hePBGVCAunderstandsthatitsnationalspecialtiesare
aboutmorethanjustconformation.Soinaneffortto
showthenaturalabilitiesandversatilityofourbreed,

PBGVCAwillbeofferinganewTriathleteAward.The
inauguraltriathlonwilltakeplaceatthe2016nationalto
beheldinIndianapolisthelastweekofApril.

TherewillbetwolevelsofTriathleteAwardsavailable:

BeginnerTriathleteandTriathlete.Toqualifyforthe
BeginnerTriathleteAward,yourPBGVmustenterthree
differentperformanceorcompanionevents(agility,hunt,
obedience,rally)andqualifyinatleasttwoofthem.Forthe
TriathleteAward,yourPBGVmustqualifyinthreedifferent
performanceorcompanionevents.Qscanbeearnedduring
regionalornationalevents.

PBGVCAishopingthisnewawardwillhelptoencourage

moreownersofthiswonderful,versatilebreedtostartto
enjoyworkingandtrainingPBGVs.Whatistheleastthat
couldhappen?YouandyourPBGVformacloserbondand
thetwoofyouhavefundoingsomethingdifferenttogether.
Howgreatwouldthatbe?SoifyouhaveaPBGVthatneeds
ajob,isbored,anolderdogwhowouldenjoybeingthe
focusofyourattentionagain,whynotgivetheTriathlon
atry.CheckouttheTriathlonarticlesonagility,hunting,
obedienceandrallythatfollowtoseehowtheexpertsdoit.

Triathlete(minimumlevelorhigher)mustqualifyin

threefromthesedisciplines:Agility(NoviceStandard,Novice
JumpersandT2B),Hunt(RegularHuntTest),Obedience
(Novice,Open,UtilityorVeterans[age7orhigherandmustscore
170orhigherforVeteranstocount])andRally(Novice).

BeginnerTriathlete(minimumlevelorhigher)must

qualifyintwofromthesedisciplines:Agility(Novice
Standard,NoviceJumpers),Hunt(HuntingInstinctTest),
Obedience(BeginnerNovice)andRally(Novice).

IfyourdogonlyQsintwodifferentevents(you

mustenterthree)nomatterthelevel,yourawardwillbe
BeginnerTriathlete.

IfoneofyourQsisfromtheHuntingInstinctor

BeginnerNoviceOB,yourawardwillbeBeginnerTriathlete.

Youmayonlycompeteineventsyourdogiseligible

forunderAKCrules.

Neutered/spayedPBGVsareeligibletocompete.
ILP/PALPBGVsareeligibletocompete.
Onlyscoresfromtheregionalandnationalwillcount.
YoumustdeclareyouarecompetingforaTriathlete

awardandlisttheeventsyouwillbecompetinginonthe
officialforminthepremiumlistbytheclosingdateforthe
regionalandnational.

Questions?AskVickieWillmannattvlwill@aol.com

or(765)998-2543.

AgilityforTriathletes

byMeganEsherick

oyouhaveasmart,athleticPBGVwhocouldparticipate
inthenewTriathletecompetition?Oneofthemost

excitingactivitiesinthetriathlonwillbethespecialty’s
Agilitytrial,whichwillbeheldinasecureindoorareaon
artificialturf.MyPBGVshaveletmeknowthatthisistheir
favoritetypeofrunningsurface,oftenresultinginfasterand
lessdistractedrunsthanwhentheycompeteongrassordirt.

IfyouthinkthatyoumightwanttotryAgilityatnext

year’sshow,don’twait;nowisthetimetostartpreparing.
PriortobeginningseriousAgilitytraining,aPBGVshould
bephysicallymature,structurallysound,ingoodoverall
conditionandweight.Youmaywanttoworkongettingin
shapealongwithyourdogbecauseAgilityisateamsport
andyouwillneedtobewillingandabletorunquicklyand
makefrequentturns,too.

Ifyouhaven’tdoneanyobediencetrainingwithyour

dog,thismaybeaprerequisitetotakinganAgilityclass.
Evenifyoudon’thavetodoobediencefirsttojoinan
Agilityclass,itwouldbebeneficialtobegintrainingreliable
staysandaverystrongrecall—youwillneedthoseskillsfor
theothertriathlonevents.Trytofindatrainerwhoutilizes
primarilypositive-reinforcement-basedtrainingmethods
andwhoiscomfortableusingfoodasarewardratherthan
toys.TeachingyourPBGVtoplaytuganyplaceandany
timeisrequiredbysomeinstructorstobeginAgilitytraining.
Ifso,youmaywanttofindadifferentclassoritcouldtake
yearsbeforeyourdogseeshisfirstobstacle.MostPBGVsare
happytoworkforfoodtreats,andwithsomecreativityit’s
possibletotraintoahighlevelwithoutrelyingontoy
rewards.Youmaywanttoseethefacilitywheretheclasses
willbeheldbeforesigningup.Anoutdoorclassinan
unfencedareamaynotbethesafestoptionforyourPBGV,
andevenadirtfloorinabarnwilllikelyresultinamore
distractinglearningspacethanacleanerindoorspace.Ifyou
don’tfeelcomfortablewiththelevelofsecuritytheclass
provides,itwillbehardtogiveyourfullattentiontoyourdog.

Ifcompetingatnextyear’snationalisagoal,youshould

communicatethistoyourinstructor.ManyAgilitytraining
programswillfocusonteaching

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www.pbgv.org

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ITheVersatilePBGV

byVickieWillmann

NewTriathleteand

BeginnerTriathlete

CompetitionforPBGVs