Trial Cancellation

[haven]

I see what you guys are saying, but I also think it is important to have the blanket rule so that people have some idea of whether training on that day will be cancelled before they travel a possibly long distance only to find out it's been called off.

[wheres my rock]

i agree i would never take my dogs out over 25 to work them my shelte would happily wrk in 40 hes work obsessed lol but i still wouldnt do it i aso feel for the judges stuck out in the sun for at elast an hour if they didnt stop the trial i think its time the vca took a leaf out of otecs book and put a policy in place i have asked for a copy of the otec policy to post here but its along the lines of the clubs must have a thermometer out in the area the trial is held and when it hits a cetain temp 35 i think then the trial must be suspended until the temp drops etc etc

Personally yesterday if they werent hoping on that cool cange hitting early i would have cancelled it from the onset but thast not within th policy

[leopuppy04]

i agree i would never take my dogs out over 25 to work them my shelte would happily wrk in 40 hes work obsessed lol but i still wouldnt do it i aso feel for the judges stuck out in the sun for at elast an hour if they didnt stop the trial i think its time the vca took a leaf out of otecs book and put a policy in place i have asked for a copy of the otec policy to post here but its along the lines of the clubs must have a thermometer out in the area the trial is held and when it hits a cetain temp 35 i think then the trial must be suspended until the temp drops etc etc

Personally yesterday if they werent hoping on that cool cange hitting early i would have cancelled it from the onset but thast not within th policy

I agree with that also that a blanket rule needs to be in place, but obviously common sense also plays a big role. I don't think the rule is silly at all .

I don't think they were waiting for a cool change but rather just following protocol. They couldn't call it off until it reached 35 and then they had to wait the 90mins as stated in the rules. Actually the blanket rule helps a lot as apparently there were a lot of calls put through to see if the trial was still on and rather than saying "i don't know" they could give a definate answer of 'not until it reaches 35 deg'....

[MrsD]

Time for clubs to start considering night obedience trials between October and March I reckon. Night agility trials have been around for ages.

Queensland has had evening trials (on Saturdays) for years. Also evening confirmation shows .

[poodlefan]

Mrs D:

Queensland has had evening trials (on Saturdays) for years. Also evening confirmation shows

Let's hope more southern clubs follow the example Mrs D.. Unfortunately round here I listen to more reasons why night trials won't work than why they might.

[leopuppy04]

Mrs D:

Queensland has had evening trials (on Saturdays) for years. Also evening confirmation shows

Let's hope more southern clubs follow the example Mrs D.. Unfortunately round here I listen to more reasons why night trials won't work than why they might.

what are reasons why they won't work????? I always thought they were a good idea

[TigerJack]

Last two Flyball Comps here in Sydney this last month have been evening comps. Started around 3pm and went through till about 10.30, 11ish. Bit hot to start with but nice and cool by the end. they were a really good idea.

[Sayreovi]

Conformation shows are helluva lot less extrenous then trials, thats why they are still allowed to run in the heat. You will find that the majority of dogs attending on the day would be short coated breeds though.

I personally dont attend it it is going to be about 30 and over, my dog has a really thick heavy coat so it would be wrong of me to try and expect him too do something.

TigerJack, i think they should bring the evening flyball comps down here they sound really good!

[fidelis Border Collies]

It was interesting to see you comment that agility do not have the rule. The dog is generally all hyped up with enthusiasm and runs harder than in obedience. As you said I believe there should be a rule that covers all. But that has been my point all along.

well if you had one rule to cover all we would have no shows, trials between November and April as here in Queensland we can't hold herding activities between Nov and march. We do have an extra consideration the sheep that are very much affected by heat. So can you really have one rule to fit all don't think so

would mean half the year is gone

Tracey

[PossumCorner]

...... I think the right decision was made also! ......

Agreed Leopuppy. Whilst not an OP (Obedience Person) I was the other kind of OP with the cameras yesterday. I try not to post on our website if a dog is showing itself or handler in a bad light, and even in that ten minutes or so yesterday morning most of the shots I got showed dogs not moving freely, hanging back and showing their less-than-total enthusiasm in the body language.

What a shame though, with that lovely table of trophies and sashes as well as the sponsor's products. Those smart large canisters are unavailable now, would have been a nice win.

