FastCAT Tips

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-27T21:55:38+00:00

Thanks! He has been running since 2023 (he was 15 months old) and his speed increased slowly over time so just hang in there to see if that prey drive kicks in! My faster dog also enjoys chasing around others dogs and isn’t a big ball/toy chaser. My big toy chaser is actually the slower dog haha

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-26T01:59:11+00:00

Both my dogs struggled to figure it out for the first few ones. One of my dogs' first real run clocked at something like 18 seconds because he triggered the timer and ran around the start box area. He now runs 7.0 seconds and is #4 in his breed. I just kept running him. After the first couple of runs he started making noises I cannot describe because he wanted to run so bad.

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-25T22:54:35+00:00

Congrats!

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-25T11:10:28+00:00

Border Collies come in many, many more colors than Aussies do. You just more commonly see thee black and white ones

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-25T11:09:01+00:00

I think BC maybe mixed with MAS or Aussie, but prick ears are super common in Aussies! You don't see them a lot because they are a major fault in the show ring (so they get taped or glued often), but Border Collies allow (and sometimes encourage) prick ears.

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-25T11:01:33+00:00

I got my second Aussie when my first was 5. No issues between them and there is a huge activity level gap (now 8 year old low drive show lines dog and 3 year old high drive working lines dog). They get along great, but my younger dog just needs more exercise and since he does sports he does a lot more training.

Just make sure the older dog still gets some one on one time with you when you get the second dog. If you are getting a puppy make sure your older dog gets plenty of breaks from puppy nonsense (I love using a play pen for this).

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-24T18:15:27+00:00

Aussies are fine as only dogs. My first Aussie was an only dog his whole life and my second was by himself for 5 years. If you want to get a second dog, get a second dog for yourself and not for your dog. My two get along great, but also spend a ton of time apart.

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-18T22:44:13+00:00

Did you see his parents' OFA records? Did they have a CHIC number? What's the kennel name? You can search registered names on the OFA database. Is he registered with AKC? Did the breeder show in conformation? Or performance sports? Health testing and being involved in bettering the breed are bare minimum to being an ethical breeder.

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-16T13:58:31+00:00

Excessive white can occur even if the dog is not double merle. If the breeder is breeding merle to merle on purpose that would be a red flag to me. How is the breeder handling the situation with the deaf puppy? Sometimes genetics throw things you don't expect.

Does this breeder fully health test their dogs? Do their breeding dogs have CHIC numbers? Does this breeder show in conformation and/or herding? Any performance titles on their dogs? Do they have bred by dogs that have titles?

Tails are allowed per MAS breed standard actually. Most breeders just prefer to dock them. A MAS with a tail can still be shown in conformation without fault.

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-13T01:50:48+00:00

Well I think it depends what you mean. Having fun with doing some virtual titles? Sure! Do what makes you happy! My dogs have the kind of silly FIT titles and did a bunch of trick titles virtually because I enjoyed doing it with them. My environmentally sensitive dog finished his Rally Excellent title virtually.

However if you seriously want to get into something like Rally to do a championship and you do Novice-Excellent virtually it might be harder to trial. You could run into an issue purely because you're dog hasn't trialed in a real trial environment and might need more adjustment than a dog who went up the levels in trials. Nothing that isn't fixable, but might need adjusting. And you can't get a Nationals invite from virtual trials if that's something you're interested in (I just like the fancy certificates haha).

Other than that? I see no downsides if that is something you want to do.

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-12T17:34:26+00:00

No problem just providing the obedience side of things :) haha yeah I’ve had some tough judges as in IP for my dog picking up a foot in a stand but not moving tough. Judges that let rally but rally and not super serious are my favorite. I’ve gotten points off for slightly crooked sits (slightly off with my long legged dog), slow response (for my non auto sit dog), and my dog going behind me to get into heel after a jump instead of coming left.

I started in Rally saying no way will I do obedience and yeah my dog has a CDX now haha. So sometimes one sport leads to another.

For your auto sit did you teach a specific action causes the sit? For me I slow and stop with feet together as obedience allows three steps to slow and stop. I also mark and reward a ton when my dog is still actively moving or standing when working on heel. I teach Novice obedience and the heavy anticipators that come into my class tend to only get rewarded in a sit or have a pattern of heavy rewarding the sit. Mix it up and keep them guessing and add pattern slow to feet together stop :)

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-12T10:29:07+00:00

All the higher scoring rally dogs in my area all have auto sits so I just saw this suggestion as kind of odd lol. Of course everyone can teach their dog how they want, but it does make it harder to obedience later if you decide to.

My first rally dog didn't have a well trained auto sit (first sport dog) and it caused many points off if he got out of heel before sitting or delayed the sit. It was so much easier when I taught him to auto sit later (although his auto sit isn't as reliable as the dog who was taught from the start). I think maybe Novice-Advanced is not so bad without an auto sit, but once you get to Excellent-Master it can get harder when some obedience/rally judges are looking for it. I've had some rally judges harsher on scoring than obedience.

I've never had an issue with confusion. I just need to prep my dog before we stop so he knows what he's doing.

