What makes a good Road Dog?

I've competed in a lot of Dalmatian Road Trials, and have trained several dogs of my own and three dogs belonging to others. I have Hosted, co-chaired, and judged Road Trials. I have chaired the national committee on Road Trials for over 15 years now. I think you could call me "experienced" in this matter. Sometimes people ask me "what makes a good Road Dog?" I would answer: temperament & structure. I would also answer: "Crosby".

I was able to "get my hands" on Crosby (Ch Quicksilver Rhythm & Blues, RN, RD) for a few months last fall to train him for his RD. Not only does he have a GREAT temperament, but his STRUCTURE is the most correct I have ever seen for the purpose of coaching; Crosby was "built" to be a Road Dog.

As someone with a bit of experience in the Dalmatian "field trial" sport of Road Trials, I can testify to the fact that Crosby has the correct movement, the correct structure, and the correct temperament to embody the Dalmatian Standard's description of a dog that was bred to "coach".

I was honored to be able to work with a Dal that so closely matches the Standard and the theoretical ideal that he was actually able to fulfill his "destiny" (become a Road Dog) at the age of 10.

Good job Cros! (and kudos to breeders like Barbara Lyons!)

CROSBY COACHES TO A CART

This is a video of Crosby coaching to a cart. This is the FIRST TIME Crosby had ever seen a cart or a horse & carriage. Betsy Smith brought her spotted mule and cart for the GWDC attendees to "try out".

I should also point out that this video was taken of Crosby AFTER he had just gone TWELVE AND A HALF MILES. Obviously, he is still sound, and in great shape! No wonder he got Best Conditioned Dog!

Crosby started this "test" on leash, to make sure he would not be afraid of the cart. Crosby fell right in to "hock", and was a "natural" at this! As we turned the cart back to the camera, I removed the leash, and Crosby completed the "test" off-leash. With no cart training! What a good dog!

THE BIG DAY (day 55) PART 2

This is a photo of Crosby's "win" - he now can add the title of "Road Dog" to his name! Pictured is judge Lorie McCrone of Port Crane, NY; Crosby; and myself.

I should point out that Crosby’s performance in the judged exercises was remarkable. He scored a 588 out of 600 points. Aside from a bit of forging on his hock exercise, he was PERFECT. I consider him totally trustworthy off-leash, and an excellent coaching companion! I credit Barbara with his early on-the-ground training, and with his breeding. He is built for coaching, and he has the instinct.

We completed the mileage by following a marked 3 mile course on the property of the Inn at Kelly’s Ford. Most of the trail followed a cross-country jump course (I was SO tempted to take a jump or two!). Crosby was a ball of fire, running up & back, investigating, and having a ball. He never strayed very far, though; he is a true Road Dog. The trail was well-marked and the scenery was breathtaking: fields of green, kissed with leaves of gold and crimson, bordered by a clear stream sparkling in the sun. One part of the trail wound through the crimson woods, down to the famous ford in the river, then back out into the sunlight. It was a glorious ride.

I tried not to catch up to the team in front of us – I worried that her dog would follow us in at the vet check (she was a 25 miler, so her vet check was at 12.5 miles, and my mid-point vet check was at 6 miles). Crosby and I completed the first 3 miles at mostly a trot so that we could walk most of the second 6 miles. Molly (horse) had a pretty fast walk, however, so we came in to our mid-point check in plenty of time.

Crosby’s mid-point temperature was 100.3 degrees F. That is amazing! The vet commented on what good shape he was in. Crosby’s final temp after 12.5 miles was 100.5. That is even more amazing! Dogs at Road Trials usually are considered “well-conditioned” if their “working temperature” is 101 or 101.5. Crosby’s working temp never got above 101.5!

Crosby ended up earning second place in his class (RD-B), second place overall (in the point scores), and he also earned BEST CONDITIONED DOG – which is quite a coup for a TEN YEAR OLD dog! I am very proud of this dog, and proud to have been a small part of his legacy!

THE BIG DAY - part 1

DAY 55 (Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009): THIS IS THE BIG DAY!

This first photo is of the Speed exercise. The dog must keep up with a galloping horse. Obviously, even at AGE TEN, Crosby has no problem with speed!

We got up early to be at the barn by 7:30 AM. Vet checks were to start then, with my team start time at 9:20. We didn’t get vetted in until about 8:45. Crosby’s resting temperature was 99, which is great. There was really no place to ride and warm Crosby up before our judging, so I was just hoping the training would hold!

