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I was curious when you all thought it was appropriate to start competing in agility with your dogs (in novice classes). Bonzer is fairly good, and after some brushing up work this spring, I was hoping to be competing by summer. The only thing he seems to need to work on are getting 100% reliable on the weaves (sometimes he tries to skip some) and do a little work on contact zones on just the A-frame. How good would you say most dogs in novice classes are? Because I don't want to go out there and look like a fool if Bonzer decides to play the "I don't hear you game!" Also, I'm not sure how well he would pay attention with large groups of people and dogs around!

Thanks in advance for the advice and help!

>>I was curious when you all thought it was appropriate to start competing in agility with your dogs (in novice classes). Bonzer is fairly good, and after some brushing up work this spring, I was hoping to be competing by summer. The only thing he seems to need to work on are getting 100% reliable on the weaves (sometimes he tries to skip some) and do a little work on contact zones on just the A-frame. How good would you say most dogs in novice classes are? Because I don't want to go out there and look like a fool if Bonzer decides to play the "I don't hear you game!" Also, I'm not sure how well he would pay attention with large groups of people and dogs around!
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>>Thanks in advance for the advice and help!

Yeah! Go for it! Practicing is one thing and its great, however, in my opinion, you learn much more by competing. I also recommend that you enter every class that you can. Whether you feel ready or not, you would be surprised just how much you and your dog really can do. In fact, our club is hosting another competition next month. I can't wait! Don't be concerned too much about you dogs weaves, this is a common thing and I have seen many master level dogs pop out of the weaves Here is a pic of my Reata, her weaves are not always perfect either

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Charlene

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Adopt the pace of Nature
Her secret is patience

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ok, sounds good! So you don't think that he'll be too below others? My only concern too is not being able to have treats with me! I'm planning on rubbing some treats on my hands and then having treats ready to give when he's all done! I think with the weaves that he thinks when I say "weave" it means go between two poles and not the whole set. That's alright though, I don't mind saying repeating it!

Thanks!

>>ok, sounds good! So you don't think that he'll be too below others? My only concern too is not being able to have treats with me! I'm planning on rubbing some treats on my hands and then having treats ready to give when he's all done! I think with the weaves that he thinks when I say "weave" it means go between two poles and not the whole set. That's alright though, I don't mind saying repeating it!
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>>Thanks!

Remember, there is NO perfect dog or handler Even at the Masters level there are still mistakes. You may be below other dogs, however, you will be above other dogs. Also, you can and should repeat the weave polls in competition. Will you be competing in NADAC or USDAA? My BC gale and I are competeting in a USDAA trial next month. Our club is hosting.
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Charlene

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Adopt the pace of Nature
Her secret is patience

-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

>Remember, there is NO perfect dog or handler Even at the< >Masters level there are still mistakes. You may be below other< >dogs, however, you will be above other dogs. Also, you can and< >should repeat the weave polls in competition. Will you be< >competing in NADAC or USDAA? My BC gale and I are competeting< >in a USDAA trial next month. Our club is hosting.<

What do you mean that you can and should repeat weaves in competition, you mean if he messes up? I don't know which I'll be competing in, what are the differences exactly and which one do you like better? Bonzer's also AKC registered so I could consider that. Thanks for all of the help!

not Char here, but I'll pipe in with my answer. By repeating weaves, yes, say your dog messes up his weaves, misses even the last one, I ALWAYS repeat the entire set of weave poles. Bwhy you ask? Well in NADAC you 'have' to, or you'll be DQ'd. In AKC while you can "fix" what you missed, I prefer not to fix it, I want the dog to understand the weave poles is an 'entire' obstacle not just part of it.
I don't do much USDAA, but do alot of NADAC and AKC, all the organizations are different, I like both Nadac and AKC, Nadac because of their very fast times, open flowing courses..AKC because you get so much time you can have a 4 course meal out there and STILL be under time, LOL, and the tight courses that are challenging.
diane

Thanks for all the info and suggestions! Sounds good, and I'll probably enter an agility show late spring or early summer! I'll let you know how it all goes!

