# Trial advice needed



## Wolfmother (Apr 17, 2007)

Does anyone have any advice on what you can do to motivate your dog before starting your heeling pattern if you are the first to do your long down during a trial? 

I know how to handle this if you are doing the pattern first, but you don't have that luxury if you have to do the down first.


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

You are allowed to praise at the end of each exercise. The completion for the long down is when you collect your dog and give it the command to sit. I typically will do a good boy, a quick jump up, then fuss back to the judge.


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## Wolfmother (Apr 17, 2007)

Good advice Angela...thanks! I think that would work good for us.


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

if you think about it, you go back to your dog, basic position, sit, the judge then signals you to come back and report in. Praise, heel to the judge.


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

In training, I have a cue phrase that I always use. A different one for every phase, and I say it to the dog as we're going out onto the field to work. This tells my dog what we're doing and helps her get into the correct mindset for that phase.

In training for obedience I use "wanna work?" I say it in an excited manner a few times, then pull out my toy and we proceed to play and train. It doesn't take long before classical conditioning (Pavlov's dogs) enters the picture, and just me saying that phrase sends the dog into drive, before the toy is even pulled out.

On trial day, if I draw the down first, I do the same thing. After I pick my dog up from the down, during that off-the-clock time as we walk to the starting position for our field exercises, I use my "wanna work?" cue phrase, and the dog shoots into drive and is ready for obedience, even without there being a toy anywhere around.


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## Wolfmother (Apr 17, 2007)

Chris, I actually use a phrase like that but didn't realize I do it until just now. I can see how that would really work. 

I will just be so happy if she holds the down, that she will also feed off of my energy from the relief. 

Thanks for all the great advice! The down is what I fear the most and all the advice is making me feel a little less stressed.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

For my BH and OB1, I was fortunate enough to be first on the field, long down second - but I trained for the possibility of us being first doing the long down.

I would drive to the club, my dog would be all excited at the promise of having some training fun and she gets all hyped up being around other dogs (rescue dog who had little early socializing). But as soon as she came out of the car, I would foos her across the parking lot, across the field, into the trial long-down spot, platz her and leave her for 20 minutes (oh course, by then I KNEW she could easily hold a platz for 20 min with me at a distance), but as many people do, we usually train OB first, THEN when the dog is tired, we do the long down - because we want our dogs to not break, and the chances of them breaking after they have been worked are less.

I was pretty confident she would hold her down if we drew the OB first, down second, but I wanted to work on her holding her down if we drew the long down first - so I trained for that.

By the way, I also made a specific point of going outside in pouring rain and getting her to do a long down - 20 minutes! I sat out there in my lawn chair, a magazine, and a golf umbrella and my watch, and timed it. When it started to REALLY pour, she sorta got up on her elbows and was looking at me with a "you gotta be kidding" expression - but a fresh DOWN command got her down again, and she held it until released. Turned out to have been very useful to have practiced this, because during our OB1, it was raining just a bit, but then started to hail just as we did the sit out of motion! And she held her sit! I turned around to look at her after my 30 paces, and she had her head down, looking like someone was beating on her, but she held position! I was pretty impressed.

And there was some hail in her long down too, and she held that also. Good luck, and hope that all goes well for you!


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## Wolfmother (Apr 17, 2007)

Lucia,

At training, I usually put my dog in a down both before and after OB so she should be used to that. I make it a point to show up at training if it is raining even though I might not feel like going (rain triggers my migraines). 

It sounds like you worked very hard and were really prepared for your trials. 

Thanks for the well wishes and all the good advice. This is for our BH (a first for both of us). There are two of us going for the BH so we have a 50% chance of doing the long down first. 

Thanks again to everyone for all the help.


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## JenM66 (Jul 28, 2005)

Michele, you're ready to trial?!!! That's awesome







Can't wait to hear bout it!! When and where?


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## Wolfmother (Apr 17, 2007)

Hi Jen,

Yes, we are ready. I feel I know the pattern really good as well as the rules. I just hope my nerves don't take over causing me to forget all that knowledge. 

The trial is Sunday at Upper Bucks.


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

Well good luck and remember to BREATHE!!!


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## Wolfmother (Apr 17, 2007)

Thanks Angela! I really do have to remember that. 

I wasn't breathing during the first leg of our CD and actually started getting dizzy! My friend had to remind me to breathe.


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## Vertigo75 (Jul 11, 2006)

Yay! Best wishes - you guys will do very well! Can't wait to hear the good news (because I know it will be good)!


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## JenM66 (Jul 28, 2005)

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!! I'll be waiting to hear how you did.

#1 - Trust your dog
#2 - BREATHE!!!!!


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## Wolfmother (Apr 17, 2007)

Hi guys!

We passed! 

I am so glad it is over. I really learned a lot from the experience. We did have to do the long down first. I didn't break out the ball to play prior to entering the field like I normally would have and I think that may have been the cause of some of the attention issues when we had when we started our heeling pattern. I didn't want to get her too riled up just to immediately go into a down. I thought it might cause her to break the down so I chose not to use it. Looking back, I think that maybe I should have used the ball. Lesson learned! 

My dog did a lot of the typical things that she does in a trial. She doesn't sit automatically at times, and when she does, it is really crooked. When we practice, she is very reliable and is normally pretty precise. None of those issues happen in practice. She was also like a different dog during the off-leash part (in a good way). Once the leash came off, she didn't take her eyes off me. 

At least I won't need the leash going forward at least. I already knew that she responded better to me off-leash during protection, but I haven't had this issue in obedience ever before. 

Maybe it was due to nerves, but I don't really feel like I was too nervous. I have been told that I have to "train like I am trialing", and that is why Neeka acts like that during a trial only. Looks like I have some work ahead of me.


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

great!!!


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## JenM66 (Jul 28, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: Wolfmother
> We passed!








































I knew you'd do it!!!! I was checking all day yesterday for your news!!!!!! (Who do you train with regularly??)


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## Wolfmother (Apr 17, 2007)

Hi Jen,

I tried to PM you, but you are over your limit. 

I was so exhausted yesterday that I basically collapsed the rest of the night. 

To answer your question, I am still training with Jim Hill. I would like to find a club eventually. 

Hope things are well with you and Gracie.


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## Vertigo75 (Jul 11, 2006)

Woo hoo!!! Awesome news!!! Congratulations!


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

Congratulations!!!!


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## Lynn_P (Mar 17, 2004)

Congratulations.. that's great.


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