The first trial I completely tanked. My dog was totally distracted and showed more interest in sniffing the floor and looking at other dogs than anything rally. We made about a million mistakes and I got a non-qualifying score, which came as no surprise. I watched another competitor, who had a larger, reactive dog, have a similarly awful run. She packed up and went home, and I could totally and completely empathize with her because I saw the similarities between us and I felt the same way she must have felt and entertained the same thoughts about going home. But I wanted to try again.
I gradually formulated an action plan, going with my gut feelings about what my dog needed, and put some strategies in place in and out of the ring. I got Danny better acclimated to the environment and focusing on me. Now, we were ready to rally. We did a reasonable job, and scored 204 (of a possible 210). Danny took 3rd place!
