APDT Rally

Duncan had two days of APDT rally trials this weekend. It was at the Durham Kennel Club, so at least we didn't have too far to drive this time. I've been sick most of the week and I don't seem to be improving, so I almost didn't go. I'm glad we did, though, because I had a good time, Duncan did a great job, and Kodiak got tons of great exposure.

There were four trials over the two days, which meant Duncan had the opportunity to earn his Level 1 title. The Saturday morning run went well, except for one thing - that darn left pivot. I thought he moved enough when I gave him the pivot command, but he apparently just shifted a little bit. The ended up NQ'ing us. Sigh. The Saturday afternoon run went a lot better. We had another left pivot (hateful things) and Duncan got up when I gave the command. Then he realized we weren't going anywhere and sat back down in almost the exact same place. We lost points but he got air under his butt, and that counted as attempting the exercise. Duncan earned 200 out of a possible 210 points for that run.

Today went a lot better. For one thing, there were no left pivots in either course. Duncan took third place in his group this morning, and first place this afternoon! That gave him three qualifying runs, which gave him his RL1 title. I was really surprised at how bouncy he was today - he's usually more tired on the second day of trials, but he was peppy and ready to go. He did a wonderful job.

Duncan's wearing his third and first place ribbons on his collar in this picture, and the other person was the judge for both afternoon trials.


Here's Duncan at home with his loot from the trial (three qualifying ribbons, one first place ribbon, one third place ribbon, one title ribbon, and two placement prizes).


Kodiak didn't earn any ribbons this weekend, but he got a lot out of it. After some early stress, he decided that all those people were really neat - after all, everyone kept giving him treats. He got comfortable going in and out of the building through loud, heavy doors, and he even went in to the ring a couple of times (accepting ribbons on behalf of his big brother). Everyone had fun guessing about his heritage and potential size, and the general consensus was that he's freakishly cute.

The pups and I were thrilled when we got home early enough to enjoy some time out in the beautiful weather. Pictures from the afternoon will be posted later...