Yesterday Viva and I ventured back onto the AKC obedience floor for the first
time in 5 years, entering Rally Novice B in St. Louis, MO.

I was surprised, and very glad, that I didn't have a lot of pre-trial jitters
today. In fact, I had none. I did get nervous just before we went in the ring.
But the level of nervousness was about what we're used to for agility--an
acceptable level, not the oh-my-God-I'm-going-to-faint-or-throw-up-or-both kind.

I decided to hold my 4-foot leash by the loop and keep my left hand on my waist,
so I wouldn't tighten it inadvertently. I talked to Viva the whole time. Low
level stuff, telling her she was a good girl, using the chatter to dispel both
of our nerves. Near the end of our run, I noticed that my right hand had joined
my left on the leash and that both of them were creeping upward so I looked a
bit like a demented squirrel clutching a nut to my chest. Alright, a very LARGE
squirrel. I dropped my right hand off and did the last two stations with my left
hand in proper position and my right hand swinging. I was lucky, since my hand
was in the loop there had been a lot of belly in the slack so she was never on a
tight leash. Viva had a great time. Her ears were up and she was heeling like I
know she can heel.

Our Nov B class was huge. 73 were entered. Two NQ scores. Six dogs had 100
scores. Viva was one of the six. Viva had the fastest time of all the runs. I
hadn't been trying to rush but we were just really together. So first time in
the obedience ring in 5 years, first time in Rally, and a first place in a huge
class. Viva beat several OTCh dogs and several AKC obedience judges. I think I'm
a bit shell shocked. I didn't expect this, it wasn't one our our goals. Our goal
was to go have fun and be careful with the leash. It's Sunday morning now and
I'm still about 2 feet above the ground.

Some general Rally observances.

There is something really interesting about watching a huge class of dogs all
making the same run. When you can see 70+ dogs out there, one after the other,
you can really figure out where some of the big problems are. The biggest, by
far, was poor leash handling. I think a lot of us (and I'm one) do a lot of
offleash training. But Rally Novice is ALL on leash. A lot of people had 6 foot
leads and were bunching up parts of them in their hands. But the problem was
that you have to switch hands on several exercises. Today we had a schutzhund
turn (left about), a call front finish right (dog behind you again), and a call
front 1-2-3 steps back which also ended in a finish. A lot of people were
constantly fumbling with the leash, and with each time they had to switch a hand
the grip hand inched further up the line and it got tighter and tighter. People
who gathered the body of the leash in their right hand often made the beginner
mistake of letting their left hand "strum" down the line and used it as a guide.
You have a fair amount of freedom in Rally, you have 2 feet of room. But you
WILL be dinged for a tight leash! I think after watching today, I'd recommend
using a leash short enough that you can hold the loop and have the right amount
of slack. Be sure the leash has enough slack to allow for a loose leash within
the entire 2 foot area around you. The 6-foots are just too awkward for Novice
Rally.

The other thing I saw a lot was people just not doing the signs right. We had
both a call front, finish left HALT sign, and a call front, finish right HALT
sign. A lot of people forgot the halt in heel position. And probably the biggest
problem was the 1-2-3 steps back. A tremendous number of people did a 1-2-2
steps back. They forgot the 3rd step! Or they did 1-2-2.25 steps back, with the
third step being infinitessimally small. Several people did the spiral
wrong--starting out correctly then when they reached the end weaving back as if
it were a serpentine. And several people forgot the serpentine all together--you
had to turn left to get to it and several just sailed on by.

Back up there today! Same judge (Bill Oxendale). We were speculating on what
he'd make us do. I'm betting a spiral left (because he did spiral right
yesterday) and 1-2-3 steps forward.