I agree with Charlene, but would also like to add, attend as many run thru's, matches, right NOW as you can. If there is an agility trial in the area that allows you to bring your dog to spectate I encourage you to do so.
Many times I see people who have never attended a trial with their dogs to spectate, done matches or run thru's then enter their first trial and wonder why Fido "freaks" out.
It's the old story of "my dog does great at class or in the backyard"..Of course they do, they are on comfortable ground. Trial situations can be VERY stressful and noisy and it's great to expose your dog (and yourself) to that before entering a trial to get a "feel" for what's going on.
I also agree with Charlene, that there will ALWAYS be someone 'worse' than you , it's absolutely inevitable LOL..Agility can be a real humbling experience.
As for not being 'perfect' on obstacles, no dog is perfect all the time. My rule of thumb on entering a dog in a trial for the first time is the most important one, my dog STAYS with me! I don't care if she 'blows" something, as long as she stays with me. In fact I pulled my latest aussie out of trialing for a year because she liked to jump the fence and search out food vendors. Definately not amusing after awhile LOL..
Basically have fun, expect the unexpected and don't stress over it.
Diane

I think the answer to your question really depends on you. I would encourage you to attend an agility trial before you enter your dog (and offer to help!!) so that you know what kind of atmosphere to expect when you are there with your dog. Attend fun matches with your dog if you can find one. How is your dog around lots of people, dogs, micophones, strangers, etc? Is he/she focused on you when you take him to the park on a weekend? I would encourage you to do an indoor trial first if you dog has less than perfect recalls. (I have one dog in excellent and still don't do outdoor trials with the exception of breed national specialties. But I have sighthounds, other breeds are more reliable. <g>

Also, and this is what I've told my students, look at yourself. Will it bother you to spend lots of money and not qualify? Would it bother you to have the least trained dog there? Would it bother you to have your dog not do something (weaves, teeter, not respond to you, etc) in front of hundreds of people you don't know? Some very competitive people feel like they have to go out there and qualify. There's nothing wrong with that, just know yourself. I find people training their second or third (or later) agility dog are more likely to wait longer to compete. I certainly waited longer to compete with my second agiltiy dog. There's also nothing wrong with being excited and anxious to compete as long as your dog is safe with other people (both adults and kids) and dogs. And as long as you won't get upset if your dog isn't "perfect". (I promise you it is 99.9%-100% handler error.)

Good luck and have fun, that's what it's really all about anyway.

>>I think the answer to your question really depends on you. I would encourage you to attend an agility trial before you enter your dog (and offer to help!!) so that you know what kind of atmosphere to expect when you are there with your dog. Attend fun matches with your dog if you can find one. How is your dog around lots of people, dogs, micophones, strangers, etc? Is he/she focused on you when you take him to the park on a weekend? I would encourage you to do an indoor trial first if you dog has less than perfect recalls. (I have one dog in excellent and still don't do outdoor trials with the exception of breed national specialties. But I have sighthounds, other breeds are more reliable. >
>>Also, and this is what I've told my students, look at yourself. Will it bother you to spend lots of money and not qualify? Would it bother you to have the least trained dog there? Would it bother you to have your dog not do something (weaves, teeter, not respond to you, etc) in front of hundreds of people you don't know? Some very competitive people feel like they have to go out there and qualify. There's nothing wrong with that, just know yourself. I find people training their second or third (or later) agility dog are more likely to wait longer to compete. I certainly waited longer to compete with my second agiltiy dog. There's also nothing wrong with being excited and anxious to compete as long as your dog is safe with other people (both adults and kids) and dogs. And as long as you won't get upset if your dog isn't "perfect". (I promise you it is 99.9%-100% handler error.)
>>
>>Good luck and have fun, that's what it's really all about anyway.

Qualify!? Yikes! You are WAY up there aren't you!? Must be very exciting to be at that level. The agility trials my club hosts are outdoors and amature. Yes, we do have lots of master people coming out. I am a novice and so is my BC. I usually "try" to tune out other people watching me or my dog, its usually eash because they are concerned about their own dog. We don't have a lot of just spectators on the sidelines. Anyway, I'm looking forward to our upcoming USDAA trial and yes, fun is what its all about
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Charlene

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Adopt the pace of Nature
Her secret is patience

-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

"Way" up there? Well, I don't know about that. <g> I do have 2 basenjis in excellent in AKC, and there are plenty of times I wish one of them was back in novice or open. And, personally, I don't really care what people think about my dogs (trust me, if I did, I wouldn't be out there doing agility with a basenji!), but I know some people who do. In fact, a lot of these people care so much, they change the breed they started with in favor of a breed more conducive to agility. I just didn't want this newbie to have expectations of something that may or may not happen and get frustrated.

And I do think it is helpful to know the trial you're entering as the last AKC event I entered had LOTS of spectators (perhaps even a thousand or so in the afternoon). It was in conjunction with an all breed conformation show and there were some conformation people and lots of paying spectators who made it over to watch the agility. And some years (not this one thankfully) someone will announce what is going on over the PA system. Talk about distracting, but they did at least request no flash photography. On the flip side, last weekend we did NADAC and only had a few people watching. There was also a horse event going on outside (agility was indoors) and I think the spectators were carry-overs from the mini-rodeo going on. Different facilities, very different experiences. Either can happen depending on the event you enter.

