Which to do first?

fawnmolson · #1 01-01-2009, 06:59 PM

I have been working with my almost one year old boxer in general training and obedience. Now that we have progressed and he knows a bit more than just the basics I am looking to further our training. I have been working with a trainer at a petsmart and really like working with her but the problem is she is limited to what pet smart allows her to offer and there are never enough dogs for an "advanced" class so we have been doing private lessons with her. This works great but I want to also be working in an environment for what we want to do...I would love to get into agility and obedience work. As of right now we are not quite that far yet so I am thinking that we will start with novice rally and work towards obedience and by that time he should be finished growing and we can work on agility (that way its safe and our obedience is firm). My question is....how do I know when to go to an obedience event. I have signed up for classes at an obedience training club to see what they have to offer in a class setting but I really want to get out and start working in some events. Also is it complicated to keep rally and obedience separate at a single event (or should we do one event in rally and go to a different event for obedience?) Also, when do you decide to move up a class. I understand that for rally novice you just have to qualify three times to earn your RN, but do you wait until you are close to flawless and placing before you move up? Any help or direction would be great

thank you in advance.

dizzydogmom · #2 01-02-2009, 02:19 AM

It sounds like you've got a good idea of what you want to do already! I'd really recommend finding a good trainer who's got a few titles on a dog to take classes from. It's really invaluable to have someone around who can tell you what a judge will be looking for and how to fix any problems you might have.

How you find shows depends on what organization you want to show in. AKC, APDT, and UKC are the most common in my area. All three require that your dog be registered with them before you enter a show. You get registered by going to the website and filling out the appropriate form (if you're having trouble, I can dig the forms out of the websites for you-just let me know which one you want

). Once you're registered, you can find listings for shows on the websites as well. Then you just fill out the entry, send it in, and try not to panic until the show's over,

!

I know lots of dogs that do obedience and rally at the same time, myself included . . . er, Piper and Maus included? I personally use rally exercises as a way to prep for regular obedience, but rally is a lot of fun all on its own. I'm a little fuzzy on what you mean by your last question. Once you get your three qualifying scores (Q's), you can move up to the next level whenever you feel you're ready. As far as "when you're ready," well, that's up to you and your dog. I like to be 95% sure I'll Q before I enter because it costs money to show, but I also know people who will enter a dog in a show not expecting to Q just for the experience.

Hope that helps!

fawnmolson · #3 01-02-2009, 09:20 AM

Thank you for sharing...it sounds like we are on the right path. He is already registered AKC so we going that route. I've been looking around at trainers and training facilities, I'm sure I'll find one that suits us

IluvLucy · #4 01-06-2009, 08:55 PM

I would start with Rally and work through all 3 levels and then start obedience at the Novice level and work up from there. You can start Agility anytime after your dog is done growing. You can do Rally and Obedience at the same time and even do both at the same show, BUT, if you you have never shown before, I wouldn't recommend it. It can be a bit overwhelming and if you have schedule conflicts you can be rushing from one ring to another without time to prepare. I personally find it much easier to concentrate on one thing at a time. Just my two cents....

DiverDiva · #5 01-07-2009, 07:56 AM

It might help to go to some trials and watch. If you can position yourself near an experienced competitor and just listen to their comments, you can learn a lot. You can also volunteer to work at a trial. If you are a ring steward, you get a front row seat, which gives you a good opprtunity to watch and learn.

fawnmolson · #6 01-09-2009, 01:24 PM

That's a good idea to volunteer...I just started a new class at an obediance club that has some trials in the spring, maybe I'll try to see if they need help with that! Thanks for your ideas! I was worried about being overwhelmed doing both rally and obedience at the same show since I'm so green.