We started toward the judging area at 9:20. Crosby was full of it! Unlike yesterday, when he was glued to the horse, today he was all over the place with excitement! I don’t know if it was all the other dogs, or all the people, or what, but Crosby acted like a kid in the candy shop! Racing from smell to smell, nearly bouncing off of the trees! We had about ¼ mile of trail between the barn and meeting the judge, and although Crosby was responding to my commands, he just could barely contain himself!

When we got to the judging area, another team and escort rider were circling the “waiting” area, so we had nowhere to go. I put Crosby in a sit-stay to wait for the judge. This worked well, but I was afraid I was “wasting” his one good response! When the judge came, we did the recall first. I needn’t have worried that Crosby wouldn’t leave for the recall – on this day he took off as soon as I released him! The judge gave us the “Call your dog” order before he got very far, and Crosby came smartly back to hock! Whew!

The next exercise was the Hock for 200 yards. Crosby was so excited, he just couldn’t stay back. He hocked beautifully, but he was at the horse’s shoulder or ahead the whole time. With praise and verbal corrections, he didn’t forge too much. It was a good performance, but I knew we would lose points for forging. He was just so excited!

Then we did a U-turn for the distraction exercise. The distraction dog was an Irish Wolfhound (I think) walking beside a hiker. Crosby looked like he was going to drift behind the horse and change sides, perhaps to get a better look at the Wolfhound, but a little growl from me and he stayed in his designated spot. Excellent distraction exercise!

The stay was next. Crosby sat smartly on command, and stayed quietly (no whining!) and alert for the entire 1 minute. I did not chance moving the horse away, because Molly (horse) had not been that responsive to my leg cues. So I took the chance that Molly might move (distracting the dog), and let her stand as we were, crossing my fingers the whole time! Molly stood stock-still, and our stay exercise was picture perfect!

We then turned back for the speed. Molly did not have a “slow” button, so I feared there was a chance we would leave Crosby in the dust. Not a chance! Both Molly and Crosby took off like a shot out of a cannon. Crosby kept up so well, I was able to put Molly into a real gallop. Wind in your hair sort of thing. We came up over the rise at full speed, Crosby keeping up like a racehorse himself. Boy, that was fun!

We had qualified! Then it was off to the trails for 12 more miles of fun.

ONE DAY TO GO!

DAY 54 (Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009): This was the day set aside for meeting the rental horses and having a judge’s briefing. Although I had already “met” my rental horse, this was my opportunity to ride her again and try Crosby out with her again.

In the morning, Crosby was entered in a conformation show in Leesburg, about an hour to the north. He had to be there at about 7 AM, so we left early without any real exercise. At 8:15 I handed Crosby over to a professional handler, whose son groomed Crosby. At about 8:30 Crosby entered the ring with the handler. The handler had spent no time with Crosby at all; he just grabbed Crosby off of the table and ran to the ring. Crosby did fine, but his down & back looked like an obedience exercise (he was looking up at the handler). I can’t say Crosby showed well for this man. He moved nicely and stacked beautifully, but there just didn’t seem to be any fire. If the handler had spent a few minutes with him, things might have been different, but it looked to me like Crosby didn’t figure out what was wanted of him until they were about done. Crosby didn’t win breed, so we headed back to the hotel. Then I took a nap until it was time to head to the barn.

At 1 PM we arrived at the Kelly’s Ford Equestrian Center. Some of the other exhibitors were there. The barn saddled our horses and 3 of us went out (without dogs) to look at the trail. The trail was well-marked and easy to follow. Dogs were not allowed in the judged exercise area, so we couldn’t try our obedience in the same area that we would be judged tomorrow. After about 45 minutes checking out the trail and trying out the horses, the other exhibitors and I separated and took out our dogs separately. I got Crosby out and practiced the speed, something I had not practiced with the dog yesterday. Crosby had no trouble keeping up with Molly (rental horse), and he performed a hock, recall, stay, & speed with good results. All were practiced off-leash. Forging a little again, but not too much.

Most of our riding without the dogs was done in a downpour. The rain stopped, thankfully, for a little while when we took out our dogs. I didn’t work Crosby very much. I wanted him to rest, and you can’t do a lot of corrections anyway when you are in the public eye. Crosby responded very well to all of my commands, so we kept it short and stopped on a good note.

