How Do You Know When Your Ready To Start Ccd

[Lisey]

When do you know if your dog and yourself are ready to start competing and trying to obtain their CCD?

I don't know a lot about it - I really should get to one and watch so I have some idea of what happens.

Reason this is in my head today is during normal obedience training last night the instructor said twice that she thinks he should be trialling as he is doing so well...

That is my goal one day but I'm not sure he is ready yet - or me (probably more me than Booker!). Do I wait for him to mature a bit more (he is 17 months old), or have a crack, or even look into Rally-O to start with? He has improved soooo much and I've posted that in a different thread - but don't want to set us up to fail....

Also - do I need to be a member of Dogs Qld?

[dragonwoman]

When do you know if your dog and yourself are ready to start competing and trying to obtain their CCD?

I don't know a lot about it - I really should get to one and watch so I have some idea of what happens.

Reason this is in my head today is during normal obedience training last night the instructor said twice that she thinks he should be trialling as he is doing so well...

That is my goal one day but I'm not sure he is ready yet - or me (probably more me than Booker!). Do I wait for him to mature a bit more (he is 17 months old), or have a crack, or even look into Rally-O to start with? He has improved soooo much and I've posted that in a different thread - but don't want to set us up to fail....

Also - do I need to be a member of Dogs Qld?

Yes, you do need to join dogs Qld and the dog has to be registered too either on Main or Limited Register or as an Associate or on the Sporting Register

I would not enter CCD until my dog was really ring ready for Novice, that way you are more sure to succeed and your dog will not develop bad habits or become jaded if you keep on trialling without success. You really want to be in and out of these classes as soon as you can. I have noticed a tendency for some instructors to encourage trialling before the dog is ready, especially if the dog stands out in class

I also would not be going into class much, maybe for groups and occasional distraction training or socialising with the friends you have made, I would be getting as much experience in a ring with run-throughs for you and the dog with a variety of people putting you through. I believe class work can become very boring for the dog if you just keep on with the same old same old

I suggest you steward CCD or Novice at a couple of trials, you will learn a lot in a non-threatening situation and pick up lot of dos and dont's, especially if the judge knows you are keen to learn, they encourage new handlers, they guarantee future judging jobs!!! Contact the trial secretaries of a couple of trials coming up to volunteer(assuming your state allows this, some states have panels of approved people)

[huski]

When do you know if your dog and yourself are ready to start competing and trying to obtain their CCD?

I don't know a lot about it - I really should get to one and watch so I have some idea of what happens.

Reason this is in my head today is during normal obedience training last night the instructor said twice that she thinks he should be trialling as he is doing so well...

That is my goal one day but I'm not sure he is ready yet - or me (probably more me than Booker!). Do I wait for him to mature a bit more (he is 17 months old), or have a crack, or even look into Rally-O to start with? He has improved soooo much and I've posted that in a different thread - but don't want to set us up to fail....

Also - do I need to be a member of Dogs Qld?

Definitely head to some trials to watch a few CCD run outs! And not just CCD but the higher classes too.

If you are a member of an obedience club, you can also volunteer to steward at the next trial, which will give you a really good idea of what goes on at a trial and what you need to do.

In terms of whether you are ready - only you can really know that, and everyone has different goals. I've been asked loads when I will trial Wisdom because her work looks good, but I have a very specific goal and picture in my mind of what I want her to achieve in competition and the standard of work I want from her, so I know we are not there yet.

I would also recommend watching some trial videos on YouTube, when you see a dog and handler team you love to watch, that can help inspire you and clarify in your mind what you want to achieve with your dog (not in terms of titles so much, but as a partnership).

And yep you need to be a Dogs QLD member to trial :)

ETA: Before trialling I would also do a lot of proofing around distractions and familiarize yourself with the rules and how trials are conducted, especially as this can add to your nerves if you aren't sure what to expect or what the judge is asking you to do. I think from memory it is Metro you are training at? They sometimes have a ring set up on Wednesday nights for advanced training, not sure if they still do, but ask if it's possible to set a ring up and get one of the instructors to run you through a mock trial. It is a good way to test how your training will stand up outside of class/a training situation.