Robin Nuttall & The Mo Dobe Crew
Viva, MX, MXJ, EAC, EJC, NGC, BH, CD, FFB, WAC
Cala, NA, NAJ, WAC, TT

Robin Nuttall said in rec.pets.dogs.activities:

Our Nov B class was huge. 73 were entered. Two NQ scores.
Six dogs had 100 scores. Viva was one of the six. Viva had
the fastest time of all the runs. I hadn't been trying to
rush but we were just really together. So first time in the
obedience ring in 5 years, first time in Rally, and a first
place in a huge class. Viva beat several OTCh dogs and
several AKC obedience judges.

Congratulations! I only know a little about Rally-O, but I know
enough to know that y'all done good - well, better than good.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

woo hoo
enjoy cloud nine while it lasts, Robin

nice synopsys of what went on as well!

congratulations!

kate


"Robin Nuttall" wrote in
message
...
Yesterday Viva and I ventured back onto the AKC
obedience floor for the first
time in 5 years, entering Rally Novice B in St.
Louis, MO.

I was surprised, and very glad, that I didn't
have a lot of pre-trial jitters
today. In fact, I had none. I did get nervous
just before we went in the ring.
But the level of nervousness was about what
we're used to for agility--an
acceptable level, not the
oh-my-God-I'm-going-to-faint-or-throw-up-or-both
kind.

I decided to hold my 4-foot leash by the loop
and keep my left hand on my waist,
so I wouldn't tighten it inadvertently. I talked
to Viva the whole time. Low
level stuff, telling her she was a good girl,
using the chatter to dispel both
of our nerves. Near the end of our run, I
noticed that my right hand had joined
my left on the leash and that both of them were
creeping upward so I looked a
bit like a demented squirrel clutching a nut to
my chest. Alright, a very LARGE
squirrel. I dropped my right hand off and did
the last two stations with my left
hand in proper position and my right hand
swinging. I was lucky, since my hand
was in the loop there had been a lot of belly in
the slack so she was never on a
tight leash. Viva had a great time. Her ears
were up and she was heeling like I
know she can heel.

Our Nov B class was huge. 73 were entered. Two
NQ scores. Six dogs had 100
scores. Viva was one of the six. Viva had the
fastest time of all the runs. I
hadn't been trying to rush but we were just
really together. So first time in
the obedience ring in 5 years, first time in
Rally, and a first place in a huge
class. Viva beat several OTCh dogs and several
AKC obedience judges. I think I'm
a bit shell shocked. I didn't expect this, it
wasn't one our our goals. Our goal
was to go have fun and be careful with the
leash. It's Sunday morning now and
I'm still about 2 feet above the ground.

Some general Rally observances.

There is something really interesting about
watching a huge class of dogs all
making the same run. When you can see 70+ dogs
out there, one after the other,
you can really figure out where some of the big
problems are. The biggest, by
far, was poor leash handling. I think a lot of
us (and I'm one) do a lot of
offleash training. But Rally Novice is ALL on
leash. A lot of people had 6 foot
leads and were bunching up parts of them in
their hands. But the problem was
that you have to switch hands on several
exercises. Today we had a schutzhund
turn (left about), a call front finish right
(dog behind you again), and a call
front 1-2-3 steps back which also ended in a
finish. A lot of people were
constantly fumbling with the leash, and with
each time they had to switch a hand
the grip hand inched further up the line and it
got tighter and tighter. People
who gathered the body of the leash in their
right hand often made the beginner
mistake of letting their left hand "strum" down
the line and used it as a guide.
You have a fair amount of freedom in Rally, you
have 2 feet of room. But you
WILL be dinged for a tight leash! I think after
watching today, I'd recommend
using a leash short enough that you can hold the
loop and have the right amount
of slack. Be sure the leash has enough slack to
allow for a loose leash within
the entire 2 foot area around you. The 6-foots
are just too awkward for Novice
Rally.

