Comment

Comment by Patty & Frodo and Crystal CWCs on December 8, 2011 at 10:53am

Jane, that is AWFUL!!!! You should NOT be training at a place like that, or working with a woman who treats your pet like that!!! You seriously need a new class. That's the type of training that people did many, many years ago. Nowadays all training is positive reinforcement. I feel terrible for you and Luke. Where are you located again???  The judge was completely wrong to do that, and does your trainer do the same??? I'd never go back either, and I've been training dogs for years!!!!   ..you may want to join the cyber-rally mailing list too, they've been doing discussions on training attention, etc., and they are positive people, lots of videos posted for training and rally. (Cyber-rally is a new 'title' where you videotape your dog competing..... not sure how legit it really is but it's good for discussing training techniques, etc., and many of the signs are pretty similar)

Comment by Jane on December 8, 2011 at 8:44am

Ugh. I'm about to just give up trying to do anything around here. I've been taking an obedience class at the kennel club since no rally is being offered right now, and last night we did run-throughs. Luke is not ready to compete, so my trainer told the judge I was going to be using treats and that we just wanted the ring experience since I've never shown.

Well Luke was pretty distracted by the conformation ring right next to the obedience ring, so I can't say we were doing very well, and when it came time for the sit for exam he started walking towards me. The judge grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him by his head back to the original spot yelling at him SIT SIT SIT, all the while Luke's ears are pinned back, he's trying his hardest to get away from this woman and he just looks terrified. I was just so flabergasted that I stood there like an idiot before I could get it together and call him back to me. It was terrible.

Luke is already a little nervous around strangers so all I wanted was for him to have a positive experience in the ring...so much for that I guess. Maybe I'm just not "serious" enough for the competition classes around here, but I'm not willing to train my dog with pain and fear. Ugh. I really like working with Luke but I feel like it's just not worth it sometimes when I come home in tears from a stupid dog class.

Comment by CorGeek on November 1, 2011 at 9:06am

We did place...as there were only 2 entries in Novice A (Lakeshore PWC Specialty). :) First in our first event and second in our second....I hope it's not a trend!

It was a lot of fun...a little frustrating DURING the events as I knew Oliver could have done the course with his eyes closed, but I felt like I was pulling teeth the entire time.

He was seriously distracted. Only to be expected, I know. But it really showed me what we need to work on: Focus. :D

Comment by Patty & Frodo and Crystal CWCs on October 31, 2011 at 3:02pm

Congrats!!!  Did you place? and more important, did you have fun???  :) What did you end up learning from it?  I felt I learned a lot after my first Qs....

Comment by CorGeek on October 31, 2011 at 12:48pm

Oliver and I just got our first two legs in Rally Novice this past Friday!

Comment by Patty & Frodo and Crystal CWCs on September 27, 2011 at 10:40am

There is also UKC Rally - I don't know much about them, have heard more about the APDT Rally.  http://www.ukcdogs.com/WebSite.nsf/News/FLASHTheRallyObedienceRul12...  They do list some events on the west coast, although mostly in Southern California. If the link doesn't work, just go to www.ukcdogs.com , under Dog Events, Obedience, and eventually you'll find it under Rally Obedience....

Comment by Patty & Frodo and Crystal CWCs on September 27, 2011 at 10:34am

Another thought too, Jane - get what you can from the class, THEN enter any fun matches you can find nearby. My class was .. well ... not very good. She set up a rally course but rarely gave much instruction. The rules were explained very well - some of them. However, we entered a fun match right before our first trial - and found out much to our shock that we would have been NQed almost immediately for too tight a leash. My instructor had never bothered to work on heeling with us and never mentioned we shouldn't be holding them on a tight leash!!! We were able to work on this before trialing and did indeed Q. So, once you have the signs down and get the ideas, branch out (like you said, a different training facility, fun matches, anything) so you can get other ideas.... Good luck!!! We still need to work on off-leash heeling to go into RA   ;)

Comment by Jane on September 27, 2011 at 8:37am

Thanks Gail, that's what I thought. :)  I don't mind using the longer leash but it just seemed ridiculous that she made such a big deal out of it, especially in a very beginner class. I honestly debated walking out halfway through the class because I was so irritated with the instructor and her snide comments. She spent the vast majority of the class gushing and fawning over one person who had already obviously had quite a bit of experience in formal obedience (yet was still wearing a halti..) and giving pretty much zero help to myself and the other person in the class. It was a real bummer, I was so excited for this. Hopefully I can at least take away what I need to know in order to work with him at home and then I will find a different training facility after this. Sorry that turned into kind of a long vent!

Comment by Gail and Ashton on September 26, 2011 at 11:28pm

Patty, Frodo and Crystal- Sorry so long to reply! Thanks for the kudos for Ashton. I will pass the accolades on to my hubby since he is Ashton's rally partner. :D I went to the APDT website and noticed the majority are East Coast based. Over in my neck of the woods (Washington State) it's pretty much AKC when it comes to Rally. I always hear of all these other organizations but the travel time to events is just too much for us. Hopefully someday they will make their way over here! :)

 

Comment by Gail and Ashton on September 26, 2011 at 11:16pm

The rules say in AKC Rally Novice says: "The leash must be made of fab-
ric or leather and needs to be long enough to provide adequate slack." but does not say the length. But it's probably best to have a 6 foot lead since in the Excellent class the rules for the Honor exercise states: "When the judge
commands the next handler to begin the course with the order
“Forward,” the Honor handler will command and/or signal their dog to
“Stay,” move forward to the end of a 6 foot leash, then turn and face
their dog."

 

It is annoying that the instructor made such a fuss over your lead when there were others who were using training aids that are not approved for competition at all. meh. Don't let that bring you down. Remember, you are there to have a fun time with your dog! :)

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