Tassie Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 You're right Jules lots of fun to be had training. :laugh: Our judge was using small domes as markers .. I've also seen bath plugs ... extra challenges for the dogs. The cones in the offset figure with distractions were half domes .. First trial, naughty old Kirra went for one of the domes ..think she thought it was a bowl, then went to a toy .. oops. Funny Poppy with her touch target. I teach 2 classes at dog club, so usually miss out on training on the rally course that's been set ... will maybe have to see if I can get it left out longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbedWire Posted February 29, 2016 Author Share Posted February 29, 2016 (edited) Tassie and JulesP I am enjoying your posts. Perhaps I should give Rally a go. Does DOL have a support thread for people doing rally? I have attended classes before but never trialled at it. It does seem to be less stress but I fear I will misread a sign (turn left instead of right, the wrong sort of finish). I do think what TSD said earlier is so true though and I owe it to my dog to give it a go. ATM I will probably change to a different class anyway and just be patient for a little longer. She turned one last December so there is no hurry. Here is her pound photo. Of course I think she is gorgeous. Edited February 29, 2016 by sarspididious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 sooo cute, sars! Don't think there is a specific Rally O thread .. maybe we should start one. Definitely worth giving Rally a go ... easier to learn signs at home, and take them on the road .. you can download and print them from the ANKC Rules on the website Rally rules and signs. I've got a cheapo laminator, so I've laminated mine, and then have some cheap clipboards to clip them on and stand them up. It's worth doing that, so you learn doing the sign in the appropriate position. The descriptions in the rules are pretty good, but you can always ask here for explanations. Some people do Rally because they think it's really easy .. and Novice is certainly not too challenging given that it's on lead. But I like to try to train the signs with precision right from the start (not that you'd always know it) and to train really nice heeling for between the signs. The lovely thing is that you can talk to your dog .. pre-cues, cues, reminders, and most importantly, excited praise just when you need it. So it should be really pretty and fun for your dog. (When I do it with my old girl Kirra, I really talk to her more than I should, and it's not usually pretty ... but she's having fun, and at this stage, that's all I care about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Yeah Poppy is loving the Rally training. I have to pretty much push her in the crate to give Amber a turn as she wants to keep going. From the video that you put up a bit ago your dog looked like it works very nicely Sarspididious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 I pulled Daisy out of retirement at the end of last year to do a couple of Rally trials with her. She loves it! We have 2/2 passes, I need to enter another one to get her RN. She really enjoys herself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 I can just imagine that Daisy will really enjoy it, huski. It's great for the oldies, as well as those starting out. at the picture of you wrangling your girls, Jules. But that's the sort of thing we want, isn't it. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 I can just imagine that Daisy will really enjoy it, huski. It's great for the oldies, as well as those starting out. at the picture of you wrangling your girls, Jules. But that's the sort of thing we want, isn't it. :D She is loving it and pulling great high 90s scores- until I bugger up a station, and lose 10 of them. Poor Daisy, stuck with a dud handler lol. We have had some really lovely compliments on her attitude, especially "for a beagle" lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbedWire Posted February 29, 2016 Author Share Posted February 29, 2016 Loved it huski. So positive with your happy voice and the dog's wagging tail. You were both having fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Loved it huski. So positive with your happy voice and the dog's wagging tail. You were both having fun. Yep .. that's what Rally is about. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flame ryder Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I thought rally looked super easy until I tried it. Arghhhhh dog is fine, I mess it all up. Then I am left with confused dog looking at me as if to say 'WTF are you doing mum?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 :laugh: It does get better ... but in a way that's one of the good things about Rally ..... there's a lot of responsibility on the handler. Oh .. and it get better .. until you get to Masters. I do hope that will get less confusing as we get used to it :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Better trialling day for us today at another double Rally O trials. Miss 14 aka Kirra, was happy to be there, but wasn't prepared to work for nothing, when she realised the jump she saw was not in out Masters ring (no jumps in Masters) .. it was next door in an Excellent rings. She had fun .. but we baled out early. Mr Rory thankfully did much better than last week, and so did I. :D 1st place with 97 in the morning trial, and then 2nd place with 94 in the pm. I had to call a retry as I confused him (or myself) on one station. He got his spin at heel done quite nicely, and his heel back 3 steps was really nice .. good boy. So good to have my working dog back .. although he was still a bit gawking round .. but he wasn't alone. By the way, note to those going into Masters Rally : Don't forget to practise the Novice and Advanced signs too sometimes .. several of todays competitors actually failed to Q because of mistakes in lower level exercises. We've obviously been concentrating on mastering the Masters signs :D . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbedWire Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 Congratulations Tassie. That sounds like a very successful day for Mr Rory. I have put in the registration papers for my girl although I have still not made up my mind about what I will do. Rally does like fun, so maybe that's the way we will go. I have still not decided. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 The nice thing, Sars is that it's not either or. You can train Rally with real precision (play/motivational training) and that will serve you well in obedience as well. Good foundation is never wasted .. and it's easier to get precision from the start if you can, rather than have to train it back in. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbedWire Posted March 27, 2016 Author Share Posted March 27, 2016 Bringing this thread up again. We have a club competition this Sunday and I have a few questions. How do judges score heeling patterns? Is it so many points for each turn, stand, change of pace etc or is it more general? With small dogs (mine is 6 kgs and tiny) is the handler allowed to come down to the dog's level at all (ie bending over or bending the knees) when giving hand signals? Someone once told me it was okay but I can't find it written down anywhere. Thanks for the helpful suggestions so far. TSD - I am reminding myself that I am doing it for me and my dog. Nothing else matters and I hope to enjoy it. And if we don't pass it is not the end of the world. It is just an opportunity to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 Great attitude sars! Another gem for you: when you are nervous your focus is on yourself....but where does your focus need to be? On your dog :) Remind yourself how awesome she is and think of all the things you love about her as you step into the ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 Great attitude sars! Another gem for you: when you are nervous your focus is on yourself....but where does your focus need to be? On your dog :) Remind yourself how awesome she is and think of all the things you love about her as you step into the ring. Not a judge ... perish the thought .....but in answer to your specific questions .. yes, you can give your signals down at the dog's eye level. And as for marking heeling, it's more a mater of deducting for errors .. although there are some specifics in the rule book .. such as failure to do a particular position at least once in a heeling round is an NQ. But different judges will score differently. I'd echo TSD's advice .. just try to engage with and focus on your dog, and be a great team mate. Oh, and practise walking straight lines and making nice angled turns .. really important with a small dog :D . Best wishes .. and whatever happens, make sure you write down the thing/s you were really happy with, as well as the things you need to work on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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