Ziggy takes 2nd place in Advanced Rally - again!

I have created 2 different versions to describe Ziggy's performance today:

• The PR version
• The gory details version

Choose the version to read depending on your mood.

PR Version

Today Ziggy trotted in to the Advanced Rally ring and wagged his way to a Second Place finish once again.  This is Ziggy's second qualifying score, putting him in a great position to finish his title at the Cardigan Welsh Corgi National Specialty later this month.

Ziggy's appearance was top-notch today.  His coat was gleaming and his collar was shiny.  His handler looked nice in a navy cardigan sweater and contrasting sterling silver necklace adorned with a Cardigan Welsh Corgi silhouette.

Some highlights from Ziggy's run included a clean and graceful leap over the bar jump and crossing the finish line.

Here's a picture of Ziggy back at home, proudly displaying his ribbons:

Gory Details Version

Let's just say that today was a low point for me as a dog trainer.  Today I was one of those people who you see in the Rally ring and think, "why does she even bother spending her money to compete - she should really be spending her time training her dog, not dragging it to shows."

Yes, Ziggy took second place.  Yes, Ziggy qualified.  

You want to know his score?  73

No that wasn't a typo.  His score was 73.  There were only two dogs who showed up today for Rally Advanced A.  The winning dog beat us by 25 points.  This is the same dog who beat us by only two points last week.  And that dog got the same score both times.

Some highlights (lowlights?)from our run:

• Having to re-try the very first station because Z laid down when I said sit
• Ziggy laying down nearly every time I said sit.
• Ziggy trotting up to and sniffing half of the signs (I'm not kidding)
• Me having to move quickly around Ziggy, covering 1/4 of the ring, on Ziggy's 360 left turn 
• Me saying the word "Ziggy" or more appropriately "ZIGGY!"  10 times for every one time he looked at me
• Me having to retry multiple stations to get something even close to resembling a correct performance
• Ziggy sniffing the ring gates
• Ziggy sniffing every chalk mark and tape mark on the mats - even if they weren't really in our path

I could go on, but it's making me feel vaguely nauseous.  After all, I've taken a year off of showing to work on attention with this dog.  

What happened to my eager little heads up, tails up partner from last week?  I want him back!!!

My Rally training partners tried to make me feel better by telling me, with strained smiles on their faces,  "Ziggy really seemed to be enjoying himself in there!" Of course he was having fun (!) - he just trotted around, looking to and fro, wagging his tail and having a little Cardi sniff-a-thon.

Before I took him back in the ring for ribbons, I worked him a bit (bouncing, happy heeling, etc) and fed him the rest of his breakfast.  In the ring for ribbons, he couldn't take his eyes off me.  Sigh.