sheena

Hi I think there was a typo in one of the schedules published in which Rally O Novice A & B were offered. There is no A & B in Rally O Novice in Australia but I believe the Club in question is holding 3 Obedience & 3 Rally O Trials over the weekend so plenty of opportunities to achieve some qualifying scores. Sheena, I don't know if you noticed this post. I'm sure this is right - there is no provision in the rules for A and B at Rally Novice level. It does kick in at Advanced and Excellent. The B courses are for dogs who have already achieverd their title at that particular level. Tassie, I had a sneeking suspicion that that was the case....in other words the RN (A&B) is a misprint. You are saying that the B courses are for those dogs that have already achieved their titles at that level, but wouldn't that exclude them from competing at the same level they have already titled at Like in Agility, if you have achieved ADX, then you must go up to ADM etc. Mrs Rusty Bucket...Yeah...that is what I don't like about obedience too, & I always think the dogs don't look very happy. But in Rally O, you can praise & pat the dog through the course. I have been to a few RO workshops & have come to the conclusion that the people who judge these events all have a different interpretation of the rules. I am only doing the CCD so I don't sit around all weekend with nothing to do, waiting for my couple of minutes on the RO course. I don't expect to do any good in the CCD, but we will train for it & give it a go...it can only be good for myself & my dog. It's not really something that I want to continue with...I think I have my hands full with two dogs doing agility.

The schedule says:- Saturday AM RN(A&B), RA(A&B), RE(A&B) Saturday PM (the same) CCD CD,CDX UDX, UD Sunday (the same) just different judges. There are 4 rings with the RO being in ring 4 for the whole weekend.

Most produce stores sell Bonnie...take your camera along & ask them can you take some photos...tell them why.

OK....so I will go with the CCD. I have been watching a few Youtubes (Australian) & the only thing she might have trouble with is distinguishing between the halt/sit & the halt/stand, so will have to work on that. Also the stand for inspection...she might be inclined to sit for the nice judge :D So will work on that too. We get three goes at it over the weekend as well as three goes at the RO. I still havn't been able to work out why they have RN(A&B), but I will just put down RN & let them work it out....meantime I will keep asking. I can't see us going any further than Novice with Obedience...it's not something that excites me...but Bindi is just wrapped in heeling, so I will do it for her :laugh: To go any further, I would have to change her very ingrained & sloppy sit & casual down position. Thanks everyone. :)

Not sure if you caught my post above where I answered your question about the samples, but as far as I know, Sherel (she owns & makes BH) will still send you a sample, but you will have to email her or send her a PM. She is on DOL under Collies02. The main difference between the puppy & the adult is the protein & fat levels. They are both free of wheat, corn & soy. What sort of puppy are you getting??? When I got my Border Collie Puppy at 11 weeks, on the advice of Breeders, I put him straight onto the Adult & he has been on it ever since. I have been very happy with the result & it saved me having to have both Puppy & Adult formulas as I have another dog as well.

But isn't most of CD on leash except for the stand for inspection & second heel ??

I am always buying from Clean Run in the States...no problems at all, just don't try to get any treats, food, or things made from animal fur,etc in as Customs will seize them. Just remember any thing electrical, they have a different power system to us in Oz.

So for an inexperienced trialer, like me :) out of CD & CCD, would I be better off in CCD & if so, why is that??

Just wondering why they clip the Lowchen's like they do. Also who is the first little dog in your sig....I think he is georgous :)

I would have thought that Sherel was still giving out samples. Send her an email.

I understand where you are coming from :) but we all have to start somewhere. She has done the training & I have 6 to 7 weeks to polish it up, but just wasn't sure which events she could enter as a novice. I have watched obedience trials in between doing agility runs, but haven't taken a lot of notice as to what particular event it was that I was watching. To be quite honest, I don't find obedience a real great "spectator" sport :) I've had a read of the rules, & I will get someone from the club to run through it with me.

Thanks guys ....It is a 3 day Obedience & Rally O trial & I am entering her in the Rally-O. So just looking for what else I could put her in to make the trip worthwhile :) She is quite used to trials because she does agility, so no problem there. She will do most of those things, but I guess I should work on training her to obey without using my voice...is that right...I can't talk to her except in RO.???

