SaberTails

ISummer2015

www.pbgv.org

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was7.RallyChampionshiplevelrequiresqualifyinginboth
AdvancedandExcellentcoursesonthesameday,10times.
Tomysurpriseanddelight,Marcelachievedchampionship
levelwhenhewasalmost9attheMesaspecialtywithother
PBGVloverscheeringuson.I’mmentioninghowoldMarcel
waswhenheachievedcertainlevelstourgeyoutonotgive
uponyourdog.Theysometimeshaveadifferentagenda
thanyou,butwhenthestarsandthemoonlineup,they
canactperfectlyintheringandnotonlyqualifybutqualify
withahighscore.Theymaynotachieveachampionshipas
ayoungsterlikesomebiddabledogs,buttheyareperfectly
capableofdoingitifyouhavepatience.Whenitfinally
happens,youfeelagreatsenseofaccomplishmentbecause
youknowittookalotofperseveranceandlove.

RallyNovicedoesnotrequireastrictheelingposition,

andyoucantalktoyourdog,patyourlegandpraiseyour
dogtheentirewaythroughthecourse.PBGVsespecially
seemtorespondtoahappyvoicefromtheirhandler.
Asweknow,theyareoftenthinkingofwhatisgoingon
everywhereelseandplanningtheirnextmove.Praising
theirgoodbehaviororjustcallingtheirnamecangetthat
wanderingattentionbacktothejobonhand.

RallyNoviceislikeagame

thatinvolves10to15stations
thatmustbecompletedbythe
handleranddogwhilewalking
onalooseleash.Eachstation
hasasignthattellsyouwhat
youandyourdogneedtodo.
Youhaveamapofthecourse
and10minutesinwhichtowalk
thecoursewithoutyourdog.
Whenyouentertheringwith
yourdog,thecoursetakesless
thantwominutestocomplete.

100isaperfectscore,and70isrequiredtoqualify.I’ve

foundmydogsenjoyperformingateachstation.PBGVs
seemtolikethechallengeofcompletingthedifferenttasks
requiredinRally.Itisamuchmorelivelyactivitythan
regularobedience.

Iusepositivetrainingmethodswithfoodrewards.Before

beginningRallyObediencetraining,yourdogshouldbe
abletodobasiccommandssuchas“sit”and“down”and
respondtotheirname.Next,progresstoyourdogwalking
nexttoyouonalooseleash.Ikeepfoodinmyhandand
rewardmydogforwalkingnexttome.Astrictheeling
positionisnotrequiredinRally.

Thereareusuallytrainingclasseswhereyoucanlearn

howtodoRallyObedienceandpracticewithotherhandlers
andtheirdogs.Thishastheadvantageofyourdoggetting
usedtobeingaroundotherdogssowhenthetimecomesto
gointhering,yourdogwon’tbeintimidatedoroverly
excited.IfyouwanttolearntheRallyregulations,youcan
orderarulebookfromAKC.Mostoftheseregulationswill
becoveredinclasses,butitisusefultohaveyourowncopy.
Iftherearen’tRallyObediencetrainingclassesavailablein
yourarea,findakennelclubthathasgrouppractices.There

youcangethelpfromothers
whohaveexperiencewithRally.

Thereisplentyoftimeto

trainyourdogfortheRallyOB
trialtobeheldatthespecialty
inIndianapolisin2016.Join
thefunwithotherPBGVlovers.
Whoknows,Imightbebrave
enoughtoenterCapriceinthe
“offleash”Advancedlevel.
Rallyisoneofthebestwaysto
starttrainingyourdog.It’s
easierthanyouthink!

I

HuntTests101

byJudgesJoanBurkeandBruceToenjes

hefirstthingtoknowaboutaPBGVhunttestisitisfun
foryoubutevenmorefunforyourPBGV.Ifyouhavea

dogtitledinconformation,thenyourdogisbuiltjustright
tohunt.Ifyourdogexcelsatagility,thenyourdoghasthe
endurancetoovercomeanyobstacleonthehuntfield.If
yourdogisgreatatobedience,thenyouwillbeabletogive
yourdogcommandsonthefieldandhewillactuallylisten
whenyougivetherecallcommand(unlikeours,sometimes).
Butmoreimportantly,ifyouhaveaPBGVthatisamasterat
sniffingandatchasingpreyinthebackyard,thenyouhave
aPBGVwiththepotentialtobesuccessfulathunting!

Beforeyougetfreakedoutabouttheprospectofletting

yourPBGVloose,youneedtoknowthatallhunttestsare
conductedinFULLYFENCEDfieldswhererabbitsareraised
andprotectedfromoutsidepredators.NoPBGVhasever
beenlostonafieldorfailedtoreturntothegate.Wehave
beenknowntoloseahandlerortwothough,butthey
eventuallycomebacktothegate—thankstoGPSorthey
smelldinnercooking.

Thebestattitudetotaketoyourfirsthuntistojustenjoy

theexperiencewithyourPBGV.Thefunallbeginswiththe
HuntInstinctTest,or“HIT,”whichisa30minutewindow
whereweobservePBGVsnewtohuntteststoseeifthey
havethenaturalskillsandabilitiestohunt.

Newparticipantsoftenaskuswhatwelookforaswe

judgesotheycanlearnmoreaboutwhatshouldbe
happeningonthefield.TopassaHIT,thePBGVmustpass
sixofsevencriteria:endurance,useofnose,useofvoice,
pursuingability,searchingability,cooperationwithhandler
andwillingnesstogointocover.Asjudges,wedon’tjustcall
outacriteriaandaskyoutogetyourdogtodemonstrateit.
Instead,thedogsgooutingroups,or“runs,”oftwotofive
dogsatatimeandwewatcheachdogintherunoverthose
30minutestoseehowtheyconnectwiththeskills.Some
passontheirfirsttryandsometakeacoupleoftimes,but
mosthoundswillpasstheirHIT.Andcontrarytopopular
belief,dogscanpasstheHITiftheydon’tfindarabbit—
buttheydoneedtopasssixcriteria!

OnceadoghaspassestheHIT,itmovesontothe“hunt

test.”IfyourdogpassestheHITonthefirstdayofanevent,
itcanmoveuptothehunttestonthesecondday.Again,
dogsgooutinrunsofone(solo),two(brace)orthreetofive
(pack)dogs,butthistimetherunsare45to60minutes.
MostdogsthathaverecentlypassedtheHITgooutthenext
fewtimesinapacktogainexperience.Bracesandsolosare
usuallymoreexperienceddogsseekingmoreadvancedtitles.

Wescorethehunttestonapointsystem.Adogmust

getaminimumscoreoffiveout

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