Well I finally managed to find a Rally trial that didn#%92t conflict with an agility trial. (Oh, the perils of having a multi-talented dog.) So, I entered Digital (brindlewonderkid) and hubby talked me into entering Jet, the tri-ing basenji. Since it was rally and he#%92d be on leash I agreed. I was a little panicked about entering Jet when I realized that I didn#%92t have nearly enough time to train him since I was going out of town for a week two weeks before our trial. The week before it was clear that he was not ready for any sort of obedience type competition, on lead or not. And when I got there today, I realized the left turn where the dog goes around the handler was not a left turn but an about turn. And neither dog executed the move well enough to make me happy, but there we were. So, I go in with Digital and we only had to re-do one element because Digital had to stop and scratch an itch in the middle of it. Otherwise, we turned in a nice performance. Then it#%92s Jet#%92s turn. And again I have to re-do one element, but otherwise a marginal, but better than expected performance. As it turned out, both dogs qualified and Digital took first place with a score of 95 (Jet earned an 86). Not too shabby for everyone#%92s very first rally trial.
As the judge was handing out placement ribbons, I asked if she ever expected first place to go to a basenji. She laughed good-naturedly and said no, but she#%92d been surprised by all the unusual breeds entered. (Second went to a GSD, third and forth went to pugs.)