At night, the exhibitors and the judge and the judge’s husband had a GREAT TIME whooping it up at Joe’s Crab Shack. Road Trial people are THE BEST!
MILEAGE: 1

DAY 53: HISTORY and HORSES

DAY 53 (Friday, Oct. 23, 2009): I basically had the morning off on this day. I broke Crosby’s crate down and lugged it back to the car for travel. We went to the AAA office in Fredericksburg and asked for directions to the nearest Civil War battlefield that would have hiking trails. Then we drove to Chancellorsville Battlefield, which had a lovely 4 mile loop walking trail through the BREATHTAKING autumn woods! I really enjoyed visiting the battlefield, and Crosby got his exercise.

The leash law at the battlefield, of course, said I had to keep him on leash. I did for a while. He was SO excited, and the woods were SO thick, that it was hard to keep him on the flexi. We practiced our stays and comes and heel. There seemed to be no other hikers on the trails, so I finally took the chance and let Crosby run off leash, just to practice an off-leash recall in a new and exciting place. He did not run off, but he did not respond immediately to my first call to come, either! So he got a VERY strong, growling command. Then he went back on leash for a recall and collar correction as soon as he responded slowly again. The second time, he seemed to “get it”… that he has to come RIGHT AWAY, even if he is excited! So then it was off-leash again, and he responded PERFECTLY. (I was still offering venison jerky as treats for every correct response). We walked the rest of the mileage off-leash, with EXCELLENT recalls and “not-too-far”s and EXCELLENT 2 minute stays. What a good dog! Lots of squirrel smells and exciting stuff, and Crosby was perfect. It was like he suddenly “got it”. We finished our walk as though he had been off-leash all of his life.

I put the leash back on him as we approached the parking lot (we were still out-of –sight in the woods until we got right to the parking lot. It was a good thing we put the leash back on, because in the parking lot were two other dogs waiting to hit the trail. Not that Crosby would have had a problem with the other dogs – but I might have gotten in trouble had anyone known we had been off-leash.



Later in the afternoon, we had an appointment at the stables to meet our rental horse. Crosby stayed in the car while I met the horse and went for a short training ride. My mare’s name was “Molly”. I am not fond of mares, but I tried not to be prejudiced! Molly wouldn’t canter in the round corral, so we went into the grass arena. Molly cantered very nicely when asked! Actually, it wasn’t a canter at all – Molly didn’t seem to have a “slow” button. She broke right into a hand gallop, and wouldn’t slow to a canter without breaking down to a trot, but she didn’t seem to want to buck at all, and gave me everything I asked for.

Then it was back to the car to get Crosby, and try him with Molly. I didn’t put the leash on Crosby at all, because I didn’t trust Molly with a leashed dog, and I didn’t want to let him drag it and get stepped on. I did put a “tab” (short leather leash) on Crosby’s collar just in case I needed to dismount and catch him and correct him. I also had my treat bag at the ready.

Crosby took to Molly without any problem. Molly, on the other hand, was a little wary of the dog, but she was tolerant. No flattened ears or swishing tail (those would be bad signs). Crosby stayed right with me and right with Molly, as a matter of fact, he wouldn’t leave for a recall, so we practiced a stay and a recall. On the Hock, his hock position was a little farther forward than I would like, but otherwise he was perfect. As soon as I had practiced all of the exercises, I gave Molly back to the barn, and we were done. I didn’t practice the Speed, though. I just forgot. We would ride again for a short ride again tomorrow.

MILEAGE: about 4

DAY 52: Planes, Shuttles, and Automobiles!

DAY 52 (Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009):

I woke up around 5:30 Am at the hotel in Billings. Crosby and I did a few laps around the parking lot, one lap at a trot (that’s fine for Crosby, but almost impossible for me!). We did about ½ mile, I suppose. When we got to the airport (very small airport), they were very friendly and accommodating, and said Crosby didn’t have to go into the crate until about 45 minutes before the plane took off. So Crosby and I went back outside in the airport parking lot, and walked for 40 minutes. It was probably about 34 degrees outside, with a brisk wind, but we kept moving and warmed up just fine. It was good exercise for a day we would both spend sitting on an airplane! I would guess the airport walk was about 2 miles.

Then it was on to the plane, and off to DC via Denver on Frontier airlines. We arrived in DC at about 6 PM EDT. Crosby survived the trip well. I was able to potty him in DC right outside the baggage claim area. It was quite a chore to lug his crate & my two suitcases to the shuttle bus to the rental cars, and then through the parking lot at the rental car area, but I had taken a crate dolly, and I broke down the crate when necessary and put it back together as needed. It probably took about 1 ½ hours to get to our car, and then another hour to drive to our hotel in Fredericksburg. We did a few laps around the Motel 6 parking lot when we got there. Mileage: about 3