My Obedience Rant

This rant has been bubbling up in me for awhile now, and a post from one of the obedience e-groups I belong to just kind of pushed me over the edge. So, I'm gonna rant for a bit, but please take into mind you may not agree with me, it's just my opinion based on my own personal experiences.
There's been considerable discussion on the death of the sport of obedience. I won't go into all that here, there's some great ideas going on out there and that's not the main thrust of my rant. It was one tiny little comment tucked away in one sentence, but I hear it a LOT:
- the OTCH system is unfair. You cannot beat the OTCH dogs.
I myself have been guilty of saying this. But you know what? You limit yourself by saying you can't do something.
Here's my OTCH experience: when I debuted Shiloh he got a 199 his very first time in the Obedience ring. That started me thinking about an OTCH. I worked his front and finishes - the bread and butter of high scores - all the way through his Open A and Utility A career. He tied several times for High In Trial in his Open career with some 198's. We didn't have high scores in utility A, but we zipped through it in 5 tries and began a serious pursuit of the OTCH.
What I learned:
While we have some extremely talented trainers out there who quickly OTCH their dogs in a few weeks' time, this is NOT the norm. Getting an OTCH is really hard. That is what makes it so special.
We didn't place at all when we graduted into the highly competitive B classes. Then, we began getting into the lower placements. Then, for what seemed like an eternity, we got lots and lots of 2nd places. If you are in pursuit of an OTCH this is not good. You need at least 3 First Places - 2 from an All Breed trial and one can be from a specialty. It was frustrating. I started complaining about how it always seemed, no matter where I went, that there was always at least one "super" obedience person there to get all the first placements.
Here's when the tide turned and I learned what it takes to get an OTCH:
- you must believe in yourself and your dog
- you must be persistent and never give up
And the biggie:
- YOU MUST UP YOUR GAME.
For Shiloh and I this trilogy of truths came together all at once. I brought my "A" game into the ring every time. Shiloh picked up on that energy and he did, too. To my utter shock and amazement those first began coming.
The highlight of my OTCH journey was when I decided to roll the dice and enter the huge St. Louis show. No more traveling to small shows looking for firsts. We were going to test our skills against the best in the area. My dear friend Kathy and her husband Gary were there. These two almost always came away with winning all the B classes. But never mind that, Shiloh and I brought the best we had. After our Utility performance I was sweating from the effort, but it was a thrilling run. Kathy came to me and said "that was lovely". I could see in her eyes that it was a competitive run. I stood next to her as awards came out. The judge started with fourth place, then third. I sighed. Gary and Kathy hadn't been called yet so I figured it was those two. Kathy heard me sigh and said with a smile and a wink "the Cheese stands alone." Second place was called and it was Kathy. I looked at Gary, wide-eyed. He mouthed "first is you". And....it was! It was a huge 30-point class. We had another nice run in Open, and got 2nd place, just 1/2 point behind Kathy. I tallied up my lovely chunk of points and it was now 99. One more point and we would finish!
The OTCH came the following weekend at the Sheltie Specialty, winning the Utility class, getting High in Trial and High Combined.
But my biggest thrill was actually being a player with the very best, and EARNING (oh yes I earned it!) an outright win in an outstanding class of dogs.
All that being said, you CAN do it. It takes a lot of work. It isn't easy. It's been said earning an OTCH is one of the most difficult things you can do with your dog. Maybe that's one reason the sport is dying, as (again this is just my opinion) there are other champion titles to garner that are easier to attain.
But - if the OTCH is one of your dreams - it CAN be done, and you don't need to be a famous trainer to do it. Don't limit yourself by saying you can't do it. Dream big, and Big Dreams will come true! They did for me.