First Novice Obedience Trial Coming Up, Any Tips?

[BlackPuppy]

Balto is working on finishing his Rally Excellent, and I decided to sign up for Novice Obedience. We have our first NO trial a week from Sunday.

I've been going to a drop-in class designed to prepare for Novice, and I've learned a ton.

Anybody have any tips they can give me based on their own experience and observations at shows?

One thing I was told, and I didn't even know it, when I called my dog, I was flapping my hands on my hips.

[Kayos and Havoc]

Remember to breathe!

Watch your handling - like the flapping arms. It can be considered an additional signal to the dog and will be marked off accordingly. Practice on your handling before the show so Balto is accustomed to it and he is not surprised in the ring.

Most judges are very understanding of new handlers and will give you a break on some handling. They will tell you at the end about it but consider it a help to improve because that is what it is. There is also a walk through and familiarization for new handlers- take advantage of it. You will feel more relaxed and both you and Balto will do better.

Good luck!

[Kayla's Dad]

Originally Posted By: KathyWRemember to breathe!

Watch your handling - like the flapping arms. It can be considered an additional signal to the dog and will be marked off accordingly. Practice on your handling before the show so Balto is accustomed to it and he is not surprised in the ring.

Most judges are very understanding of new handlers and will give you a break on some handling. They will tell you at the end about it but consider it a help to improve because that is what it is. There is also a walk through and familiarization for new handlers- take advantage of it. You will feel more relaxed and both you and Balto will do better.

Good luck!

First off let's repeat what Kathy said. Those are important points.

You want to determine how you will stand (still!) and your arm/hand placement in the groups sits and downs-they will seem to last many times longer than reality and you want to be as still as possible. I like to have my hands crossed in front of me (hand over wrist) vs the hands at the side position as it the most relaxed position for me. The judge will (should) be looking at both the dogs and handlers in the group exercises so you want to maintain "stillness" during this period. I once had a cap on and a spider started to dangle down and swing from the brim right at eye level. That was the worst "distraction test" for me during a group down. My eyes went from maintaining focus with Kayla to following that little bugger swinging around.

The switch from Rally to Obedience means removing all the "interaction" that you are allowed and encouraged on in Rally from the Obedience routines. I wasn't even thinking about obedience when I started with Kayla but added it before we completed Rally Advanced and found when I started obedience that removing ALL of that interaction and movement the biggest challenge. Small head movements during the recalls, maintaining one hand in position during heeling, etc.

If you're not the first one in the ring, watch one or two more to get the feel of the judge, not the handlers and dogs preceding you. Take full advantage of the walk through. Ask questions and listen the questions from the others and the judge's responses.

Relax and breathe, relax and breathe, relax and breathe....

[ShatteringGlass]

A mistake I've seen a lot of people do in Novice A is tight leash. Give yourself a lot of slack in the leash or you can loose a lot of points.

[selzer]

When we train the recall in rally, we train with a treat and the dog comes right to the waist.

In obedience, hands must be at your side when you recall the dog. Some obedience people teach the dog to comefront first using the treat at waise level or a little higher and then they move the treat to their mouthes and spit when the dog is properly postiontioned. I will have to do this with Rushie, because he is hopeless at coming front if my hands are not there to focus on.

With Arwen, I forgot about it the first time, remembered when she was most of the way to me and quickly put my hand in the right position. She did not sit in front and went right into the finish. I was marked off, but not NQd. The next two times I fudged it up as well, but not enough to knock me out.

I had just an RN on Arwen and took first place on each of her CD legs. With an RE, I think that you should be fine. Stand for exam might be interesting. Be sure to tell your dog to stay while you are in heel position, and then not let your dog release until you are in heel position again.

Most importantly listen to the judge. I really liked the obedience judges. They were very nice and helpful, asked if I had any questions, etc. Yes, they NQ'd all the competition, but they all made errors that required the NQ. They are not out to NQ people.

[mjbgsd]

Watch out for making additional signals to the dog. I've seen a lot of people use their arms/hands and didn't even know it.
Always remember to wait for the judge and do not lead your dog by the collar, I got yelled at for that once when it was around my first time in Obedience. Not fun.
However you leave on the stays, come back the same way. Ie where your arms are placed.

