On November 25, Dena did the CDX trials for the first time and we did not qualify for the first leg of the title. (The dog has to pass this test on three different occasions, and is judged by 3 different judges.)
We received non qualifying scores on areas which had the dumbbell, so the dumbbell area is the area we have to concentrate on in 2004. In one case she retrieved the dumbbell but sat too far away from me and with the high jump, she jumped and retrieved the dumbbell over the high board jump but walked around the same jump with the dumbbell instead of returning over the jump with the dumbbell.
The CDX exercises are all off leash and the exercises are a free heel, which will have lefts, rights turns, slow, and fast paces, and about turns, and stops and then a figure 8 which will have stops. The drop on recall includes the finish with the dog sitting on a "come" call and then heeling to return on a sit to the left of the handler.The key here is that the dog should be in motion running to the "come" command when it is told to "down" and it should immediately drop to the ground on the new command and remain there until the handler gives it a new command. There is also the "long" jump where the dog must jump over the jump on command and then turn and sit in front of the handler and heel on the handler's "finish" command.
The dumbbell retrieve exercise is the throw of the dumbbell on flat ground with the dog remaining in a "stay" and then on the word of the judge, the dog is told to "fetch". On retrieving the dumbbell, the dog is to sit in front of the handler, with the dumbbell in its mouth, and on command, "give" is to release the dumbbell. The dumbbell retrieve over a board high jump is similar but the dog must return over the same jump with the dumbbell. Other exercises are the long down and stay, with the handler out of sight and the long sit stay with the handler out of sight.
Dena has always been a very enthusiastic Bouvier to train and I feel she will get this title once I organise the time to train with her and work on the dumbbell retrieve.
While Dena has been working, other Calliope Bouviers have been playing.
