The Tobster in 2012
Yay! Just got the letter that says Toby is ESSFTA Novice A Obedience Dog of the Year! We beat all the show dogs!
Most people don't have a bloody clue how hard competitive dog obedience is. Even with a talented, naturally biddable, smart dog it's a lot of work, and in the beginning it's not much fun. At least with field work there is an element of excitement as you watch your puppy flush its first bird. Nothing about obedience is natural. It is boring, repetitive and requires unnatural restraint and self-discipline. And when it all starts to work properly, it's pure magic and so much fun!
Toby is a dog that took 8-9 months to train to heel...and even then he wasn't good at it. He just wanted to forge ahead and tug my arms out of their socket like dogs do at a field trial. He had horrible obedience and I started at ground zero with him. I certainly never thought he'd win anything. Being a pragmatist, my only goal was just to minimize the embarrassment factor of being seen as the person running after the world's worst obedience dog. Month after month went by and we were getting nowhere. I wore out two clickers, spent $1000 on treats, and still felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall. I almost gave up! Then one day he woke up and decided he was ready to play on my team. His confidence soared. At his first trial he won, and all the hard work became worth it.
In all fairness, Ice had higher scores and a HIT (High in Trial), but he started in A (the newbie group) and finished his CD title in B (the experienced handler group) so couldn't be considered.
Both boys are running in Open this year. Ice will either be stunning and near perfect or go down in flames. We're still working on getting into the consistent grey mediocre area that Toby enjoys. :)