Buzzer's first attempt at Rally Advanced

I learned a lot from Buzz at the trial on Saturday, February 24, 2007. I think the most important lesson I learned is how important the bond Buzz and I share is. Or I should say how much the time I spend away from him has changed it. He was interested when I had food, and he was really good for the first 3/4 of the course. Thinking back, I should have praised/pet/gotten overjoyed and left the ring with him after the 1, 2, 3 steps back because he was at attention perfectly like we'd practiced. I told him he was fabulous, but he needed and deserved more. In that exercise alone he gave me everything we've ever worked on. I couldn't read my dog as well as I should have been able to. We will probably have a lot of work to do before I'm comfortable showing him again and it won't be until at least middle of the summer. We need to work on our relationship again. He performed really well, right up until the last two exercises of his first Rally Advanced course. We had a "halt, 90* pivot right, halt" then a "slow" and the course finished with a "normal" well, we made it half way through the slow and he heard/smelled/decided the joy of running was better than me and tried to leave the ring. Instead of gallivanting around the ring, I reached for and caught him. This NQ'd us. We had only minor deductions previous to that exercise (one point for him hitting me during the "360* right turn" and a crooked sit at another sign). We're not out of the running. I plan to play in APDT Rally-O over the summer when the trials come to town again, and hopefully I'll be able to work with my dog again. I'm not going to say all problems will disappear when I can see and work with him more frequently, but I think that everything will be a lot easier. I just have to wait until May, then I'll be home for the summer and best of all, he'll be living with me up at school next year and hopefully he'll be with me the rest of his LONG life. Yes, he's my heart dog and I don't know what I'll do without him. I appreciate and love this dog more than anyone understands, and more than I ever thought I could, regardless of the tribulations that come our way on the way to our wonderful triumphs!

My newest favorite picture of the dude-man...