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