when I got there the beginner class had been split as there were over 60 dogs entered. This was really good as it meant that I could take both dogs into stays on their own. Neither of them are reliable enough to take them into the ring together. Ruby's stays are usually fairly good at home but she hasn't done stays at a show for a long time as I tended to concentrate on Dora and Saffy and Saffy has only done stays at a show once before.
Saffy worked first as we were drawn second. With both dogs I planned to work the rounds to see where we are up to. Saffy's heel on lead was very good, she was very attentive and did her turns well. She lost 3 marks. then we did her recall and retrieve. She got full marks for the recall and only lost 1/2 for her retrieve. Her heel off leed was ot quoite as good as she was distracted by someone playing with hteir dog just outside the ring and I struggled to get her attention back after that but overall I was very pleased with her.
Ruby's round was not marked by her judge but we still did the round pretty much as it was set. Her heelwork was much better than I expected it to be. Her position is a bit wide but is very consistent even on the turns. The judge said that there wasn't really much to mark at all. She did a lovely recall and retrieve then we finished with a bit of heel off lead. Whilst I stood talking to the judge Ruby kept going up to the steward to be stroked. Her performance was miles better than last time I had her in the ring working, and she is much more confdent around the judge and steward than she used to be. During her heelwork she kept her attention on me and didn't even glance back at the judge. People walking behind her really used to worry her.
I trained the stays for both dogs. The judges let me set them up by the entrance to the ring and I only went a step away from them and both dogs did the stays correctly so we are definitely making progress.
Daisy took the show in her stride. She loved meeting all the people and of course being so small got plenty of attention. Several people said I should try doing obedience with her too. She is certainly very toy motivated and learns very quickly so maybe I will. She played quite happily in the middle of the show whereas I struggle to get the Malinois to play in strange situations.
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