Just Barely

We got CDX leg #2 today!!!!

Barely. Pixel is an interesting dog. She is all sass and try but can't seem to put it together in the ring. Sometimes we have the sass and no try, and sometimes we have try and no sass. (Does that even make sense?! lol)

Today we had a lot of Try- but not a lot of Sass. In fact we had Sass only inbetween exercises, not during them. She did all of the exercises- her drop, her retrieves, her broad jump, the stays. But it was done cautiously and with sloppy errors. Still with the no fronts, and I had to ask her to sit during the heeling pattern...oh, and she dropped her dumbbell at my feet and wagged at me.

Obedience is the one thing that could turn me into a drinker. I feel like I could use something right about now. lol.

I debated long and hard about wether to go back or not tomorrow. I would tell my student not to. Go home, train some more. Don't accept mediocre..... Except that I think with Pixel that is who she is. Well, I should rephrase that. lol. She isn't mediocre- she is a great dog. But her work ethic is mediocre, as is her drive. So fine tuning, and repetition bore and deflate her. So our training is short, fast, and fun. (this goes for all sports, not just obedience) And we get amazing results with that in training and at matches. But guess what- The real thing is not short, fast, or particularily fun sometimes. How to convince the Princess that "front" is not an option without getting on her case is kind of a mystery at this point. (I should mention that getting on her case about stuff like that gets me a pouty corgi, and a whole lotta frustration. And I don't believe that you need to use physical corrections to get an obedience dog. Wicca was spectacular- if not for those damn stays...)

I left my score sheet at the trial- but off the top of my head I know we lost 2 and 3 points PER front/finish. That's a whole lotta wasted points on something that she used to be really good at!!!!

In any case, after much debate with friends I have decided to go back tomorrow. Pixel is Pixel- she is a corgi, who happens to be a princess. I will take the score, and move forward. She is not the 199.5 kind of dog, and I am not that kind of trainer. I am just not driven enough to get it. Maybe one day, when I am not so ADD and can focus on one sport, and one dog at a time. And when I have a dog that loves obedience as much as Wicca did. Pixel is not that dog, and for what it's worth Brit won't be that dog either.

Wish us luck tomorrow- we may need it! The judge may not be woo'd by Pixels good looks as much as todays was. :)