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6. COL: How do you know when a dog is ready for trial or competition?
Beth Elliot: By entering one. In obedience I go to as many practice matches as I can. For agility I try to get them out to different facilities to work on diffferent equipment. We're lucky in the Chicago area that we have a lot of training places. I can never quite duplicate a trial situation, however, mostly
because of my nerves, so if I've trained them to the point that the dog is doing well in other places, I enter a trial. I usually try to enter one hosted by an organization other than AKC. For some reason, I put more pressure on myself in AKC events, so in order to minimize the effect of my nerves, I start somewhere else. In flyball, we invite other teams to practice with us. Once they're doing well with two lanes and other dogs, we'll do single dog racing, usually offered the night before a tournament and held in the actual racing lanes. Then they move to a "warm-up" spot on the team. Since there are two alternate spots on a flyball team, we can use the warm-up time before an actual race to work a new dog, then they're also eligible to run in an actual race and earn points if they're doing well in warm-up.
Sue Larson: When you can take your dog to all kinds of places (matches, parks, supermarket parking lots, etc.,) and get the same kind of performance that you get in your backyard, then you're ready to show. In reality, though, it depends on what you really want. If you just want a dog who can go out and qualify, you probably can show earlier. If you want your dog to be really good and consistent, then you need to hold off showing and train some more.
Carol Dunton: If the dog is eagerly and thoughtfully completing the exercises in practice in the presence of distractions and is able to complete the exercises in new environments, then it tells me that we are on our way to being successful in a trial. I have found "show-n-gos" and fun matches to be a great way to gauge whether my dog and I are ready for the rigors of competition. I have also found that it isn’t typically the dog that is not ready, but it is a weakness on my part, such as nerves, that is the weak link. I feel it is just as important that I prepare myself for competition as it is to get my dog ready. If I can walk into the ring feeling confident that my dog and I can go out and successfully compete, it will go a long way toward assuring that we do!
Jan Shields: I train the dog to achieve a high level within that event and when the dog is proficient at that level I show it at the previous level. The dog needs to show me consistency in many places and within many circumstances beforehand.
Vicki Loucks: Train, train, train! A dog is ready when it is doing the obstacles competently and with speed. If a dog isn't working with drive on the practice courses or obstacles then it is not ready. The dog must listen up to, at and after the start line, and it must have good recall.
Dr. Deanna Levenhagen: In an ideal world, you train like you trial. So, if things are working out in training, they aren’t going to magically be better in a trial. But, when things are working from a training perspective, then every owner has to start evaluating when they are going to start trialing or competing. In some cases, the dog is ready, but the handler isn’t. Assuming the handler is ready, the decision to start trialing is very dependant on the goals once you are in the ring. At a minimum, the dog should know (not necessarily proficient in) the required exercises for the venue you are competing in. If the goal is to see that the dog gives you the same thing in a trial as what you get in practice, then you can go fairly early. If the goal is to qualify, then the dog needs to not only know the exercises, but also have some proofing of those exercises in different environments. If the goal is for top scores and placements, then you may want to wait until the dog is very proficient in the exercises in a variety of environments and in the presence of a variety of distractions. Although the decision to start trialing should be based on what your goals are in the ring, ultimately when to start trialing is based on making the best judgment of where you and the dog are at during practice or at fun matches. Hopefully, there are no surprises once you start trialing. But, you’ll never really know if you are ready for the ring until you actually compete.
Marilyn Clayton: I'm a bad person to ask as I've often entered on a wing and a prayer and done very well. HOWEVER, the best way is to attend mock trials or fun matches. If you do not have access to those options, then train in as many different locations as possible and proof as many aspects of each exercise as you can. A mistake many handlers make is going directly from training to trialing, which bypasses one of the most important aspects -- proofing (i.e. training under various levels of stress and in as many different typesof situations and physical location as possible). You want to help your dog overcome every difficulty you can think of (and then some) during proofing so the trial ring/fields, seem easy.
Shelley Bergstraser: We're ready when we can do matches and runs without treats and talking and keep the enthusiasm going! We don't have a ton of fun matches in our area, so I practice in pet supply stores or like Lowes or Home Depot aisles for distraction work. I want the dogs to be great at all exercises in many, many situations before going in the ring. I want them to think the actual ring looks EASY compared to where they have been able to perform! We're ready when my dog is confident and happy in what he's doing. I generally wait until my dogs are about 2 years old, no matter the level of training, as I personally feel that they are more mentally ready for competition at that age. I've seen folks rush youngsters and burn them out with the stress. Of course I start conformation when they are ready as babies, but that is fun with treats and lots of positive feedback in the ring.
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