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>>"Way" up there? Well, I don't know about that. <g> I do have 2 basenjis in excellent in AKC, and there are plenty of times I wish one of them was back in novice or open. And, personally, I don't really care what people think about my dogs (trust me, if I did, I wouldn't be out there doing agility with a basenji!), but I know some people who do. In fact, a lot of these people care so much, they change the breed they started with in favor of a breed more conducive to agility. I just didn't want this newbie to have expectations of something that may or may not happen and get frustrated.
>>
>>And I do think it is helpful to know the trial you're entering as the last AKC event I entered had LOTS of spectators (perhaps even a thousand or so in the afternoon). It was in conjunction with an all breed conformation show and there were some conformation people and lots of paying spectators who made it over to watch the agility. And some years (not this one thankfully) someone will announce what is going on over the PA system. Talk about distracting, but they did at least request no flash photography. On the flip side, last weekend we did NADAC and only had a few people watching. There was also a horse event going on outside (agility was indoors) and I think the spectators were carry-overs from the mini-rodeo going on. Different facilities, very different experiences. Either can happen depending on the event you enter.

Ok, now I understand where your coming from! I do agree that AKC is VERY different than USDAA and NADAC We do have a Basenji in our club. I used to run my Chesapeake Bay Retriever (now retired) he is registered AKC but my BC gal is not even though she comes from good lines. Anyway, what are you feelings on NADAC? I do not like the fact that they keep changing the equipment regulations. . .sure makes is hard and expensive on my club
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Charlene

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Adopt the pace of Nature
Her secret is patience

-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

My feelings on NADAC.
I like it; I don't feel any stress with NADAC like I do about AKC. (Read, I care more about my AKC titles/legs.) I like most of the games (I mean "new classes" and my dogs like the more wide open courses. I don't like the fact they tend to change the rules every few months; I disagree that a non-displacable tire or slats on an Aframe is really that unsafe; I think doing 6 runs in one day is a bit much (more me, my dogs seemed ok with it); and I don't like the fact that they seem to want to micomanage everything even more than the AKC - specificallly that you can't hold a trial before 5pm (4?) on a regular work day. I mean really if the club has enough memebers to host a trial on a workday, and I want to take the time off, why is that a problem? I've also had a problem with my Q's not being recorded and it took me 6 months to get it straightened out. (And then I think it was because I started emailing them every week asking for a status.)

If your club wants to make some more money, I'd suggest doing AKC. In this area the AKC trials fill quickly and almost always make quite a bit of money for the club. Also if you're BC is spayed, you can get an ILP on her and do AKC events.

I've also done USDAA, but dropped it since in order to do the regular classes my dog has to jump 22. He can do it (has his AD), but I find it easier to train one height (16 to 22 is a big difference for a 17.5 inch dog). AND at one time or another we've done conformation, 2 different venues of coursing, 3 different venues of agility and regular therapy visits with 2 different dogs and the lab who we just did the agility with. Too much $$$ and time for all of the above.

>>My feelings on NADAC.
>>I like it; I don't feel any stress with NADAC like I do about AKC. (Read, I care more about my AKC titles/legs.) I like most of the games (I mean "new classes" and my dogs like the more wide open courses. I don't like the fact they tend to change the rules every few months; I disagree that a non-displacable tire or slats on an Aframe is really that unsafe; I think doing 6 runs in one day is a bit much (more me, my dogs seemed ok with it); and I don't like the fact that they seem to want to micomanage everything even more than the AKC - specificallly that you can't hold a trial before 5pm (4?) on a regular work day. I mean really if the club has enough memebers to host a trial on a workday, and I want to take the time off, why is that a problem? I've also had a problem with my Q's not being recorded and it took me 6 months to get it straightened out. (And then I think it was because I started emailing them every week asking for a status.)
>>
>>If your club wants to make some more money, I'd suggest doing AKC. In this area the AKC trials fill quickly and almost always make quite a bit of money for the club. Also if you're BC is spayed, you can get an ILP on her and do AKC events.
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>>I've also done USDAA, but dropped it since in order to do the regular classes my dog has to jump 22. He can do it (has his AD), but I find it easier to train one height (16 to 22 is a big difference for a 17.5 inch dog). AND at one time or another we've done conformation, 2 different venues of coursing, 3 different venues of agility and regular therapy visits with 2 different dogs and the lab who we just did the agility with. Too much $$$ and time for all of the above.

Yes I agree and our club is considering doing AKC events. My BC is spayed, I always spay/neuter my animals. . .don't need any accidents and I'm not a breeder Our NADAC events are not as big as ou USDAA events. I understand about the stress too. I usually stay away from the Master people, they are way too intense! LOL!
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Charlene

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Adopt the pace of Nature
Her secret is patience

-Ralph Waldo Emerson-