Earning the        'X'

The second level of competition, in AKC obedience, is Open.  The exercises in Open competition are:  heel-off-leash, drop on recall, retrieve on the flat, retrieve over a high jump, broad jump, 3 minute sit stay, and 5 minute down stay. Perhaps I should explain some of those, for the unfamiliar.  In the drop on recall, the handler calls the dog.  While the dog is coming towards the handler, the judge signals the handler, who gives the dog a signal or a verbal command to drop, and the dog stops and lays down. (preferably instantly).  On another signal from the judge, the handler calls the dog again, and the dog completes the recall.

The retrieves are performed with a dumbbell,  here Elmo offers a slightly chewed dumbbell for illustration.  The dog sits by it's handler's side, while the handler throws the dumbbell.  On command, the dog goes out and retrieves the dumbbell, returns to a sit in front, and waits for the handler to take the dumbbell.  On the retrieve over the high jump, the dog must jump over the high jump (which is set to the dogs shoulder height, in most breeds) on the way to the dumbbell, and with the dumbbell when returning. The broad jump gets my vote for oddest obedience exercise.  The dog sits in front of the broad jump and the handler goes to stand beside the jump.  On command, the dog jumps over the broad jump, turns, and returns to a sit in front of the handler.

The obedience exercises are theoretically supposed to be based on practical things a dog might be asked to do.  I can't imagine a reason why I would need my dog to jump across something I was standing beside, then return to me.   But, should the need ever arise, my dog is ready. The two stays are performed with the handlers out of sight, and can be challenging for some dogs. A dog competing in Open  must earn at least 170 points, including at least 1/2 of the possible points on each exercise, to qualify.  Qualifying three times earns the Companion Dog Excellent title- the CDX. My first problem, as I headed into Open competition, was that I had lost the excellent attitude that Elmo started out with.  After we earned his CD, I still wanted to compete, so I took him into Novice several more times.  Elmo was bored with Novice, and started to lose his enthusiasm.  I hoped that he could recover it, with the more interesting Open exercises, so I entered him in Open at the Portland bench show, December of 2001. In an eerie parallel to our debut in Novice competition, Elmo blew the first exercise, the heel-off-leash.  I may have been too nervous again- Open is scarier than Novice!  Also, since we'd been in Novice several times, Elmo may have been confused by doing all the exercises off-leash.  He was used to having the heel-on-lead first, to get himself mentally prepared. He also went around the high jump on his way to the dumbbell, lay down on the sit stay, and stood up on the down stay.  Fearlessly, I entered him for 4 days of Open obedience at the Rose City Classic Cluster, in January of 2002.  We practiced the stays. (I hadn't really practiced them before, since he'd always been reliable.) On our next try, Friday at the cluster, Elmo qualified!   He earned 184.5 points, which was good for 2nd place, out of 6 qualifying dogs. (someone had to poke me before I realized I was being called for 2nd...)

He then proceeded to bomb the next 3 days of the cluster.  I entered him in the Albany show in February, and he bombed both days of that.  Entered him in the Timberland show, and on March 9th he disqualfied again. His heeling was constantly improving.  His attitude was better and better.  His retrieve has always been his strong point- he loves to retrieve, and it shows!  But for those 6 trials in a row, he was alternating between not dropping, and cutting the broad jump. (the dog must pass over all the boards used in the jump; and my Elmo, in his hurry to return to me, tends to take it at such an angle that his back feet miss the last board.)  I was feeling a bit discouraged, though I do find it sweet that his eagerness to come to me is what was giving us trouble. BUT, I was discouraged too soon!  On March 10th, at the Timberland show, he earned his 2nd leg!  There were 3 qualfiers in our class of 11 dogs, and Elmo was a distant 3rd place, with 182.5 points.  But, I was happy!  Elmo was quite pleased with himself too.  I think he's begun to realize that when we go back into the ring for a ribbon, it means he was particularly clever.  He usually gets plenty of applause, too, since he is so good at making friends at ringside.

The very next weekend we were back in Albany, for the Chintimini show.  I was really feeling confident. Elmo's attitude had come right back around, and he was loving competition.  This was a combination of my cheerleading him between the exercises in the ring, more play in training, and an attitude leak from agility competition (which he loves).   I was getting a lot of favorable comments from people, about my dog's excellent attitude.  He was bouncy and playful in the ring- just the way I like him to work! He threw me a heart-stopper in the ring that Saturday, when he waited until the last possible moment to drop on the recall.  I'm sure he lost a good whack of points that way, but it was a qualifying performance.  He didn't have a straight sit in him, in front, at finish, or while heeling.  But he did it all!  179.5 is plenty of points for the all-important green ribbon! THE X WAS OURS!  Yay, Elmo! Or, as he is now officially to be known "Yankeestaff Lickle Me Elmo, CDX, NA"