RALLY OBEDIENCE!
Congratulations Patience, on your First Leg in Rally Advanced!
April 11 in Lincoln Rhode Island.
Congratulations Patience and Pikachu on your new titles:
October 11 and 12, 2008 in Amherst NH:
CH. Sherwood's Anticipatience CGC RN
Majoray's RR Silver Seraph RN
Several class placings, including a first place; high scores of 98 and 99!
My inspiration for training my dogs to compete in Rally Obedience; please meet Marla !
www.lexingtonmastiffs.com - females, "Marla"
Ron and I always enjoyed seeing Marla in the breed ring; she is a beautiful , typey girl and she has a great mom. We never knew what the "RN" after her name meant; and when I learned that it was a type of obedience title, I gained an even greater respect for her and for her owner, Erica Tortorella. Seeing this beautiful bitch in the breed ring made my mind wander...what could be more beautiful than a mastiff, performing in the obedience ring?
At one time, I thought I would never be able to train a dog to that level. I always considered my dogs "pretty" well trained; trained well enough for my purposes. (Some people think of training beyond the very basics as being something you do only when required. If your dog is having problems, or being "bad", then extra training is in order.) This is absolutely not the case!
My experience in raising Patience has taught me many, many things. One of the things I learned is that dogs are hungry for training; training is fun and extremely rewarding for the DOG; not only the owner. My dogs BEG me for training and I think if they could talk, they'd tell you that their favorite thing to do is to do things RIGHT. I am a better trainer, a better PERSON for having had Patience as my training partner.
Training is nourishing your dog's mind; his mind is intertwined with his sense of confidence and his mental well being. I think that having a working relationship with one's dog is every bit as important as providing him/ her with food, veterinary care, excercise and shelter. I think it is the same THING as providing love. Training IS loving; it's communication ; after all. And what solid relationship can exist without communication? And how can there ever be "enough" communication between partners?
It was Marla and Erica who planted the little seed....and I will always be grateful to them both. Every one of my dogs now, and my future dogs, will benefit from the work that THEY did.
And I'm very glad that I was curious enough to ask, "What the heck is that RN in the catalogue next to that great bitch's name?"
At one time, I thought I would never be able to train a dog to that level. I always considered my dogs "pretty" well trained; trained well enough for my purposes. (Some people think of training beyond the very basics as being something you do only when required. If your dog is having problems, or being "bad", then extra training is in order.) This is absolutely not the case!
My experience in raising Patience has taught me many, many things. One of the things I learned is that dogs are hungry for training; training is fun and extremely rewarding for the DOG; not only the owner. My dogs BEG me for training and I think if they could talk, they'd tell you that their favorite thing to do is to do things RIGHT. I am a better trainer, a better PERSON for having had Patience as my training partner.
Training is nourishing your dog's mind; his mind is intertwined with his sense of confidence and his mental well being. I think that having a working relationship with one's dog is every bit as important as providing him/ her with food, veterinary care, excercise and shelter. I think it is the same THING as providing love. Training IS loving; it's communication ; after all. And what solid relationship can exist without communication? And how can there ever be "enough" communication between partners?
It was Marla and Erica who planted the little seed....and I will always be grateful to them both. Every one of my dogs now, and my future dogs, will benefit from the work that THEY did.
And I'm very glad that I was curious enough to ask, "What the heck is that RN in the catalogue next to that great bitch's name?"
Patience in "Happy Heeling!":
Patience's First Rally Leg from owenspride on Vimeo.
Pikachu's First Rally Show from owenspride on Vimeo. Patience Practices Rally in the backyard:
Patience's First Rally Leg from owenspride on Vimeo.
Pikachu's First Rally Show from owenspride on Vimeo. Patience Practices Rally in the backyard: