# Gemma's new obedience title!



## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

Gemma was in a trial this weekend and got her Novice obedience title. She is now "Companion Dog" (CD). Successful weekend! We got her photo taken and i'll post it when i get from the photographer.


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## Ruth4Havs (May 13, 2013)

Yay, Gemma!! Congratulations for earning the title Companion Dog.:cheer2::clap2::first::thumb:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Yay, Gemma! The stays are still Kodi's and my downfall. He can do all the Open exercizes... But We still can't get through Novice stays!!!


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Yeah, congratulations on all your work together!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

atta girl, ... girls are better at stays lol


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

Good job, Gemma :dance: congratulations to both of you.


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

Gemma is so solid on her stays. she actually fell asleep during the long down stay this afternoon. In the morning the dog beside her got up and went over and sniffed at her (and it was a BIG dog). She didn't move, although she did wag her tail a little. It was super cute! My problem is the off leash healing. She does it really well at home but in the ring with all the distractions and the stress she loses her head and tends to lag. that's where she lost most of her points. We still got a 189 and second place this morning. 

We start training open next month. Not sure how i'll get her to hold a dumbell in her mouth....


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Tuss said:


> Gemma is so solid on her stays. she actually fell asleep during the long down stay this afternoon. In the morning the dog beside her got up and went over and sniffed at her (and it was a BIG dog). She didn't move, although she did wag her tail a little. It was super cute! My problem is the off leash healing. She does it really well at home but in the ring with all the distractions and the stress she loses her head and tends to lag. that's where she lost most of her points. We still got a 189 and second place this morning.
> 
> We start training open next month. Not sure how i'll get her to hold a dumbell in her mouth....


fell asleep lol ,that tops molly, years ago I put her in a stay ,in the family room when we were playing hide da treat game. , I came upstairs and the phone rang, I talked on the phone for a bit and forgot about her, went downstairs a half hour later and she was still sitting there .. with a "where\s my **** treat look.


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Good job and congrats to both you and Gemma!


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

That is just wonderful! You must be so proud! I know you both must work very hard to get where you are!


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

davetgabby said:


> fell asleep lol ,that tops molly, years ago I put her in a stay ,in the family room when we were playing hide da treat game. , I came upstairs and the phone rang, I talked on the phone for a bit and forgot about her, went downstairs a half hour later and she was still sitting there .. with a "wheres my **** treat look.


I hope you gave her a really really good treat!!!!


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## tra_po (Aug 14, 2013)

That is really impressive! WTG Gemma! (And you!)


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Tuss said:


> Gemma is so solid on her stays. she actually fell asleep during the long down stay this afternoon. In the morning the dog beside her got up and went over and sniffed at her (and it was a BIG dog). She didn't move, although she did wag her tail a little. It was super cute! My problem is the off leash healing. She does it really well at home but in the ring with all the distractions and the stress she loses her head and tends to lag. that's where she lost most of her points. We still got a 189 and second place this morning.
> 
> We start training open next month. Not sure how i'll get her to hold a dumbell in her mouth....


We stopped working on the down stay completely until we get the sit stay solid (he tends to "melt" into a down when he's stressed) We can do full length, full distance sit-stays if he's with just a couple of familiar dogs. But if he's near a dog he doesn't know... He doesn't do so well.  Since it's ALL about the other dogs, not the stays themselves, I suspect that when we get the "other dog" problem worked out on the sits, the downs won't be a big problem to firm up. In the mean time, we're doing pre-novice at the next few trials, just to stay working in the ring. (pre-novice is the same as novice, except that instead of the group stays, there is a stay more similar to beginner novice, except that you don't know until you get there whether it will be a sit or a down)

Kodi's heeling is actually better off leash than on, because we've been doing rally for so long. I've had to make myself go back and do more on-leash heeling just to remind him that it's not a punishment to be on-leash.<g> The exercise he's most likely to lose points on in novice (assuming he doesn't NQ on stays! ) is the figure 8. He has a tough time remembering that it's not OK to sniff legs.  He's not so bad that it would be an NQ... it's just a quick sniff when he's on the inside turn. But it will lose us points. 

As far as the dumbbell is concerned, that took us a LONG time too. (I don't think these guys were bred to be retrievers!)I worked for months with the method of holding the dumbbell and having him put it in his mouth and (hopefully) hold it...never happened. Finally, I did what the obedience trainers all say you NEVER should do, and just tossed it a little way, the way I would a toy. Amazing! He ran right to it, picked it up brought it back. From there to shaping him to hold it until I asked him to release it was a matter of days.

It took longer for him to learn to SIT and hold it at the same time... he could either it and drop it, or stand and hold it.  So we added his sit box to get an automatic sit when he brought it back. Worked like a charm. I still usually practice with a sit box, but when we take it away to proof it, he's still sitting.

The retrieve over the high jump is mostly a "me" problem. If I can't get the dumbbell to land straight out, he still sometimes gets confused about whether he should come back over the jump or go around. But I'm sure he's get that pretty quickly, since he knows directed jumping from (WCR) rally, so he has the concept of going diagonally to a jump. I guess a lot of dogs drop the dumbbell over the jump (just like the sit with the dumbbell, they have a hard time thinking to do both at once. So far, he hasn't dropped it once, though, so I may have dodged the bullet on that one! 

Anyway, don't be discouraged if the retrieve takes a long time. I think I've been working on it for about 6 months now, and I spent AT LEAST 6 months before that trying to get him to hold the darned thing "the right way" before getting creative on my own.


