Open obedience class!

[mjbgsd]

Yay I'm finally am going to an Open class! I've never had to go to any type of obedience class except for this. I've been trying for the past year to get in as this class is VERY popular and the people who are in it have multiple dogs and they don't want to leave for fear they wont get back in. Well, I got an email saying there was an opening and that she was saving it for us. How nice. I'm so excited! Isa knows everything except the jumps since I don't have any to practice with as they are to expensive to buy and I'm too lazy to make them, though we're eventually going to buy a set. We start in July and end in late August so hopefully soon I'll be getting her CDX title!

On a side note, what is the difference of Open A and B? I understood that A was for people who have never titled a dog in anything but how can people be in Open A if their dog was titled in CD? Or does Open A mean you've never titled in Open but you have in Novice? I'm so confused... Also, Isa stands 24.9'' and I looked on the height chart and it says she jumps 18'' but I heard you have to add 2'' to that, then why would they say this height to this height jumps this height? Why not already add the 2''?

[BlackPuppy]

A is if the dog doesn't have a CDX, is owner handled and the owner hasn't titled or trained an OTCH.

Great news! I'm still wondering if I can do a CD.

[mjbgsd]

OOOOooooh, so I could do Open A with Isa? She's always been in B for Rally and had to go in B for her CD title since I was told that... They need to make these clearer.


You should do a CD!

[Elaine]

Any dog that doesn't have a CDX can compete in Open A and then can continue in A for 60 days after the completion of the title. After that point, you have to go in B.

Dogs that compete in Nov A all have handlers that have never gotten a CD on a dog before.

[Kayos and Havoc]

Yep Isa can compete in Open A and Utility A if you get that far.

[mjbgsd]

Oh ok, that makes sence now.
Kathy, I don't know if I'll get to Utility with Isa as she's not the fastest learner... But, we'll see. How you liking your new home?

[Deejays_Owner]

We don't have a Utility A & B, only Utility.
And if a handler has gotten a dog through UD previously, you must enter in B class for CD & CDX.

If you ever want to come up here for more titles
With a dog CD or higher in the AKC, you can not enter in A, you will have to go to B class for a CKC CD.

[selzer]

Arwen had her RN, when I went for her CD. I was able to do Novice A for her CD. If I do Babsy or Rushie, I will have to do Novice B for them for the CD.

I think I can still to RA in A, but with the CD, I may not be able to do RA with Arwen, but can with the other dogs.

It is confusing.

Since Rally is an entry way for obedience and Agilty, you cannot have an obedience title on your dog and still be in Rally Novice A, but you CAN have an agility title I think. But for obedience you can have an RN and still go Novice A for your CD.

[IliamnasQuest]

Open is great fun - doing the structured retrieves and jumps is a blast. The hardest thing for ME is the out-of-sight stays .. *L* .. I had a dog (years back) who developed a stay problem and it took a year to work through it (we NQ'd 11 times one year because she kept laying down on the sit-stay, and I was too dumb to pull her out and work on the problem instead of continuing to enter her .. lesson learned!). So now I'm always nervous on the open stays. Never have worried about the novice stays, they're easy, but three minutes for a sit and five minutes for a down while you're out of sight is an ETERNITY .. *LOL*

There are only two things that really affect you as to whether or not you can show in the A or B classes in regular obedience. You can only be in Novice A if you've never earned an obedience title. But you can earn titles in Open A and Utility A forever as long as you don't earn an OTCH. Once you're at that level you're expected to stay in the B classes.

In rally, if YOU or the dog have earned a regular obedience title you have to enter Novice B, but if the DOG hasn't earned a regular obedience title you can show in Advanced A and Excellent A. Trick had to go into the B classes as she had her CD. Khana showed in Nov B and then Adv A and Exc A.

As far as the jump heights go - for regular obedience I think it's shoulder heighth, or the closest 2" interval to that heighth. Maybe they've changed it. Rally is a low jump, and agility jump heighths are different, but regular obedience has been shoulder heighth for some time. When I first started trialing, my dogs had to jump 1 1/4 times their heighth (before that it was 1 1/2 times). Dogs were expected to be more athletic back then. My first GSD jumped 36" in the high jump and 72" for the broad jump.

OKAY - had to look it up, bothers me when I'm not sure I'm giving accurate information! *L* According to the online AKC obedience regulations, a dog that is "greater than 23 up to 25 inches" must jump 24 inches for the high jump (double that for the broad jump). Some breeds are allowed to jump 3/4 of their shoulder heighth, but the GSD isn't one of them (and shouldn't be!).

You can check out the regs at http://www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/RO2999.pdf

Melanie and the gang in Alaska
.. by the way, the dog that had the sit-stay problem .. she went on to qualify 15 times in Open, all with placings in all-breed trials (including seven firsts and three seconds, against golden retrievers, border collies, shelties, labs, etc., with almost all scores in the mid to upper 190's) - and she was my first CHOW! Great dog, rescued as a puppy and was only going to stay with me until we found her a home .. she died a year ago at the age of 16 1/2 .. I miss my little Kylee Cub very much.

[mjbgsd]

Quote:If you ever want to come up here for more titles

I might take you up on that offer. Canada is beautiful! I miss going up there.

Melanie, I've never had problems with Isa's out of site stays which is good cause I don't have to worry about her, lol.