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Cyrus is the first dog that I have trained for a title it truly
has been a blast seeing how smart, mischievous, and entertaining this
breed can be to work with. For me it has been so rewarding seeing the
potential in Cyrus, working really hard with him to obtain that goal
and being rewarded with not only with a ribbon or title but more importantly
a stronger bond between us. For a large dog his athleticism and agility
never cease to amaze me.
Obedience
Cyrus went to a beginning obedience class, as well as an intermediate
class to teach him basics commands. My goal was to train him in obedience
at the same time while training for conformation. Yes, it was confusing
for him a bit at first as a young pup but as I practiced each sport
separately he seemed to understand what I was asking of him. At 10 months
old he tried his first puppy fun match, which was the first time for
us to really go through the exercises, from that I saw that we had a
long road a head of us. In the winter of 2002 I enrolled in an obedience
class that focused on the exercises specifically for the CD title, this
class was really a big help.
Oct. 2002 LCA Regional Specialty Obedience Trial
Novice A Class
Cyrus started out really well with perfect attention and focus but during
the off leash part he eyed a cute blond Leo girl that he had a crush
on and ran out of the ring to court her which caused us to disqualify
from that trial. One thing I also realized that it was tiring for Cyrus
to run back and for from the show to the obedience ring. I made a note
for next time if he is close to a title in conformation I will keep
him out of the obedience ring and vice versa.
April 25, 2003 National Specialty Obedience Trial
Novice A class
First place in class with a score of 192.
First qualifying leg towards CD title
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December 5, 2003 LCA Regional Specialty
Novice A Class
Since Cyrus already had his Champion title I kept him out of the
show ring for this day so we could focus on the two obedience
trials.
Novice A Class-Trial One
First Place in Class with a score of 188
High in Trial and Second qualifying leg.
Novice A Class-Trial Two
First Place in Class with a score of 178.5
High in Trial and third qualifying leg to get him his CD title.
With the smell of French fries wafting through the air I lost
him for a bit on the heel free but he quickly recouped and caught
up to me. During the recall he ran up to me and did a slow front
and some really weird zigzag but eventually ended up in heel position,
but hey we did it! Since Cyrus has a Champion title and a CD title
he has now also earned his Versatile Leo title since he has two
titles in different venues. This will be Cyrus' last obedience
title because I can tell Cyrus likes obedience but it is not a
sport he truly loves, not to mention the fact that he is not a
natural retrieve as well as jumper which is required for the next
title. |
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The weekend of October 22 & 23, 2006 Cyrus and I attended our very first AKC show hosted by the Del Valle Dog Club in Pleasanton California and was entered in the novice Rally class. I was a bit nervous being entered in this rally trial because prior to this trial I had never actually seen a rally match and had only practiced the symbols and exercises a week leading up to this weekend. I had faith in my boy’s abilities but my handling ability I was not too sure of which proved to be true the first day when I had him sit before an exercise in which he was not suppose to and caused a 10 point handling error on my part but we still qualified with a score of 86. The second day was a bit better and this time I only got confused on one turn in which I had to re-do the exercise which counted as a three point deduction, that along with a couple of tight leash deductions qualified us for a score of 93. We plan on finishing up his third leg of Rally in early 2007 and will consider continuing on to the advanced Rally title. I’m so excited we have found a sport we can continue obedience, Cyrus loves the obedience ring but with his shoulder injury that comes and goes we decided it was best to not jump in the open ring for his CDX. The Rally advanced titles does have jumps but it is not to the same height has traditional obedience and when training for his advanced Rally title we will see how his shoulder holds up. |
Cyrus and his Leo friend Hannah wait
for their turn in the Rally ring |
Draft Work
Introducing…… a new DRAFT DOG!!! On Sunday November 13, 2006 Cyrus successfully completed the Newfoundland Club of America's requirements to join the handful of Leos that have their Draft Dog title. The test was held in Grass Valley California and testing that day was eight Newfoundlands and Cyrus. To give a quick over view the Newfoundland test is broken down into six sections, the basic control, harnessing and hitching, maneuvering course, freight load, three minute out of sight down and one mile distance freight haul (with 25lbs.). This is an all or nothing test off leash test, you must pass all sections and two judges must agree that have you have passed each section in order to obtain the title. Read More November 2006 Draft Trial.
Water
Rescue |
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Cyrus LOVES water rescue!!!! Actually he loves anything water related
which started as his water bowl as a pup, then went on to him carrying
the hose around as a youngster. As he got older I would take him
swimming and throw sticks in but instead of bringing those sticks
in he would retrieve logs. My boy that hates retrieving on land
loves to retrieve in the water. Now that he has his CD title our
next goal is to get his water rescue title. The summer of 2003 I
brought him out to train with the Newfoundland club of Northern
California for a few seminars and came home with blue and purple
rake marks from his claws up and down my legs. Yup, you could definitely
tell I was a newbie trainer. Cyrus loves the sight of his bumper
or anybody's bumper, I once left Cyrus in the car when I first got
to a water seminar and walked to the water's edge to find a spot
to unpack our gear when some one was calling for me and had Cyrus
with them. Cyrus managed to squeeze throw a window that was less
than half open and jump out of my truck (thankfully did not get
hurt) and was barking at me saying "how dare I leave him and
go to the water with out him"!!
On September 10, 2005 Cyrus and I participated in our second water rescue test, which was hosted by the Newfoundland Club of Northern California. I’m pleased to announce that after two summers of training Cyrus has obtained his Water Dog title. We trained long and hard during the summer barely missing a practice and our efforts paid off big time during the day of the trial. Eleven Newfoundland’s and two Leonbergers tested with only one Newfoundland and Cyrus passing the test. Cyrus was very sharp and focused and I was relaxed and confident which made us a good working team that day. Cyrus’ time for each exercise was amazing with the first exercise being the Single Retrieve his time was 31 seconds out of 60 allotted. Second exercise for the Drop Retrieve was 41 seconds out of 90 seconds. Third exercise the Take A Line his time was 17 seconds out of a total of 90! And for the fourth exercise for the Tow A Boat his time was 50 seconds out of 90. Water Rescue is a lot of fun but requires a lot of practice and a lot of up keep and maintance with his coat when he is swimming almost everyday so next year we’ll take time off and see if we get motivated to go for his senor title the year after that. |
Click For Water Rescue Photo Album
Tracking
After years of battling Cyrus’ nose in the show and obedience ring we finally have found a sport where he doesn’t have to keep his head up! In November of 2006 we finally had the time to start tracking classes and once again I’m blown away at what a great nose Cyrus’ has and how natural tracking has come to him. The first class Cyrus was pretty clueless on the concept of tracking but after a few practice sessions and learning his tracking commands he now eagerly awaits the “goodies” that he needs to sniff out on his tracks. We plan to practice through the winter and get certified in early 2007 and just maybe try for the AKC Tracking Dog title in spring of 2007.
Tracking Album
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