Mom took Bessie-one to a Rally Trial...

"As you probably know, Bessie and I took some obedience lessons as a way to (hopefully) improve her focus and rein in her terrier impulsiveness . Several weeks ago I decided I needed to try her in an actual show situation to see if she (and I) could hold each other's attention for the two minutes or so it takes to execute a Rally course. So, we entered AKC Rally classes which were held in Ft Worth this weekend.

Believe it or not...B scored 93 points on Saturday and after watching the video my husband made of our course, it seemed to me that I caused the majority of her point loss when I released her from a 'fast pace' too soon. We only needed 70 points to qualify so we were quite pleased that we passed so handily. When B was awarded her placement she immediately grabbed the dog toy and tried to kill it...she was quite happy with herself.

Today we went back for Day 2 of our big adventure. The course was much more demanding but once again B somehow managed to keep her nose off the floor (this was due to some very effective guidance I received from my trainer) for the two minutes. This time we earned a 95 and the BLUE RIBBON! The judge seemed to have been smitten by B's energy and attitude....I mean how many times do judges see terriers paying attention to anything for longer than a split-second. I had been the first to do the course in my class and had deliberately chosen not to monitor the scores for the other competitors. So, when the ribbon was awarded it was truly a surprise and since all of you know B very well you can understand how surprising that was indeed! B reacted to my own reaction and started jumping on everyone...including the judge. She was just in outer space with glee.

So, B has a fat head this evening and is probably devising evil ways to goof-off during our next agility lesson. Tuesday morning just might be a real bear!"