1.It’sagreatwaytobondwithyourdog
2.It’sfunforbothyouandyourdog
3.Dogsenjoylearning
4.Dogsgetboredwhentheydon’thaveajob
5.Boreddogssometimesinventajobyoumaynotappreciate
6.Givesyouasenseofaccomplishmentwhenyouandyour

dogearnyourfirsttitle

7.PBGVsaresmarterthanyouthink
8.RallyisasportmadeforPBGVsbecauseyoucantalkto

themthroughoutthecourse

9.Perfectheelingisnotrequired!

10.RallyNoviceisdoneONLEASH!

Two-year-oldCapricegotherRallyObedienceNovicetitle

atthePBGVnationalinTucson.Threequalifyinglegsare
requiredtogettheRNtitle.ShegotonelegbeforeTucson
andthenqualifiedbothdaystocompletehertitle.Thereis
aspecialfeelingofaccomplishmentwhenyourdogearnsa
titleatnationalsurroundedbyotherPBGVsandtheir
owners.Foronething,everyoneknowswearenotworking
with“biddable”dogslikeGoldenRetrievers,thatlivetodo
whatyouask.No,ourhoundshavetobeconvincedthat
theywanttodowhatyouask,thatthereissomethinginit
forthem.I’vefoundPBGVstobeeasytotrainbecausethey

aresmart.Theylearnquickly,butaren’talwaysreadyand
willingtodowhatthey’velearnedwhenyouaskthemtodo
it.SometimesIthinktheyaretoointelligent.

TherearethreelevelsinRallyObedience:Novice,

AdvancedandExcellent.Noviceisdoneonleashwhile
AdvancedandExcellentaredoneoffleash.Oftendogseasily
passRallyNovicebecauseitisdoneonleashbutarenot
quitereadytoadvancetooff-leashuntiltheygetalittle
morematurity.

Marcelstarteddoingrallyobedienceat18months

becausehewasaverydestructivepuppyandIknewIhadto
channelhisenergy.Heneverhadthechancetoparticipate
inahunt,buthewasabornhunter.Beinga“bornhunter”
ontheRallyObediencecoursewasnotalwayshelpful.He
wouldwalkalongperfectly,thenhisnosewouldtwitch,his
headwouldgoupandhe’dlookouttothedistance,totally
oblivioustohiscurrentjob.Iquicklyfiguredoutthatdoing
Rallyongrasswithhimwasnotgoingtowork,sowefound
indoorcompetitions.Thatwasagooddecision.Hegothis
RallyNovicetitleatayoungagesincetheleashprevented
himfromleavingtofollowhisnose.GettingtheAdvanced
andExcellenttitlesweremoreofachallengesincetheyare
doneoffleash.HefinallygothisRallyExcellentwhenhe

Triathletecontinuedfrompage43studentsalloftheskills
neededtocompeteatmasterlevelbeforethestudentis
encouragedtocompeteatall.Therearedefiniteadvantages
todoingthis,butmanydogscouldcompetesuccessfullyon
novicecoursesbeforethemoreadvancedskillsareperfected.
ThereareseveraldifferentvenuesofferingAgilitytitlesinthe
UnitedStates,andtheequipmentisnotalwaysstandardized
betweenvenues,soyouwillwanttomakesurethatthe
equipmentyourdoglearnsonisthetypeusedatAKCevents.

BeforeenteringanAgilitytrial,youwillneedtohavea

goodideaofyourdog’sheightattheshoulder.Intheregular
Agilityclasses,PBGVs14inchesandunderjump12inches,
andthoseover14inchesjump16inches.Anyonehasthe
optionofenteringthePreferred
classes,wheredogsjumpfour
incheslessthantheirmeasured
jumpheightandareallowedan
extrafivesecondstocompletethe
course.Preferredisagoodoption
toconsiderforyourfirsttrial,
especiallyifyouthinkyourdog
mightbemorethan14inches.

TocountAgilitytowardsa

qualifyingscoreinthetriathlon,
youwouldneedtoqualifyin
eitherStandard,Jumperswith
WeavesorTime2Beat.Time2
Beatwouldbeamorechallenging
courseforaninexperienceddog
andhandlerteamwhoare
competingatthenovicelevel.

NoviceStandardwouldbeaflowingcoursewithsome

basicchallenges,suchasoneormoretimeswhenthehandler
needstochangesides.(Yes,thedogdoeshavetoworkon
boththeleftandrightsideofthehandlerinAgility.)The
coursetimeinNoviceStandardisverygenerousanddogs
canmakesomemistakes,includingrunningpastanobstacle

ortakingawrongcourse,andstillqualifyiftheysuccessfully
completealloftheobstaclesanddon’tincurtoomany
faults.AStandardcourseincludesallofthecontactobstacles:
A-frame,dogwalk,teeter;apausetable,tunnels,achute,six
weavepoles,andavarietyofjumpsincludingthetireand
broadjump.Knockingdownabar,notcompletingevery
obstacleormissingacontactzonewouldresultinanon-
qualifyingscoreinStandard.InNovice,refusalsarenot
countedattheweavepoles,butyouareonlyallowedthree
triestocompleteallsixofthepolesinsuccession.

NoviceJumperswithWeavesmightbeaneasieroption

foradognewtoAgility.Onlyjumps,sixweavepolesand
possiblytunnelsareincludedinJumperssoitisn’tnecessary

tohavemasteredalltheobstacles
toenterthisclass.Thecourse
willbealittlemoretechnically
challengingthanStandardand
lesstimewillbeallowedto
completeit,butadogcanstill
qualifywithuptotworefusals
andsometimefaults.Knockinga
jumpbar,goingoffcourseornot
completingalloftheobstacles
wouldresultinanon-qualifying
scoreinJumpers.

Time2BeatisanAgilitygame

thatnormallyisarelatively
flowingcoursewithchallenges
similartothoseseenattheOpen
level.T2Bcoursescaninclude
jumps,tunnels,12weavepoles,

anA-frameandateeter.Refusalsarenotfaulted,butfailing
tocompleteallobstacles,knockingbars,missingcontact
zones,goingoffcourseorexceedingtheallowedcourse
timeof60secondswouldresultinanon-qualifyingscore.

Hopetoseeyouandyourwell-educated,athleticPBGV

inIndianapolisnextyear!

I

44

www.pbgv.org

Summer2015

ISaberTails

Top10ReasonstodoRallyNoviceObedience

byJulietFranzen