TransformaTion from ConformaTion To QualifiCaTion WITH OUR AFFENPINSCHERS by Ken sTowell
W e are new to the Affen- pinscher breed. Our first Affenpinscher, Tamarin Technique, aka “Tech” was our introduction to Affenpinschers. A few months later, his daughter, Tamarin Tease, aka “Ditto” arrived. After finishing both of them, we felt there must be something more we could do beyond the Conformation ring. Our good friend, Teresa Solomon of Georgia (whom I met by chance in California 2006), her Chihuahua was a top 5 invitee for the Eukanuba Invita- tional Agility Trial, suggested we look into Obedience, Rally and possibly Agil- ity. I took her advice. I contacted the AKC and they were very helpful and informative, so, of course, I ordered the Rules and Regulations handbooks. It was decided Tech would attend an 8-week Basic Obedience Class offered at the Upper Suncoast Dog Train- ing Center. First day of school was
September 29, 2014. I quickly realized our 2 years of bonding during Confor- mation put us ahead of the curve, as far as a working team was concerned. We began to compete, and yes, we did have our moments. The Conforma- tion dog now had to “sit in the heel” when we stopped and continue “in the heel” while walking. “In the heel” sim- ply means the dog’s head or shoulder is parallel to the handler’s left leg. Tech was a natural and learned quickly what was expected of him. Soon we were training off lead. I had to learn quickly, too. Not just the rules and regulations, but the pro- cedures and policies of the course and terminology of the sport. Our debut November 29, 2014, entered in Rally Novice A, I learned a very important lesson: do not stare at your dog while competing in Rally to see where he is or you will miss a sign. I did. We were disqualified. I thought to myself, ‘Nice start in a new sport.’ It was a humbling experience.
In Performance, handlers have the opportunity to walk the course with- out their dogs to get the layout of the signs, the course and to ask the judge for an explanation of a particular sign. I do this every time. In Obedience, the first rule of thumb is you cannot talk to your dog with the exception of a few commands. After ten years of showing Chihuahuas, which I still do, that rule was, and still is, very difficult. I con- stantly have to remind myself to keep my mouth shut. And if I don’t remem- ber, the judge will remind me. During Tech’s training and course runs, we decided to give Ditto a try. We enrolled her in the Basic Obedience class on July 13, 2015. She continued to work in Conformation towards her Grand Champion title and her place- ment in the Owner Handled series for the AKC Eukanuba Finals. Our initial concern was will she be able to distinguish between the two competitions. Each sport is different in that Conformation is a show lead
Tech
Tech
Tech (illustration by elizabeth Dolezal at Dolezalart.com)
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