lot of help from the club members who were on hand. While he was out there, they were all, like me, watching intently and muttering under their breath, "Stay down, Jack." And no one relaxed until Bill walked back to him and actually clipped the lead back onto his collar. So maybe it was the group vibe that kept his belly pressed to the ground.
After Saturday and the hard work leading up to it, we gave him a few days off. Nothing but fun on his daily hikes. No stops to do a bit of training. And at training last night, his quick sits were back (where they went on Saturday, I still don't know).
Sorry, Monica. We have no pictures. Superstition, I guess. Bill didn't even take the camera with him. Didn't want to tempt fate. But I will check to see if anyone else got pix.
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Post by ladydon on Jun 1, 2013 11:54:02 GMT -5
That's awesome Dyanne! When you did it last time, was it that poop incident with Bill? lol
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Post by hooligan on Jun 2, 2013 9:33:55 GMT -5
That's awesome Dyanne! When you did it last time, was it that poop incident with Bill? lol Wish I could say that the exploding poop bag was the only previous disaster. But no. On a second try, Jack staged a total, over-the-top temper tantrum and meltdown when he was doing the long down. So that's why "stay down, Jack" became everyone's mantra. In the weeks before this latest (successful) trial, our club's training director and Bill worked together to replicate, as much as possible, the conditions that had sparked the meltdown. And together, they worked out some very effective strategies for bringing Jack instantly back under control. So Bill went into the trial confident that he could handle whatever Jack chose to throw at him. But of course, this time Jack came up with a new one: the really . . . really . . . slooooow . . . sits (and there are a lot of sits in the BH routine). Always something new to work on!
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Post by ladydon on Jun 22, 2013 14:19:57 GMT -5
Well congrats!
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Post by Cerberus Designs. on Jun 25, 2013 12:47:58 GMT -5
Congrats to you and Jack.
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