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RALLY HELP! I just had a horrible Rally vision...

2K views 17 replies 13 participants last post by  Mama3tikes 
#1 ·
OK...

I was just playing out tomorrow in my head. Angus and I walk up to the ring gate. He is perfectly at heel, looking up into my eyes. The judge tells us to move forward, and Angus bolts to the end of the leash to sniff up this brand new ring that he has never been in before.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Or, there is a piece of fuzz on the floor. Or dog pee. Or a piece of tape.

He lunges to the end of the leash. I have lost him.

What now?

Is it "legal" to give Angus a little "pay attention" pop right before we go into the ring?

If he is at the end of the leash and I cannot call get hiim back without physical force, what then? Should I correct? Or do I just put my tail between my legs and slink out of the ring?

Oh man, I am really freaking out now...I was all happy thoughts until just about five minutes ago, when I started envisioning all the dark things that could happen. I am sitting here all quivery now. :-[
 
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#3 ·
You are saying that I cannot pop him at all, not before we go in even?

I'm hyperventilating... :D
 
#5 ·
Breathe and remember it's suppose to be fun for you and your dog..No corrections anywhere on the show grounds...Remember in Rally you can use alot of body language to get your dog back to you...make a circle with him so that he has to follow you around to get him back in heel position.
 
#6 ·
Ok coming from years of psychotherapy; you must envision a perfect run!!!  Now that Labby has given you your answer stop thinking of everything that can go wrong and think of the perfect weekend that you and Angus will have.  And every night think again of the next day and how that next day will have a perfect run and how you will make it a perfect run. THINK POSITIVE!!
THINK POSITIVE
 
#7 ·
OK, OK, positive positive. I will try!

Here is me right now: :-\ ;D :-[ :'( ??? :D
 
#8 ·
Oh and just so everyone knows (which most people do, I think), I am not well-known for my frequent, harsh corrections. :D In fact, I get called out for NOT correcting on a fairly regular basis, so it's not that I think I'm going to instinctively correct and then be like "Oops, forgot." :p

I was just having these visions of Angus pulling a total monkey-palooza on me...
 
#12 ·
You are going to be fine.

You can pop him before you go in the ring (make sure you are back at least 6' from the entrance though) but I'd be careful how hard and who sees it. A simple attention pop is OK where as a yank is not and could be considered abuse by some and there are always those people around who make everyone else's business THEIR business. ;)

You can pop in the ring too but you are going to lose major points every time you do and if it's a hard pop or more than one you may even be excused. It's a risk you have to weigh. Is the correction more important than the run? Honestly, sometimes it is.

Remember that you will not be penalized until the dog is out of position by enough to be scored 1 pt (no 1/2 pts in Rally). This is a pretty big leeway (forged, lagged, or wide). Your main goal should be to ensure that the leash is not tight (the snap on the lead should be pointing down at all times) as this is where many points are lost.

You can use your voice and hands the entire time so keep the chatter up if necessary to keep his attention. Don't forget to use key words like "cookie" if you have to in order to keep his attention. Basically anything goes as long as you are not abusive.

You really shouldn't need to pop him but if you do, just weigh the cost/benefit. I wouldn't pop for a small infraction because the small infraction was probably only a pt at most whereas the pop is going to be 5-10.
 
#13 ·
Indeed, you can pop him before you go into the ring. (No aggressive pops and punishment though). When I show my dogs I always try to "engage" them before our turn in the ring. By this I mean that when the dog before me is in there working I am NOT standing at the gate waiting. Use that time to WORK your dog and get him up and excited. Space will be limited, but most people clear away from the gate because they know people DO work their dogs. Do lots of little "watch me's" and short heel, about turn. Get Angus up and ready.

If you stand idly by the gate and enter with your dog not engaged it really shows. Look like the BEST TEAM as you enter!!!

Good luck. I know you will have fun. Breathe, Smile, and don't worry.
 
#14 ·
Connie, BREATHE!! :)

This is from Canuck rally experience, not AKC, but I imagine similar rules...

We're not allowed leash corrections in the ring, or raised/stern voices... no "uh uh!"s etc.

Someone here taught me to visualize where Henery's leash clips onto his collar as a "J"... ie. loose. We get docked points for tight leash (yes, one tends to hang on with a death grip when nervous!! LOL!), and a consistently tight leash will NQ you.

So breathe... relax. Angus will relax when he realizes that you are.

Do focus exercises before you go in the ring. Make sure Angus is engaged!!

Are you competing with food? (Are you allowed to compete with food in AKC? We are here, so long as the food is given at the completion of the exercise, not used as a lure, and does not impede flow). This is what I do with Henery... with my pockets loaded with steak and hotdogs and cheese, stuff he normally doesn't get, we do watch me! over and over right before we go in.

You can talk to him the whole time. Make silly noises, slap your leg! Praise him!

Other tips (from experience!!): count out loud (very useful in 1,2,3 steps forward!), for turns (270s and 360s), squeeze your R fist for R turns, L for L turns (will prevent you from turning the wrong way).

Most importantly, breathe! Have fun! And think positive!! You and Angus will kick @ss tomorrow!!! ;D
 
#15 ·
Lydia, Linda, Felicia...THANK YOU! This is all great advice! Thank you thank you thank you! Just what I needed. :)

I don't have really fierce pops, but I will be very careful about when, where and why. It makes sense to me that sometimes they may need a correction, even at the sacrifice of the run. Let's hope it doesn't come to that! But it's good to know I won't necessarily be tarred and feathered if it does. :p

We are off to practice at the club right now. Then we come home and pack and go through our checklist.

Oh wow. You guys are just the best. I really appreciate all the support! :-* :D
 
#16 ·
Remember in Rally you can and should talk to your dog. As soon as the judge says forward, begin talking to him. Watch me, good boy, stay with me, that's a good boy etc, etc, etc. If you get his attention on you and keep it there, he will be less likely to get ahead of you. Now in regular obedience it's a different story...... Relax, enjoy.......and remember.....It is physically impossible to die of embarrassment....so relax and have a great time....and remember to breathe.
 
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