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 Quote: Jaylene Ramsell

hi there, I am a newbie to this site. I was really quite happy to read this post (in a good way!). I have a 6yro rottie who I am starting out in rally-o (rally obedience). While she is still able to learn things no worries, she is a bit lazy and gets bored and loses concentration quickly. She is very food motivated which is good. So just reading these posts have given me ideas for training and shows.

Just wondering, at competitions, is it best to leave her in the car until it is almost time to go into the ring ( time for a toilet and quick warm up) Obviously once I arrive I will let her out for toilet, get my number and all that, should I then put her away so she isn't standing around getting bored? Sorry for all the questions !

Hi Jaylene,

Every dog is different. Some are more "up" if you just take them out of the crate and into the ring and some need time to get out and see the ring etc. It sounds like your dog is pretty laid back - I would try in training pulling her straight out of the crate (in an area not her normal training area) and have a course ready to go so that you can immediately run her through. I would then attempt on another day having a course set up in an area that either involves other people training or activity and hang out for awhile before attempting to do the course. See which way is better for your girl :-)

Frost, my young girl, is a dog that I take out of the crate moments before entering the ring. Whereas Sinjin, my youngish male, I need to have out with me to wear some of his energy down before entering the ring :-)

Welcome to the board, Jaylene! Rally is a great way to get started in canine performance events. It's fun, fairly easy to learn (though the maneuvers required can be challenging!), and not too physically taxing on a dog. I compete in Rally, though I don't think there are too many others on the board who do.

Addressing your question of how to warm up your dog when you arrive at a competition, I really believe it depends on the individual dog. There is no one right answer. Some dogs arrive at the trial grounds in a state of excitement and some arrive with a more mellow or even bored attitude. Either type of dog will benefit from at least being walked around the grounds to become comfortable with the surroundings, but you have to know your own dog well enough to know how much of a warm-up is helpful, while at the same time, not getting the dog too bored or too hyped up. It's a balancing act and you will get better at it as you get a few trials under your belt.

The members of this board compete in a wide variety of dog sports, including Schutzhund, tracking, herding, AKC style obedience, agility, etc. I'm fairly new to the whole world of actually competing with my dogs, so I'm just sharing what I've learned in a short period of time, but I hope others with more experience will offer some advice. I think the whole idea of the pre-trial routine and warming up your dog when you arrive at a competition crosses the borders of the various styles of competition we do, and it would be helpful to hear from others regardless of competition type.

eta: Ingrid and I were typing at the same time. She's one of the people I was hoping would respond.

hi there, thanks so much for helping me and also starting this thread ! Yep Jess is a laid back girl, pretty chilled.

Again I appreciate your advice and I will definitly do as suggested !

I hope you enjoy competing in rally. I have found it to be quite addicting.

I'm also just starting in Rally O, and am not sure what to do. In the conformation ring, I want my dog to be very up and lively, so I limit her exposure and exercise (and food) before she goes in, but I'm thinking I need her quite a bit calmer for Rally. I know she needs lots of time to get desensitized to the distractions at a show before she will offer any kind of focus.

Do most folks have their dogs hungry for a trial?

Still trying to work out the best routine for her first trials in three weeks!

I just completed my UR01 (UKC Rally Level 1) with my 15 month old (at the time) German Shepherd, Ironhide. Here is what I did:

20 minute off leash run in the morning.

I kept her in her crate, in the truck until 3 people before me - so about 10 minutes. I then took her out, told her to "go to the bathroom", so she pees ( I make sure she has pooped that morning and no food that morning). I grab a pocket full of treats and head to the ring. Outside the ring, while the other dogs are working, I work her in her "fun" commands until it is my turn. I make sure to use all the treats up before entering the ring - but she doesn't know that. I keep a stash of treats on my chair outside the ring and as soon as we complete, I run her to my chair for a jackpot.

Between my morning and afternoon run on the first day, I brought her for an afternoon 20 minute off leash run.

So then I go into the ring and pretend it is a training session but keep my "serious" cap on. Talk to your dog and really let them know when they are doing something right. You can pat, do a little clap and talk to your dog the whole time.

KNOW YOUR SIGNS before you get there. This was the biggest thing I saw go wrong, people didn't know what the sign was asking. You can usually print all the signs and rules off for free at the club website.

So what my "technique" earned us was three 1st place ribbons, we got first in each of our three trials in B division as well as high in trial (for the level 1's) with a 98 on our final run.

Oh and HAVE FUN! I found that I overworried about doing the Rally trial and once I had done my first run, it was way easier to relax and have fun with it. I had completely psyched myself out for nothing!

Wow, thank you for the detailed run down! Exactly what I wanted to know. I'll probably try something similar.
Do you have a lot of trials up there in the Yukon? Do you ever come down to BC or Vancouver Is. to trial?

We compete in indian version of the AKC trials and as Niomi said, relaxing seems to be the best thing to do. This time I took my dogs in to the waiting ring and gave them soothing massages till they almost fell asleep. This happened while there were 10 other strange dogs around yapping and tugging.

It was just as relaxing to me as it was for the dogs

Of course, the big difference is that you can take food into the conformation ring with you but not into the obedience ring. So a hungry dog is definitely an advantage in conformation, but I'm not so sure about obedience.

I think this is another situation where you have to know your dog and what works best for them. Personally, I don't withold meals on trial day but I might rearrange the feeding schedule depending on my class time. I want at least a couple hours between a meal and going in the ring.

Good luck at your trial, Cindy!