SaberTails
ISummer2015
www.pbgv.org
45
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
continuedonpage56