OK, it's only 2 days away now! Aside from the fact that I still don't have the full retrieve (we're missing the pick up!), how am I supposed to act? I'm drawn 6th, so I know I have to go and find the right ring nice and early in case the other 5 don't come, and get a ring number I guess? Should I warn the judge / steward that we don't have a pick up, or act as if I think she's going to do it. If / when she doesn't, should I say that she has trouble with that but can do the hold and present? Do I  pretend any wonky sits etc didn't happen or mention them in case the judge offers advice like they do at companion shows? Will everyone else there be solemn like they are at Crufts? I've never seen any obedience between companion shows and Crufts!!

ps was my first breed show this scary??

yes go to the ring first thing (when the judging starts)if you are drawn 6th, cos some will be missing, & you can have a good watch of the round, get the dog used to the ring area etc & warm up.

yes pretend the wonky sits dont happen. Dont move your feet to try to put them right ir youll lose even more points.

dont touch here,just keep TALKING TALKING TALKING.

theres no last command on ring work (just in stays)

its a right laugh,dont worry its fun. the judge will probaly offer you some advise.

re dumbell, give it a go (dont throw it very far) & pray!! give her a  very positive command, & KEEP encoraging her. she will do it!

go to the ring when you get there (b4 judging) go to both your rings, tick yourself off on the sheets/running order, in the class where you arent drawn,there may be a sheet where you can put your number down approx when you want to work. your number will be on one of the tables (pre i should think) at some shows they are with the sec.

make a note of your stay times. you need to get to the stay ring, 10 mins b4 the times stated,to get prepared get numbers taken etc.

it might possibly b e the most scary thing EVER. i felt sick. but it will be worth it!

good luck

oh & maKE SURE YOU HOLD YOUR LEAD AT THE END,so it dosent tighten if it goes wide, & make sure you set the dog up straight b4 u start

Thanks Michelle! I've lost marks for starting with a crooked sit at companion shows, so hopefully will remember that. I'm drawn 6th in Beginners, so I'm thinking I should get there first thing, do that one, then rest her, then go and do the breed class she's entered in, then rest her again and do the Pre Beginners. Hopefully there'll be enough dogs working that there will be time for all that - last Sunday at a companion show I did both obedience classes one after another, which she's been fine with in ordinary weather, but she couldn't cope in this fierce heat and was really flagging by the end of the second lot of heelwork! So I know I need to give her more time to rest. :-)

Good Luck Lucy!

Good luck :D

Good Luck Lucy, try and enjoy it :)

Your stay times will be on score sheet on the table outside the ring you will working in.  Take a ring clip and a pen to mark your ring number with the stay times and the lunchtimes.

Thanks all! I'm quite looking forward to Pre Beginners, but I'm really wishing we hadn't entered Beginners! :-D

Anyone else dying to know how it went :D

Thanks for being so interested everyone! It could have been worse I suppose, and we enjoyed it anyway. We did our Beginners work first, she anticipated her recall which she doesn't usually do, so was a shame. She VERY NEARLY picked up her dumbell, which I was so impressed at, but alas, this judge docked the full 25 marks, didn't give her anything for waiting, running out, holding, presenting or finishing. Ah well! She lay down in the sit stay which again is unusual but it was hot, and did the downstay perfectly. :-)

We did the PreBeginner stays first, and she was fine in the sit stay, but most unusually got up in the downstay - she was sniffing the grass and just couldn't quite reach a smell - so more work on leaving the grass alone required! And she worked quite nicely there, lost some marks on heelwork but only lost a half mark in the recall.

She also came 3rd and 5th in her breed classes, so I was pretty pleased with her. She really tried hard considering we're not really ready for that level of competition yet - back to the companion shows for more practice! :-)

Thanks so much to all of you for the help, advice and good thoughts!

Sounds very good for a first attempt :D  Well done!!

Well I think that's pretty good Lucy so well done to you both - I think you are very brave and at least you know what to expect should you dip your toes back in!!!

Not bad for a first attempt especially at a mixed breed & obedience show ;) Bit harsh to take all the marks for retrieve especially if she ran out Hm methinks the judge hadn't read the Ob Rules that state all marks must be "graduated"(KC R&R G.32.i. refers)therefore some marks should be given for attempting the exercise !

Onwards & upwards to UK Toydog next year now :D

Thanks all - MM, I'm glad you thought it was a bit harsh to take all the marks, as I did too! I know she didn't do the most important part of the exercise, but she did do a lot of it. She waited, ran out, sniffed at it, came back, so I sent her again and she grabbed at it and then lost interest again, so I picked it up for her and we did the hold, present and finish. Judges at companion shows mostly take 5 marks for the lack of a pick up. But it was fun anyway. UK Toy here we come!! :-)

I'll have to get JD trained for Novice-I can't go into Pre B or Beginners sadly as I & my first BC won out in 1971 :( He doesn't do retrieve yet(beneath him LOL)Might also have a go in A for another laugh !

I'm judging another Class B next weekend(2nd of 5 this year) much easier than the lower classes to judge IMHO as the handlers tend to go to training mode if the dog or they make a mistake & lots do training rounds from the start !

LOL Blackpool Friday Chalfield Sunday opposite directions from my home !

Well done Lucy, pretty good for your first attempt. Get that retreive sorted and there will be no stopping you. ;)

well done that sounds brilliant. did you enjoy it?

I did actually - I was a bit disappointed with her stays as she's usually so good with those, but she was having a great time! I showed the people at training her 'hold' and her almost pick up, and they were impressed - after all, most Cavs aren't natural retrievers even though they are spaniels!

One thing I've been meaning to ask for ages - as her command for sitting and holding is 'Hold', should I be saying 'Hold' when I send her out to pick up, or should I use 'Fetch' for running out to get something, or even 'Find It', which is the command I'm starting to use meaning 'I've put a treat somewhere over there, go and look for it'. :-)

i would use hold,if you can. & constantly,(statically etc) if you keep chopping & changing then it will just confuse her.

but clearly she needs to 100% understand what hold is.

if you use find it,i think it will confuse her scent (where she has to reject things out there,not pick up the first thing she comes to)