Successful show day!

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Today Dazzle and I attended and participated in the first ever C-wags competition in Cincinnati!
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C-wags stands for Canine work and games and it's a new venue for any dog. They do allow treats in the ring to be given only when the dog is on a stationary exercise during rally or at the end of an exercise in obedience. I didn't use many treats, but I like that I can if needed. Treats must be hidden in a pocket only, not in a waist pouch.
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The other day, Mike was cooking up some Bratts and Dazzle was trying everything he knew to try to get some from him (yes, the other dogs and Mike have taught him to be a pro begger too. :-( So I thought I would try small pieces of cooked Bratt as treats today. Well, I found out during our first run that it wasn't going to work nearly as well as the "fake ball."
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His run during the first trial was obedience level 1 and he was very distracted. He did manage a qualifying score, but it was only an 82. I think the judge was quite generous! For some reason, his "down" was broken and wouldn't work. I had to repeat the cue for almost every down.
Video on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj5kENCxCFc
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His run during the second trial was much better. I stuck with the tried and true warming him up with a tennis ball and then secretly putting it down outside the ring just before we went in. His focus was much better, though still had a little bit of room for improvement. Instead of getting marked off for heeling wide, I got dinged for him bumping me (or being in my way forcing me to bump him.) I also got VERY lucky when the judge failed to notice that Dazzle didn't sit after the sit-down-sit exercise! We managed a score of 90.5 thanks to that luck! So I have the qualifying ribbons, but I know he is capable of a much better performance. I'm still very happy with how he did in such a distracting environment and especially for his age. A lot of his doggie play buddies were there and right outside the ring.
Video on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVH2M-kG5OA
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Our last run of the day was Rally "starters." A nice course. I forgot to give the video cam to Donna though! Drat! He did a REALLY nice run for the course too, so of course I forgot the camera! We had 6 points off for bumping/crowding and a minus 5 when Dazzle went REALLY wide on a 360 turn for a score of 89 out of 100. Judge was Bonnie Hornfisher.
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I spent all the time that I wasn't working with Dazzle by helping keep the show running. And Dazzle got to practice being left alone in a crate away from me and out of view of me, which he did quite well. Except once when I checked on him, he had pulled the crate cover mostly INSIDE the crate, but it wasn't chewed and he didn't bother it when I put it back. I was helping the show coordinator and helping as a ring steward for several of the rings (back to back, not all at the same time :-)
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We will be up early again tomorrow to do it all again and hopefully end up with a title! There is a show photographer there and I have gotten photos from him before. He did get a few nice ones of Dazzle today, so I'll post them here when I get those in the mail.
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