Well with her big sister out of action due to being sore the decision was made to put Kenzie into CCD at the mock trial this morning. I am extremely pleased with how she went and it was a lot better then I expected.
It didn't start off entirely great with me arranging to be moved one dog later so I could video Tash and Riv. Well didn't that set Gillian off. I think she just likes to antagonize me. Any way we did get into the ring after I nearly thought what was the point and I would just head home when they said I was going to be last dog in the ring.
Prior to going into the ring I had Kenzie out and waiting. Not by choice because I thought I was going in and then they put another dog in. Still not settled on a pre-ring routine for her. It was reasonably warm in the sun but that didn't stop her too much. Not sure if I'll put in place a similar routine to Ness's where I grab her and go. At the moment she is only a baby so needs a bit more time to settle. Her attention on me is to die for :).
Now to her ring performance. Her heelwork was nice. Considering we have done very little in the way of positions, proper ring heelwork or changes of pace she did very nicely. It was also the first time she has done a figure 8 around people and given her timidity towards people I was thrilled with her work. She lost a bit of concentration each time I rewarded and I rewarded quite heavily, including having food in my hand which I wouldn't usually when I am training. I know she isn't dependant on it so my goal was just to reward everything and keep her from becoming stressed. Think I achieved that well. Considering she really didn't have a stand in heel position before last night to actually manage one of those in the ring I was very impressed. She was nice and attentiv and her turns were really quite nice. I also talked a bit more during the heelwork than I would normally but again not to concerned at the moment. I have to be careful it doesn't become a habit but she hasn't really done anything resembling a heel pattern with positions so I did what I could to help her :).
Now to the stand for exam. I had absolutely zero expectations for this exercise and considering she isn't happy with people patting/approaching her she did great to keep 2 feet still. Still a long way to go but it does give me some hope that she might yet manage to get in the ring. Sure she might not ever be entirely comfortable in the ring but I saw a lot worse from other CCD dogs.
Her recall. Geez she is such a cutie. She held her wait which was something I didn't think she would do. She came in with nice speed and her initial front was pretty nice (although she did then stand up - can't have it all). I used both her name and a recall command which is something I don't intend on doing other than for the fact I am not happy with her recall command yet.
Overall it was a nice introduction to the ring for her I felt. Sure she showed she is still only a baby when it comes to being in the ring and there is a lot of work to do but it did prove to me she is a hell of a lot closer then I would have thought.
Here is the video from this mornings round:
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