Fun Matches

Or the post where I pretend I have been posting all along and you just haven't noticed. Hah.

My young Jack is officially 2 years old now, and settled down enough that I feel guilty and remiss in my training duties - because I haven't gotten him into any fun matches yet.

Fun matches are AKC-type show trials (conformation, obedience, rally, agility) which are a step up from dog class and ideal preparation before you actually go into a formal trial. Points are not deducted and you are allowed (encouraged) to train your dog as much or as little as necessary. These are usually held by local clubs and open to the public. You usually have to pay $5-10 bucks to enter your dog. The runthrough is exactly as it would be in the show ring, but the 'judge' allows you to handle your dog or whatever.

For example, with Jack I need to babysit him on the sit/down stays until he gets the idea they are a good thing. Like other sensitive type dogs, he does not like it when I get more than five feet away from him and deliberately breaks the stays.

Two of the fun matches I'm EYEBALLING are held at spots where there will be a real show later in the year. I'd like to see how he does in there in advance.

I'd like to have Jacket ready by September when I hope to show him at the Fort Detroit Golden Retriever specialty. This is over in St. Clair, MI, and a GREAT location. I showed there once before and enjoyed the experience. We went out to the lake afterwards as a reward for the doglet.

A 'specialty' means that only dogs of a certain breed and registered with the AKC may enter. When competing in obedience, this means that it is THAT MUCH more difficult to place high, because you are up against a bunch of other golden retrievers who do not make mistakes in the obedience ring.

I'm also going to be showing Novice B, which means that while I'm more experienced because I've already done the obedience show thing with other dogs; it also means that the other people have shown multiple dogs through UDX.

I'll be happy if we get high scores and of course the leg.