Tuesday, June 22, 2010
There's nowt queerer than folk.
Well I have written and rewritten a post about the reaction to this blog when I cross posted it to an agility forum. I've decided that I'll probably just leave that post as a draft, and it just made me feel better to write it. Kind of a Dear Diary sort of thing. Let's just say that the reactions to that blog post were....interesting, and not what I expected. It was an eye opener in many ways. To quote an old Yorkshire saying 'There's nowt queerer than folk'
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Something tells me the reactions to a post like that would be about as illogical (to me) as some of the comments I hear regarding AKC's recent decision to allow mixed breeds to compete in performance events.
ReplyDeleteI do, however, have a question. What are the actual RULES governing this kind of celebration? I ask because if I were to "celebrate" with Lilly the way we do at home after completing a rally course in the ring, we'd NQ. My dog jumping round and "partying" after a run would be deemed "out of control" and could nullify everything we just accomplished. (this is precisely why we go straight from the ring outside to celebrate)
Do rules like this have any bearing on celebration after an agility run?
Hi Lioness -
ReplyDeleteI'm that author of THAT blog post LOL.
My comments were about what was happening immediately outside of the ring. The end of agility courses seems to be always right near the exit gate. Once you're there, you're 'safe' :-)
Karen - LOL. I can only imagine. You know the other saying:
"People are strange. There are no exceptions."
Cheers!
In agility, you leave your leash and collar somewhere near the entrance gate, and someone transfers it ,(along with a toy if you have left one outside the ring) to the exit gate which, like Hornblower said, is close to the end of the run. Some dogs will dash out and grab their leash, which really to be fair, should be up off the ground and out of sight. From there it's game on, tugging, bouncing around, whatever. You should be leading your dog away from the gate while you are doing this to not distract the next dog running, who will be shooting out of that gate pretty quickly, but I've never actually heard of anything down in writing. At the Regionals a dog I know shot out of the ring before taking the last jump because she saw her tuggy leash laying on the ground outside the exit. Makes me wonder if the handler would have had grounds to protest, as usually there is a basket clipped to the outside of the fence, and the leash is put in that.
ReplyDeleteThat is quite interesting about the Rally though. So to me it sounds even though you have left the ring, you are still being judged? I wonder if the Rally rules are the same here, I'll have to see if I can find out.
And a piece of Trivia....
I was born in Yorkshire, and came to Canada when I was 6. My mother had, and probably still has, an old linen tea towel that is either draped over her little convection oven or pinned to the wall. It was probably sent to her as a Christmas gift one year. It had about 20 of those Yorkshire expressions listed on it, and it was kind of fun to be able to use one:)
When I first started taking Rally class I was taught that you should NEVER just bolt out of the ring after a run. The judge invites you into the ring, and should excuse you when you are done. I always stop at the finish sign and ask my dog to sit while I look back to the judge. (most people don't even bother) In the AKC rules, if I were to throw my arms up and my dog were to jump up while we were leaving (or still in) the ring, we could be NQ'd. (as to whether a judge nails you on it is up to him) Just outside the ring of an obedience trial is often very congested and is an extremely bad place to get your dog excited. (very different from what I usually see in agility trials) For this reason, I always bend down TO my dog and give her happy talk and a good ruff scratch before we head outside to party, but I don't start the party anywhere near the gait b/c it's a good way to get other dogs nearby agitated and get attacked.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I see a lack of praise from dog owners/handlers on a daily basis (not just at shows) and it is perfectly obvious that it has a lot to do with why the dog looks so incredibly miserable and/or just plain doesn't listen. If my dog loses enthusiasm for something, it really seriously effects ME. When I see people leave a ring of any kind and they look like they're irritated with the dog the way they ignore him, it really makes me feel sorry for the dog. I also can't stand people in conformation who just jerk the dog around rather than talking to him and making him WANT to show for them. I just want to grab them and scream, "USE YOUR WORDS!"
In agility trials they want you out of the ring as fast as possible, so they can get the next dog running. Quite often they have the next dog setting up at the start line before the previous dog has finished the course.
ReplyDeleteIf there is only one gate that serves as both entrance and exit in rally/obedience, I can see that being a bit of a problem.
Oh and I'm with you on the lack of praise thing, lack of using the 'happy voice'. I help teach agility at our club, and am constantly having to remind people to reward their dogs, and they just don't seem to get it.
And with some people, it scares me to see them have a bad run, and I have kept my eye on a person or two after they left the ring, to be sure they didn't take their frustration out on their dog.
I'm here because I Googled "there's nowt queerer than folk"
ReplyDelete