NEW REEL RECORD…
22 Rally Runs in 32 hours with 4 dogs over 4 classes!
OUT OF THOSE…
18 qualified runs
2 Perfect Scores
6 High in Classes
2 Seconds
2 Thirds
3 Fourths
REEL TEAM CATTLE DOG:
Romeo – 10½ yrs
Peaches – 2½ yrs
Lucky – 2 yrs
Shazam – 6 months — yes! Baby dog was 2/2 with his entries!
TALK ABOUT TRIALS & TRIBULATIONS…
We threw ourselves back in the rally trial game with a vengeance at the CKOC trials in Olds, AB. While Romeo dabbled a smidge in a couple of trials in July, Peaches & Lucky hadn’t seen a trial ring since November 2022 and of course, Shazam had never seen one. So four trials over Friday-Saturday was a lot!
SHAZAM had never participated in a trial before given his age of 6 months. While not unheard of, it is very rare to trial a dog at 6 months however Shazam knows his stuff — it was just a question of his ability to focus amongst the distractions with his baby brain. I brought him along to the trials for another life experience of figuring out the dog show gig, but CKC rules state that a dog must be entered even if just as exhibition to be present on the show grounds. Instead I opted to enter him just once in Rally Novice on the second day after he became acclimatized to the experience and roll the dice on his attention span. Well, it so happened that a conformation group was being judged in an adjacent ring with spectators clapping which was a bit much for Baby Dog to stay focused through… but he did pass with a 72/100 (2nd place). I felt that circumstance was unfortunate so I decided to do a “day of” entry that afternoon and take further advantage of his desensitization of the general area. Shazam was well collected while I was less so. He suffered the consequences of my brain fog for being my 22nd rally run in 32 hours so what should have been a 91/100 became a 77/100 but was a High in Class. SO HAPPY that he kept his head up in that dirt floor ring, did his thing and had fun!