The other thing I saw a lot was people just not
doing the signs right. We had
both a call front, finish left HALT sign, and a
call front, finish right HALT
sign. A lot of people forgot the halt in heel
position. And probably the biggest
problem was the 1-2-3 steps back. A tremendous
number of people did a 1-2-2
steps back. They forgot the 3rd step! Or they
did 1-2-2.25 steps back, with the
third step being infinitessimally small. Several
people did the spiral
wrong--starting out correctly then when they
reached the end weaving back as if
it were a serpentine. And several people forgot
the serpentine all together--you
had to turn left to get to it and several just
sailed on by.

Back up there today! Same judge (Bill Oxendale).
We were speculating on what
he'd make us do. I'm betting a spiral left
(because he did spiral right
yesterday) and 1-2-3 steps forward.

Robin Nuttall & The Mo Dobe Crew
Viva, MX, MXJ, EAC, EJC, NGC, BH, CD, FFB, WAC
Cala, NA, NAJ, WAC, TT

"Robin Nuttall" wrote in message
...
I was surprised, and very glad, that I didn't have a lot of pre-trial
jitters
today. In fact, I had none. I did get nervous just before we went in the
ring.
But the level of nervousness was about what we're used to for agility--an
acceptable level, not the oh-my-God-I'm-going-to-faint-or-throw-up-or-both
kind.

You know, I don't get that in Rally either...but do if I enter Nov B (have a
few
times since getting his CD, just to work on heeling).

class. Viva beat several OTCh dogs and several AKC obedience judges. I
think I'm
a bit shell shocked. I didn't expect this, it wasn't one our our goals.
Our goal
was to go have fun and be careful with the leash. It's Sunday morning now
and
I'm still about 2 feet above the ground.

Very cool, Congrats to you AND Viva!
Pretty fun stuff, huh? :-) Bodhi earned two legs last weekend. It was a
lot
of fun, and the photos tell me that HE was having fun as well (many of them
show him with this big ol' grin on his face, and we look like a *team*, that
is important to me).

There were a few people in our class that didn't Q, and more in the
considerably
more difficult afternoon trial...mainly because of doing
a station incorrectly/missing it because I think they were rushing through
trying
to get a good time. I like Rally, it's fun and Bodhi has a good time
while
doing it, that's reason enough for me.
Shelly & The Boys (waiting on the blackbean in TX...)

On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 17:27:30 -0700, "Shelly & The Boys"
wrote:


"Robin Nuttall" wrote in message
.. .
I was surprised, and very glad, that I didn't have a lot of pre-trial
jitters
today. In fact, I had none. I did get nervous just before we went in the
ring.
But the level of nervousness was about what we're used to for agility--an
acceptable level, not the oh-my-God-I'm-going-to-faint-or-throw-up-or-both
kind.

You know, I don't get that in Rally either...but do if I enter Nov B (have a
few
times since getting his CD, just to work on heeling).

I had more nerves today than yesterday (see below).



Very cool, Congrats to you AND Viva!

You know, we just don't generally WIN stuff like this very often. I've had some
high placements from her in agility against some good competition, but generally
thanks to 20" dogs moving up into the 24" class, very few blues. And I still
like agility best. But yesterday was just special for both of us.

Pretty fun stuff, huh? :-) Bodhi earned two legs last weekend. It was a
lot
of fun, and the photos tell me that HE was having fun as well (many of them
show him with this big ol' grin on his face, and we look like a *team*, that
is important to me).

Exactly.


There were a few people in our class that didn't Q, and more in the
considerably
more difficult afternoon trial...mainly because of doing
a station incorrectly/missing it because I think they were rushing through
trying
to get a good time. I like Rally, it's fun and Bodhi has a good time
while
doing it, that's reason enough for me.

