Today's Rally Competition

There is a cluster dog show taking place near us, in San Mateo, CA this weekend. It runs through Wednesday, with opportunities for multiple Rally legs for us! Unfortunately, we weren't eligible for yesterday's competition because our trainer was the judge. But I did go to scope out the facility and the competition - and there was a lot of it!

Today, Denali and I were ready to take on a stiff field of competitors. There were over 20 dogs in our Novice A class. Unless you scored in the very high 90's there was no chance for a ribbon.

Until the very last dog showed, we held onto second place, with our score of 97. Only one outscored us, with a total of 99 points. Then came that last dog; a lovely German Shepherd who truly deserved the perfect 100 score - beautiful to watch!

As it happened, there were two 97 scores and we captured the yellow ribbon by finishing our run two seconds faster than the other entry! Wow...lots of very nice dogs. We will see them all again tomorrow and hopefully that will be our third leg, and Denali's RN title!

Truthfully, even better than getting the second leg was the experience of leaving the ring today. As we were going back through the crowd, a number of other exhibitors, who had just seen us run the course, stopped me to say what a beautiful, and nicely trained dog I have! Denali put on her best smile and was declared "so cute" by multiple admirers. One commented that she was "so attentive" in the ring.

Regardless of points and ribbons, the obedience training and experience of attending matches and trials has really improved Denali's socialization and confidence. She has matured into a really nice companion that I can take anywhere, and a nice model for the breed. I was so proud to be able to say that this beautiful dog is mine!

We had fun today, and tomorrow we'll do the same!