I am thinking of putting Bindi in her first Obedience & Rally-O Trial, but am confused as to what the symbols mean on the gazette. Obviously Novice R0 is "RN". but what does RN (A&B) mean. Also what would I enter her in for Obedience as a Novice & what does she need to know to compete in it. Sorry to sound like a areal dim-wit, but I have to start somewhere :)

I have taught the "out" command, meaning take the furthest object laterally away from me. I give this command as far back as possible from the layer to give the dog time to move out & away from the closest obstacle. You need to really put the body pressure on & make sure you keep your arm extended. If you drop your arm even the slightest, that is a cue for your dog to come towards you. As well as this I have taught my dog "obstacle discrimination" so that she knows the obstacles by name. We are pretty good on the distance handling bits when she is concentrating :laugh: I also use "out" if I want her to take the back of a jump...it's all in the timing as to when you give the command.

Go for it

I am lucky we live on acreage & have a wonderful, supportive OH who has built me an entire Agility Course. We have two BC dogs, Bindi (4YO) has been competing for two years now & Cricket, who is only 14 months & is in training. We train every day for about 5 minutes each dog, before they have their breakfast, which is always a RMB. I also train them while walking them to & from the agility course. ie; heeling, recall, sits, drops etc. They really enjoy this & their obsession with it sometimes gets a bit awkward when both dogs want to "heel" etc @ the same time. :laugh: We also take them to group classes once a week when it's not washed out from the constant rain. We usually work on just a couple of things a session...maybe a couple of minutes on one thing then go onto another. We don't keep at it till they have perfected the behaviour. They have good memories & don't forget what they learnt the day before. I keep track of training in my head & sometimes OH videos it for me. We have goals, as in, want as perfect as possible end behaviour but try not to be too impatient. I might also do some clicker stuff with them during the day & when I take them for a walk in the afternoons, we do more heeling, recalls etc. But the Agility training is only once a day. After dinner at night they come inside & I might do a bit more clicker stuff with them in the lounge room, but mostly it's a time for them to find "their inner naughtiness" & entertain us, or have cuddles, before going to their beds. Have I covered everything :D ETA...At the end of our training sessions both OH & myself will do things with both dogs at the same time, so they learn to work with us & not run off to play. Does that make sense

Even though Bindi reverted back to 2o2o when we lowered the AF, looking at the videos, she was far more precise where she put her feet (because of the box.) It will be interesting to see how she goes as we gradually increase the height. Megan, do you have access to an AF, like at Training. Then you could do all the proofing at home on the ground & take the box to training & slip it on the AF.

The first part of this exercise can be done in the lounge room, you just need to build a box out of poly pipe, the same dimensions as the contact area of the A-Frame. Then you move the box outside & proof it on the ground. But after that stage, you would really need access to an A-Frame...one that can be lowered right down. I've decided only to teach the new boy this method & am leaving the old girl with her 2o2o which she converts to a running contact when on a full height frame anyway....I just release her as soon as she has hit the contact before she moves into 2o2o position. Problem with this is that she slows down in anticipation of having to go into position. :)

Yeah...without having to upload to you tube first. I have seen others do it, but can't work it out

After a couple of weeks of shaping the box on the ground, we have moved it to a lowered A-Frame & the results with the two dogs were completely different. Bindi went straight back into 2o2o position, so I think I will leave her with that behaviour (SHE is quite proud of her 2o2o :)) because when she is running a full A-Frame she tends to run it anyway, & hardly ever misses the contact. The puppy has the hang of it, so we will continue with the box method with him. We have added a stride regulator just before the apex. Now to get more speed into him The link to the video..

How do you upload video clips to DOL without going through YouTube Thanks in Advance :)

And they put on a great Agility Trial every year

What's the advantage of using the "box" method over stride regulators??

Oh good...I've just learnt how to use it :) Now no one will be able to say.....Ooooohhhhh....she spends so much time on DOL.. :laugh: I can lurk in the background with everyone else. But honestly, I don't think anyone ever looks to see who is on & who is not.

I've stopped dreaming....I have my dream breed & I can't imagine life with any other........ :)