The rules were followed. It was not the decision of "Croydon" or the organisers. And Staffy13, whilst there could be a better mouse-trap, it's a bit tough asking one person, the VCA Rep, to take responsibiity for a decision that obviously will not suit everyone. But the rules state that if the temperature is as it was, it is the duty of the Judges to instruct the Organisers to stop, which is how it was done. A consensus of Judges. I think that's still a little better than loading the decision onto one person.

Disappointing for all of us, just hope it doesn't happen again with any of the comps in the New Year.

[Sparty]

we had an interesting day at the ballarat comp it was coming down to the wire if it was to be cancelled due to heat (i snuck off after the heel work to take bodie for a swim) novice went thru, but i think open and UD actually held the stays in the shade out of the ring.. not 100% sure i was i wishing i had gone swimming too at that point

[Arya]

I was there on Sunday too. Last forecast I heard was it was going to be 32 LOL!!! Then someone told me after I got there they'd changed it to 37 but no surprises as it was so hot already by 8.30. When I left the grounds, the thermometer was showing 40.6 in the shade!!! I would have gone in when it first started but it was way too hot and my dog, who is usually an enthusiastic worker, didn't want a bar of it and I didn't blame her. If they'd started up again I would have withdrawn anyway. The dogs are the important things there, not the passes. I felt very sorry for Croydon club. They'd gone to so much trouble and the weather defeated them. But I think it was more than fair to cancel and really, no dog should be out working in heat like that. Not even walking around or standing in the sun. Imagine the stays out there in that heat!

[leopuppy04]

Hi Arya!

I have the same feelings as you!!! Last I heard for the day - it was going to be 29!!!! Boy was that wrong .

I really do feel for everyone who organised the trial! They did so much hard work organising the sashes (which looked fantastic!), prizes, trophies and the rest. IMO - they had outdone themselves, but then i've only been to about 5 trials so don't have much to compare it to! Hopefully they can use it all for their next trial!

This really wasn't the year for croydon. First trial cancelled because of ground issues, second coz of the weather!!!!

[brittany13]

As Asrya said the last I heard until when I was there on the morning was that it was going to be 28c. Unfortunately it go just a tad to hot. definately not Croydon's fault.

Possum Corner - Yes it is not decision of the Croydon Club or even the judges and VCA rep at the ground. its the responsibilty of the OTEC committee that has invoked this rule in regards to heat. the judge in charge of my ring ( and two others I spoke to ) at one point wished to continue rather than suspend, but the temp rule was pointed out to them and they had to cease. They were unaware of any temp readings until they were told to cease due to the heat. It got to the point it had to be cancelled, no argument, but the decision making process needs to be better than just a set cut off point.

As for the "one rule" rule it is interesting to see that Fidelis B/Collies disagrees with the one rule fits all. Why, because it would limit the amount of trial and show time available to them due to heat. But if the heat limit is 35c here why should it be any different anywhere else? Is the 35c there "different" to here? Would it be because the dogs are more used to a warmer climate perhaps and maybe better adjusted to this temp? (just playing devils advocate).

Just food for thought.

[InspectorRex]

As a former ANKC Obedience Judge who has had to Judge in 41 degree heat(23 dogs and only 2 scratched ) I was so glad when OTEC brought in the Heat rule, which i might add was available for all members to Vote on.

Now for the Conformation ppl to do the same.

The RSPCA would have a field day if they saw ppl trialling etc in those extreme temperaturs.

I for one would not have even turned up if I had entered.Would much rather lose a few $$ than lose a dog to heat exhaustion any day.

[fido666]

I'm an ex-committee person of this club and have participated in running many trials there. I can't recall a trial ever being cancelled for heat issues but I was there before the new rules came into force. A LOT of work goes into organising and running a trial, the decision to cancel would not have been made lightly. It's not just the club that is put out, the judges, stewards, vendors, etc who are organised for the day all get inconvenienced too.

I personally feel the ruling has merit for competitors, their dogs, and officials alike (try cooking 600+ snags in that kind of heat ). I take the point the OP made though, people run their dogs around the show ring in such conditions and think nothing of it. If you bomb out in your age class it's all over quickly but should you be lucky to take the class and have to go on to group or in show then you are in the ring for a while.

The one time I went to a show when it was hot I was in the ring for all of 2 minutes, it was cooler there than at home as the AC had died and at leat there was a breeze blowing. Any waiting time was in the shade of a gazebo or the indoor pavillion at the ground. If it was as hot as last weekend I would not have gone.

Cheers,

Corine