Yay! Both Kaylee and Rocket managed to get 2 legs of their BN & RN titles.
They both did ok. They qualified, but not necessarily in the fashion I wanted them too. The theme this weekend was distractions, and I know for sure that we need to start training outside and in busy places.
If you know how my normal trial weekends go, there has to be some kind of drama involved.
The trial was in our club building. We specifically chose a corner that was close to our ring and the exits, so we wouldn't be constantly dodging dogs. Oh, how we were so, so wrong.....
Our interesting neighbors this time were fellow Dobe owners. As they aren't a dog you commonly see in trials around here, I'm always interested in finding out where the dog comes from. At first glimpse, based on crop and body style, Leah and I assumed the dog in question was a rescue, probably 5-6 years old. We didn't introduce ourselves, and neither did our neighbors. Leah and I had our usual dog related discussions, but the one we had on Saturday was mostly based on how a commercial Doberman/Rottweiler breeder manages to sell dogs to people. He sells them in "packages," each one with an increasing price and "pre-work" that has gone into the puppy. So, for example, your Super Puppy will come with the puppy basics, anywhere from $2500-$3500 dollars. Your puppy's parents most likely have little to no health testing, and were dogs that weren't good enough to make it in a European breeding program. They have few actual titles - meaning ones that weren't "bought." (For comparison, a puppy from a reputable breeder will cost you $1500-$2500, from tested, titled parents.) If you choose to go with a "Grand Victor" puppy, by goly, not only do you pay out the *ss, but your puppy already had obedience work started. SOOO easy! and convenient!
I managed to snag a catalog for a check to see who our neighbors were. Low and behold.....the commercial breeder strikes again.
Today our neighbors were very outgoing. I was stopped on my way back into the building by the wife for a brief conversation. Apparently, her and her husband had visited Rocket and Kaylee's breeder back in the day, but chose, again, to get their 3rd dog from the commercial breeder. She described their almost 2 year old girl as "very dominant at the dog park" and that she felt a little bad that she hadn't stuck with posting her ears that much when she was a puppy.
I'm not going to critique the dog or her performance. I will say, however, that I've never actually seen double handling before, but now I know exactly what to look for. (Sorry, lady, you can't actually stand outside the ring, immediately to the left of your husband, to help keep your dog down on the group down stay.) I saw a few other behaviors that spoke volumes about the training methods used on the still very puppy-ish girl.
I learned a lot this weekend, and I'm excited to get to work! Both dogs have so much potential, and I can't wait to see improvement!
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