Edited September 3, 2013 by huski

[paddles]

or you could be like me, and just bomb out... as long as you can laugh at yourself... some people I know, entered over 10 ccd trials before passing.... I personally believe it is not the dog that fails the trial but the handler. 1/2 hr before my one and only trial, a friend ran myself and dog through a mock trial, went perfectly. entered the ring... totally bombed out, all I can say is both dog and i left the ring together (one of my friends dog left her to go chase ducks middle of the trial....) so providing you can survive a little failure, enter and have a go.. then put the hard yards in, to get that perfection prior to entering your next one.

what I'm trying to say, is, handler nerves play a big part, as well as distraction.

[DesertDobes]

I've done Rally O novice (RN) with my boy, it's pretty easy and all on leash so I do think thats a good place to start. I'm going to look into CCD next year but I see it as a big leap from RN and will want to do a lot of training before hand.

My biggest fear is the off leash drop and sit stays

[Lisey]

Ok thanks guys - very helpful. I like the point about being ready for the level above what I would be trialling in. Makes sense.

Yes Huski - I'm at Metro - will ask them about a mock trial - I think that is just what I need.

Ok - he is on mains but in his breeders name, so will she need to enter him and I be listed as handler?

Will definitely go & watch some trials - does anyone know of any coming up in brisbane? Anyone going & I can come along and cheer you on? :)

[Lasareina]

Ahh sounds scary just talking about it :) ... I am off to my second obedience class and don't even know what CCD stands for, so that might have something to do with it :laugh:

[Seita]

Metro still do ring run outs on Wednesday nights. The ring isn't always set up but someone will certainly put you through a run out if that's what you are after. I try to get down there every other Wednesday to train my dogs and put people through run outs... but there are usually at least a couple of triallers around who know enough to give you some tips, tricks and pointers etc. I'll echo what the others have said, a lot of instructors encourage you into the ring far too early. Do some run outs and go to some trials to get a better idea if you really are ready. I see a lot of people in the ring who do silly things and lose points for all sorts of handler errors because they don't know enough about how to trial a dog yet! Ring craft and having a well trained dog are 2 very different things that need to come together in order to compete well!

[Lisey]

Metro still do ring run outs on Wednesday nights. The ring isn't always set up but someone will certainly put you through a run out if that's what you are after. I try to get down there every other Wednesday to train my dogs and put people through run outs... but there are usually at least a couple of triallers around who know enough to give you some tips, tricks and pointers etc. I'll echo what the others have said, a lot of instructors encourage you into the ring far too early. Do some run outs and go to some trials to get a better idea if you really are ready. I see a lot of people in the ring who do silly things and lose points for all sorts of handler errors because they don't know enough about how to trial a dog yet! Ring craft and having a well trained dog are 2 very different things that need to come together in order to compete well!

Thanks. I just emailed Metro actually asking them about it :)

Yes - I don't know anything about being in the ring - whilst Booker might be ready - I'm not!

I've just taken Booker for a walk and we did some training down the park - opposite to an off leash area - for some distraction. He did really well. I'll just keep up the working around distractions.

[Cala]

Metro still do ring run outs on Wednesday nights. The ring isn't always set up but someone will certainly put you through a run out if that's what you are after. I try to get down there every other Wednesday to train my dogs and put people through run outs... but there are usually at least a couple of triallers around who know enough to give you some tips, tricks and pointers etc. I'll echo what the others have said, a lot of instructors encourage you into the ring far too early. Do some run outs and go to some trials to get a better idea if you really are ready. I see a lot of people in the ring who do silly things and lose points for all sorts of handler errors because they don't know enough about how to trial a dog yet! Ring craft and having a well trained dog are 2 very different things that need to come together in order to compete well!

Thanks. I just emailed Metro actually asking them about it :)

Yes - I don't know anything about being in the ring - whilst Booker might be ready - I'm not!

I've just taken Booker for a walk and we did some training down the park - opposite to an off leash area - for some distraction. He did really well. I'll just keep up the working around distractions.

[Lisey]

I went along last night to have a ring run out with Booker. It was very beneficial and am already looking forward to next week! It's also going to help me in the normal classes as well as I know more about why we do certain exercises if that makes sense.

As I expected - Book is fantastic and I'm the noob who doesn't know much! :D I need to really work on clear hand signals and commands.

Definitely got a lot out of last night and can now work on more things at home too.

[Lisey]

Well I was a steward on Saturday night at a trial and I'm so glad I did it. Gives me a really good idea of what it is like and what I need to work on with Booker.

Then last night I couldn't get to sleep as I was thinking about all different ways to proof his stay

[Tassie]

Good on you for stewarding. It is a great way to get used to the ring environment without putting pressure on the dog ... apart from being a real help to your club. :-).