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

krandall said:


> We stopped working on the down stay completely until we get the sit stay solid (he tends to "melt" into a down when he's stressed) We can do full length, full distance sit-stays if he's with just a couple of familiar dogs. But if he's near a dog he doesn't know... He doesn't do so well.  Since it's ALL about the other dogs, not the stays themselves, I suspect that when we get the "other dog" problem worked out on the sits, the downs won't be a big problem to firm up. In the mean time, we're doing pre-novice at the next few trials, just to stay working in the ring. (pre-novice is the same as novice, except that instead of the group stays, there is a stay more similar to beginner novice, except that you don't know until you get there whether it will be a sit or a down)
> 
> Kodi's heeling is actually better off leash than on, because we've been doing rally for so long. I've had to make myself go back and do more on-leash heeling just to remind him that it's not a punishment to be on-leash.<g> The exercise he's most likely to lose points on in novice (assuming he doesn't NQ on stays! ) is the figure 8. He has a tough time remembering that it's not OK to sniff legs.  He's not so bad that it would be an NQ... it's just a quick sniff when he's on the inside turn. But it will lose us points.
> 
> ...


thanks, i have a feeling i'll be competing in rally for awhile, because i think it's going to be a long time before she's ready to go in the ring in Open. I keep reminding myself that she's not even 2 years old and i shouldn't get ahead of myself!


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## Diann (Apr 25, 2011)

davetgabby said:


> fell asleep lol ,that tops molly, years ago I put her in a stay ,in the family room when we were playing hide da treat game. , I came upstairs and the phone rang, I talked on the phone for a bit and forgot about her, went downstairs a half hour later and she was still sitting there .. with a "wheres my **** treat look.


I bet you felt both guilt and pride too. Good Molly!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Tuss said:


> thanks, i have a feeling i'll be competing in rally for awhile, because i think it's going to be a long time before she's ready to go in the ring in Open. I keep reminding myself that she's not even 2 years old and i shouldn't get ahead of myself!


True! The fact that she's got her CD at 2 is FANTASTIC. A lot of people, with a lot of breeds, haven't even gotten into the ring for the first time at that age!!! And I have to say, I really like Rally. When they are on, and really paying attention, it's like dancing with your dog!!!


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

unfortunately rally isn't as evolved in canada as it is in the us.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Tuss said:


> unfortunately rally isn't as evolved in canada as it is in the us.


That's too bad! Push your local club and see if they'll add it to their obedience trials!


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

we have it, but only thru CKC and CARO, but CARO doesn't hold trials in this part of the country (only 1 trial a year). CKC only has 3 levels of rally and we are already at the advanced level (there is novice, advanced and excellent). The signs are a little boring without much variety. They need to create another level beyond the "excellent" and put some new signs like the US has. CARO has more levels, but unfortunatley i'm not willing to travel long distances (ie 2000km) to compete. hopefully it will evolve!


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

just got the proofs from the show photographer. Here is Gemma's photo!


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## Ruth4Havs (May 13, 2013)

So professional!! Beautiful :first:


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

What a beautiful photo of Gemma. She is very photogenic. Congrats again. Great job you two.


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## NvonS (Jul 8, 2010)

Congratulations to both of you!!!!
Lily NQ'd at BOTH shows we went to this weekend. I am so new to this and pre novice is also new or I would have entered her in that for practice. She didn't do very well on the heal free because she decided to sniff her way around lagging behind. She did well on everything else on Friday so we went home and practiced the heal free for 2 days 4 or 5 times a day for for 20 minutes.
This morning she did poorly on leash and then perfect on the stand for exam. As soon as the leash came off she lost her brain. After the first part of the pattern the judge told me she NQ'd I took out a treat and she finished like a pro. On the recall she took off for me before I even got to the other side of the ring. NQ #2 The long sit was perfect and the long down was great until 2:45 when SHE SAT UP! NQ #3.
We have a trial this coming weekend. I will not give up 
It's hard work!


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

NvonS said:


> Congratulations to both of you!!!!
> Lily NQ'd at BOTH shows we went to this weekend. I am so new to this and pre novice is also new or I would have entered her in that for practice. She didn't do very well on the heal free because she decided to sniff her way around lagging behind. She did well on everything else on Friday so we went home and practiced the heal free for 2 days 4 or 5 times a day for for 20 minutes.
> This morning she did poorly on leash and then perfect on the stand for exam. As soon as the leash came off she lost her brain. After the first part of the pattern the judge told me she NQ'd I took out a treat and she finished like a pro. On the recall she took off for me before I even got to the other side of the ring. NQ #2 The long sit was perfect and the long down was great until 2:45 when SHE SAT UP! NQ #3.
> We have a trial this coming weekend. I will not give up
> It's hard work!


Sounds like you're getting close. Keep practicing. It's so much harder for them in the ring with all the stress and distractions. The heal free is the hardest for Gemma. She does it so well at home but so poorly in the ring. Don't do a lot of practice the day before the trial; it's just too exhausting for them mentally. Just let them rest up for the trial. Keep trying and you'll get there eventually. On our first trial on the heal free Gemma refused to move and just sat still while I went for a little walk by myself around the ring. Very embarrassing!


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## NvonS (Jul 8, 2010)

Lily was PERFECT at her class tonight. I guess she was embarrassed when her friends found out how naughty she was this weekend. Her attention was perfect, heal free was flawless, recall and stand for exam excellent and sit stay and long down impeccable. Where was that dog when we were in the ring?


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

NvonS said:


> Lily was PERFECT at her class tonight. I guess she was embarrassed when her friends found out how naughty she was this weekend. Her attention was perfect, heal free was flawless, recall and stand for exam excellent and sit stay and long down impeccable. Where was that dog when we were in the ring?


Do you get nervous in the ring? This is the problem i'm having. I get a bit nervous in the ring and Gemma is super sensitive to me, my emotions and body language. When i am a little nervous she just doesn't perform well at all.


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