We finally did it!!!

Yes, Lance now offically has more alphabet soup to add after his name as he earned his CDX today!!!! I honestly have never felt more relieved then I did today when the judge called out my number. It's taken us 10 tries to get the 3 Q's and has felt like an eternity. I'm not sure if Lance finally did it today because I remembered his canned cat food, because I told him it would be the last time he would have to do Open for a very long time, or because I cued him differently on the long sit. I'm going to go with the cat food ;)

Heel Free/Figure 8-2.5pts lost
Lance wasn't as on today as he was yesterday. He forged right off the bat and while he somewhat corrected himself he was still more forged today then yesterday. I wasn't prepared for either halts that seemed to come right after the about turns (actually the judge called it 1 step out of each turn) but Lance seemed to do ok with it. I then thought I was going to run over the judge when she called the right turn at the same spot she was standing in! I guess the video doesn't look that bad, but it just felt off. One thing I am proud of though is his transitions between speeds Lance really seems to focus hard on getting back to a good heel.

Drop on Recall- 1pt lost
Again Lance looked away from me, but this time it was after the drop instead of before. His front was crooked because of this and apparently his finish. I also wasn't expecting the judge to signal to me finish as so far all the judges I have shown under have given a verbal for the finish so this caught me off guard.

Retrieve on the Flat- 4pts lost
Oh my god. I thought I was going to die. For some reason Lance dropped the dumbbell right as he got to me. He then almost picked it up immediately but second guessed himself and looked up at me. Major panic sets in as Lance just stares at me and I'm wondering how long I can go before giving a second cue and NQing us. It feels like an eternity passed before Lance picks it up again and fronts but video shows it was only 10 seconds. But why did he drop it?!! I thought it was odd that Lance turned to the left on the pickup when he always turns right, but it's not like he dropped it out there so it shouldn't have effected anything. I think he just wanted to torture me.

Retrieve Over High- 1.5pts lost
Lance ticked the jump on the way to the dumbbell, had a crooked front, and was distracted on his finish.


Broad Jump- 1pt lost
Lance wasn't as crooked on the front as he normally was, yay!

Stays- opts lost!
Lance held his stays!!!!!! I'm so estatic! I did something a little differently on the sit stay in that I told him "sit" while I gave my stay hand signal as I left instead of giving him a verbal "stay." I'm not even sure if Lance noticed or if it helped at all. I usually tell him to stay anyway as I'm taking off his leash and waiting for the judge to ask if we're ready so technically he shouldn't need any cue as I walk away but of course reality is different. On the down portion I used both the verbal and signal for stay.

Overall:
Lance wasn't nearly as on today as he was yesterday but I am still happy with his performance. I am just so relieved that it's over! I promised Lance that if we qualified he wouldn't have to do open again for a very long time :) I just wished that yesterday's stays would have been flipped with today since a 197.5 sure beats a 190!

I also will not show under this judge again since I just didn't get a good vibe off her. And then as soon as she gave out the rewards she packed up and booked it out of there, blowing people off waiting to talk to her. Really disappointing since I like knowing where I lost points. And her judging seemed to be all over the map giving some people off massive points in heeling who did really well and being very generous to others who dogs were just not ready. I don't mind a tough judge but I want it to be the same for everybody.

 I'm a good boy, give me a treat!

 Wait, now you're making me hold it?

 Fine I'll sit.

Ooh a treat!

Whazzup!