[Kayla's Dad]

Originally Posted By: mjbgsdAlways remember to wait for the judge and do not lead your dog by the collar, I got yelled at for that once when it was around my first time in Obedience. Not fun.

Okay, this is one you may want to ask your judge about during the walkthrough-whether you plan at first to guide by hand or not. You actually should be able to lead (no pulling!) your dog by the collar between exercises after you remove the leash. And sometimes especially in the novice rings even though you think you don't want to, it may not be a bad idea-there can be a lot of nervous energy around that ring if the other participants are nearby.

From the obedience regulations (Chapter 2, Sec 23):

Section 23. Handling Between Exercises. In the Novice class, the
dog may be guided gently by the collar between exercises. No other
physical guidance is permitted and, if used, must receive minor or substantial penalties, depending on the circumstances.

And while I'm at it, Section 22 regarding praising your dog:

Section 22. Praise. Praise and petting are allowed between and after exercises, but points will be deducted from the total score for a dog that is not under reasonable control while being praised. There will be a substantial penalty for any dog that is picked up or carried at any time in the obedience ring.

The issue would be this is one of those subjective areas and each judge will have his idea of "guided gently" is. So if you think you might want to guide your dog at this point, you may want to ask the judge what their intrepretation of this rule is.

If you have not already done so, download the regulations and read the sections for novice (including Chapter 2) <u>AKC Regulations</u>

[IliamnasQuest]

I really encourage you to read the rules and then re-read them, and then come here and ask any questions needed to clarify. It's really not difficult, just kind of confusing when you're first starting out.

Most novice handlers get dinged for tight leashes and extra cues (like flapping your hands, etc.). Even dropping your head can be an extra cue. Use your smile a lot and keep your commands happy even when you get stressed. If you lose your dog on the off-leash heeling, go ahead and give a second "heel" command. You'll lose points but shouldn't NQ, and it's worth it to get your dog back to you. If your dog starts getting stressed, then he needs that extra command to help him understand what you want.

Always keep in mind that this is just a game, not something life-threatening, and try to keep it fun even through your own stress. I'd rather see a dog/handler out there having fun and NQ, then a dog that slinks around fearfully while qualifying. Too many people make competition serious and in all honesty you're probably more likely to qualify if you keep it lighter.

And maybe challenge yourself with your scores - don't worry about anyone else's scores, don't worry about placings (placings mean NOTHING unless you have a high score and tough competition - anyone can get a placing in the right circumstances - heck, I think all of my UD legs on the two UD dogs were first places, but only 1 or 2 dogs qualified each time .. *L*). Simply go out and try for the best score you can get on THAT day, and the next time see if you can get a little better score. But don't let the scores intimidate you - you're just starting out in novice, your dog is new to it, and the biggest hurdle will be to learn to enjoy it and keep it as low-stress as possible).

I really like novice, because it is (to me) truly a test of the obedience that every dog should know - how to walk properly on leash, coming when called, holding still in a stand, and staying in place in a sit and down. I've always thought that every dog should be able to pass a CD, although I have had dogs that would have been difficult to get through the competition (mostly due to stress issues).

Melanie and the gang in Alaska

[mjbgsd]

Quote:Okay, this is one you may want to ask your judge about during the walkthrough...

I've read the rules many times over and whenever I was in Novice with Cody, the judges would ALWAYS tell me to never lead by the collar... Yet when I was with Isa in Novice (after Cody), all the judges said it was fine but I never did since in Open you can't lead. I guess it depends on the judge and if they're in a happy mood that day, lol.

About the praise thing. My very first Novice leg with Cody I praised so much that the judge had to tell me to stop. Thank goodness though she didn't dock any points as it was my first time ever in any AKC thing. Though we got 1st place all 3 days with 22 dogs there each day and each day we got around 195.

I'm sure you'll do fine.

[Kayos and Havoc]

Although the regs say you can GENTLY GUIDE by the collar, most people tend to pull on it and that is scorable. I don't put my dog in the ring until I can expect them to move with me on verbal cues between exercises. I use my hand as a target and cue the dog, wuth a happy "let's go do a recall!!" as I move briskly to the recall station. If you dawdle you will lose your dog. Alwasy move a good brisk pace in the ring it keeps the dog's focus much better.

And as Melanie says give the extra command if you have to to save the Q. If you do it twice you are most likely going to NQ but some judges are more lenient than others on that too.