Wonka's Freestyle comp. results

[ayleash]

tap tap tap tap...I hope you are riding high and feeling good.. probably TIRED!

xoxoxo

[Wonka & Nilla]

Nope.... didn't qualify today. We got 7.7 in technical and 7.9 in artistic (needed 8.0 or higher in BOTH to qualify). We were there and ready early enough for me to be more relaxed, Wonka was a little tired, but seemed fairly well rested considering everything. He seemed happy in the practice/warm-up ring, but we got out on the floor and he got that "deer in the headlights" look again fairly early on. I spent most of the song dancing around him, trying to 'break the spell' and bring the sparkle back to his eyes. He looked hypnotized! The song was near the end when he finally came back to reality. I keep going over and over in my mind wondering what the problem could be and I think it boils down to three things: 1) lack of treats 2) too much warm up time in the practice ring - he is better when we just GO out there and DANCE without a bunch of monkeying around and waiting and 3) he was still a little drained from the day before. Two-day shows are mentally and physically exhausting.

I think the lack of treats is really our main issue because after the competition is over they allow anyone who wants to go back in the ring using treats or toys to run through their song again - just for the practice. I had chicken bits and cheese in my pocket and suddenly - POOF - there was MY WONKA again!!! The little dancing fool! He was perfect and just flew through the routine with a twinkle in his eyes. Oh how I wished the judges were still hanging around to watch... just to see how he really can do it! So, our next big thing to work on with training is to s-t-r-e-t-c-h the amount of time he will dance without getting a treat reward, especially in less-than-familiar settings. He is such a little food-hound and that's his main motivation, but he'll need to learn that he still gets treats, just that they come in a "jackpot" at the end instead of little by little during.

[Wonka & Nilla]

On a happier note.... even though we didn't qualify today, we still got 2nd place in our division! We got a little medal and a red ribbon that said "We had fun!" Not ONE of the dogs dancing in the same division qualified!!! So, Wonka and I had a lot of company in our non-qualifying status. I am grateful that at least Wonka wasn't disqualified - he didn't go galloping out of the ring like some of the dogs did today! I think it was an off day for many of the dogs and we also seemed to have a grumpy judge... she wrote nice comments on my score sheet (such as 'cute choreography, supportive handler') but talking to her for a little bit at the end of the show left me with a gloomy outlook and feeling depressed... she seemed to have a very different attitude from what I'd like to hear from a Canine Freestyle judge. I might have taken some of the stuff she said the wrong way because I was so exhausted, but a lot of the comments just rubbed me the wrong way.

Anyway, in addition to our 2nd place we also got a lovely trophy for "Highest Scoring Asian Breed Dog" It was awarded for combined total of both days of the competition and (shhhh...don't tell anyone, but...) Wonka was the only asian breed dog there both days. There were two other "asian breed dogs" entered (Tibetan Spaniels), they came on Saturday but had to drop out on Sunday. So... Wonka won by default. But, even so, it's a lovely trophy and I'm proud of it because Wonka deserves the recognition! He gets out there and dances and competes against border collies and other herding dogs who seem to excel at every other dog sport. So, I'm proud that we got it!!!

[shaynapug]

BIG congrats on yesterday!!!! I don't think I would have been able to hold it together after the cane...let alone Wonka freezing up! GREAT score for that...so you must have done really well on the parts that you were working together!!!!

Sorry about today!!! Can't win them all!!! Working without treats isn't easy!!!! But....after watching both you and Andrew with your guys...I know that it's possible!!!

[Wonka & Nilla]

Working without treats isn't easy!!!

Yes, if I could stuff treats in his mouth the entire time, he'd probably already have his Champion title!!!

I was chatting with a couple of other competitors about the 'no treats' being hard for my food-motivated pug and one lady was saying that "when our dogs dance well, we make it look easy so the general public assumes that it IS easy... when it is NOT." She was saying she thinks Freestyle is actually the most difficult of the dog sports because it involves so many different factors that other dog sports don't have... it's not just doing something the dog was bred for (like digging in the ground, hunting, etc.) and it involves so many complex tricks above and beyond regular obedience. The Whole Dog Journal has an article this month on Canine Freestyle and they said something similar in the article about it being a "deceptively difficult sport. It looks like so much fun that one forgets that each behavior must be trained to mastery before putting them in a routine." Reading all that almost made me wonder why I didn't pick an easier sport!!! But, Wonka and I do love dancing. Even if the competitions get too difficult to keep going, we'll still dance just for fun.

[tall grass pugs]

Wonka is such a good guy, of course we would like to see pics of the ribbons and trophies. Congratulations to both of you.

[Jodelar]

Way to go Wonka!!... Would love to see pics or video!!!

[CountryGal]

Bo and I are jealous of you and Wonka! The closest we get is Bo hanging on to the bottom of my PJs and I twirl!

Seriously, it is way more difficult than it looks and we're very proud of you both!!

[PrincessMugs7]

All that matters is you had fun - like I said Wonka is a winner already in my book, as are you, i mean we tell morgan to get inside when we are out in the yard and she thinks that means roll over a couple of times in the grass...then Jeff will say want treats...sometimes that gets her back in but what really works is Momsy is inside come see and she'll run to the door...hahahaha

I'm so proud of you 2 I and your hubby and NILLA - I couldn't imagine trying to get my girls to do anything but lay and eat...haha CONGRATS!!!

[bellasmomma]

CONGRATULATIONS to Wonka!!!! I enjoyed the long version story. Please keep updating!