Me too! Today we got a 95. The judge was a lot tighter with his pencil (same
judge!), but also we had some stress issues going. If Viva is starting to get
stressy, the place she shows it is in sits. And today I was more stressed. Both
because I felt like there were a lot of audience expectations of us, and
because, frankly, I didn't feel very good. I've had some inner ear problems the
past few days and have been battling vertigo. It wasn't bad yesterday but a
problem today. And wouldn't you know we had a serpentine weave twice, a spiral
left dog inside (which makes me dizzy on the best of days) and three 270s. I
spent a lot of time trying to remember where to go and stay upright, so I ended
up talking AT my dog and not TO her.

So I had 4 slow/poor sits and one point for a tight lead. 3 of my 5 points off
were in the 1-2-3 steps forward. Two slow sits (the first sit was an eternity),
and on the final 3-steps forward I heeled forward, Viva didn't! So a momentary
tight leash. Other than that my leash handling was very good, but we weren't the
team we were yesterday. We still had some very nice moments and I was proud of
her. I may stay in Novice until we get at least a couple more 100 scores and I
feel like we've won the obedience nerve battle. And I do think it will happen, I
have confidence from agility.

Today there were only 2 100 scores, both well deserved, and a lady in my
schutzhund club won. So our schutzhund club dogs did good!

Robin Nuttall wrote:
So first time in
the obedience ring in 5 years, first time in Rally, and a first place in a huge
class. Viva beat several OTCh dogs and several AKC obedience judges.
Robin Nuttall & The Mo Dobe Crew
Viva, MX, MXJ, EAC, EJC, NGC, BH, CD, FFB, WAC
Cala, NA, NAJ, WAC, TT




Wow! Big congrats from me! You make it sound so interesting.... I have
done NO agility or rally, but I am now even more interested. Do you have
any pictures?

Rainy
--
I can take it, I can make it.
Like the man that you taught me to be. - Cindy Alexander
http://cindyalexander.com

On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 05:22:56 GMT, Raindrop wrote:

Robin Nuttall wrote:
So first time in
the obedience ring in 5 years, first time in Rally, and a first place in a huge
class. Viva beat several OTCh dogs and several AKC obedience judges.
Robin Nuttall & The Mo Dobe Crew
Viva, MX, MXJ, EAC, EJC, NGC, BH, CD, FFB, WAC
Cala, NA, NAJ, WAC, TT




Wow! Big congrats from me! You make it sound so interesting.... I have
done NO agility or rally, but I am now even more interested. Do you have
any pictures?

I think the best place to start for Rally is on the AKC website. Go to
www.akc.org, click on Events, then Rally. Rally is a sport where there are a
number of signs, which are made up into a course. Each dog heels to a station on
the course and does what the sign says before moving on. The best performance in
the shortest time wins (but you should not run on a Rally course.).

"Robin Nuttall" wrote in message
...
I was surprised, and very glad, that I didn't have a lot of pre-trial
jitters
today. In fact, I had none. I did get nervous just before we went in the
ring.
But the level of nervousness was about what we're used to for agility--an
acceptable level, not the oh-my-God-I'm-going-to-faint-or-throw-up-or-both
kind.

You know, I don't get that in Rally either...but do if I enter Nov B (have a
few
times since getting his CD, just to work on heeling).

class. Viva beat several OTCh dogs and several AKC obedience judges. I
think I'm
a bit shell shocked. I didn't expect this, it wasn't one our our goals.
Our goal
was to go have fun and be careful with the leash. It's Sunday morning now
and
I'm still about 2 feet above the ground.

Very cool, Congrats to you AND Viva!
Pretty fun stuff, huh? :-) Bodhi earned two legs last weekend. It was a
lot
of fun, and the photos tell me that HE was having fun as well (many of them
show him with this big ol' grin on his face, and we look like a *team*, that
is important to me).

There were a few people in our class that didn't Q, and more in the
considerably
more difficult afternoon trial...mainly because of doing
a station incorrectly/missing it because I think they were rushing through
trying
to get a good time. I like Rally, it's fun and Bodhi has a good time
while
doing it, that's reason enough for me.
Shelly & The Boys (waiting on the blackbean in TX...)