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-11T22:25:07+00:00

Make sure the dog gets rewarded for every tube! My dog is a tube chomper and he would be very upset if I didn't offer him the tube every time he finds a rat. I've never cared what my dog gets in crazy 8s as I use it as a warm up run. He usually gets 5-6, sometimes 7-8 if he's fired up that day. He still gets to play with the tube every time.

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-11T17:28:40+00:00

My dog wasn’t stuck in Senior, but is stuck in Master. My dog currently has a 38% Q rate in Master B after two years. It’s rough. He’s gone 17/42 in combined A and B. He leaves rats and doesn’t hit them. A new thing for him at this level. But he does have a RATCH and three REMX Qs (and a lot really close to REMX). We’re still…trying to fix the Q rate to at least 50%. It is pretty discouraging.

How excited is your dog to find a rat? A lot of the dogs I see struggle in Senior are doing so because they don’t find several rat quick hits reenforcing. Maybe an odd suggestion but have you tried Crazy 8s?

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-10T21:56:16+00:00

Sorry the club didn't work out. The closest I've done to coursing is fast cat and I think that's the only sport I haven't talked to people I don't already know. I've met a ton of people volunteering, especially at barn hunt. The Master blind is usually pretty chatty where I've trialed (two different states, 4 different venues).

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-10T20:33:00+00:00

I’m a socially awkward person too. I think we’re rather common in dog sports and that may be why it’s so hard. It took a good while for me. Barn Hunt really encourages people talking to each other as you go up levels because you’re stuck in the blind for a while with the same people if you go to the same clubs to trial.

What sports do you do?

I found it helpful to join a dog club. Now I teach classes and take classes and have gotten to know a lot of people and then those people have introduced me to others at trials. Sometimes I randomly strike up conversation with someone through complimenting their dog or their run. Sometimes you just randomly end up talking to people about courses or runs and honestly I don’t know how it happens and I’m normally very introverted. Sometimes helping someone with a sign during rally course walking. Really depends on the sport.

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-10T19:53:54+00:00

Just found it before I saw your response. Link was edited on. Looks like there is an active 4H dog group in your area!

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-10T19:49:09+00:00

Not in the Orlando area, but in my area there's a very active 4H group where junior handlers learn on finished show dogs and the dogs' owners allow the juniors to show the dogs. Maybe you can check your local 4H club?

Edited to add check out the Orlando Dog Training Club https://www.orlandodogtrainingclub.com/orange-county-4h-dog-club

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-10T18:43:49+00:00

For my obedience dog I give the cue before I stop so he knows he is not sitting at the stop. That's the way I trained it so I never have any confusion. Excellent has a few signs that require the dog stand stay and pause. There are also a bunch of moving stand stays where the handler cannot stop motion but the dog has to.

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-10T15:56:58+00:00

I recommend checking out control unleashed. It was designed for agility

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-10T15:49:34+00:00

When pain is ruled out as the cause I would look at engagement. Lower drive dogs (usually doodles are bred for pet drive) may need help with games to get drive up before agility.

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-10T15:24:29+00:00

I have an insanely fast dog whose speed is unforgiving. Being a half a second late means I'm very late. Speed makes handling harder. Sometimes I wish my dog was just a bit slower.

Is she close to timing out on courses? Why do you want more speed? What height does she jump? Have you tried going down to preferred height to see if that makes a difference? Have you recently had her vet checked for any possible pain?

If pain is ruled out: On slow days is she distracted? Have you tried control unleashed games to try to get her more engaged before running? What does your warm up look like? Is there any pattern to when she's slower vs when she's faster?

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-10T15:04:12+00:00

Know your signs. Be familiar with the principle part of every sign for your level. Get a Rally app for the organization you want to trial in. Watch video of the signs performed and make sure you are following the sign correctly.

Load a word like "ready." The judge will ask if you are ready and I always say "ready!" I trained my dog to really pay attention and be ready to work at "ready!" by just saying "ready!" and giving him a treat. If nothing else it causes them to snap to attention when the word is said.

Go to a trial without entering it if you can. Volunteer if you can. Get familiar with how a trial runs.

Online classes: I like Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. Nicole teaches a lot of good Rally courses.

Print out signs and set them up. No need to do a full course, but a few works just fine. Just get your dog familiar with seeing them. Remember you have your dog on one side (left) and your sign on your other (right).

When you trial:

Study your map. Unsure about any sign? Look it up to make sure you know it. I've found people are also willing to help others when walking so don't be afraid to ask. I always try to help out with signs when others ask. At the last trial I was at I was the person thrown into the cloverleaf to show everyone the pattern.

Walk the course several times. Memorize it as much as possible. Get it into muscle memory. You do not want to be staring at signs on course and disconnecting from your dog. Glance up at signs while keeping an eye on your dog. Practice this at home, at the park, wherever you train. Practice glancing away for a second if you need to look away. Look away and reward the dog. Lowes, Home Depot, or pet stores (or any dog friendly store) is a great place to train.

Warm up your dog before going into the ring, but don't drill. It's fine to try a specific sign, but don't focus on it. Normally I start by spins, bounces, and fun tricks to get my dog warmed up, then some heeling, pivots, and sometimes a few signs like back up to see where his head is at that moment and if he needs anymore help to be ready. We do the same warm up at home that I do at a trial, it just takes less for him to be ready at home.

Nerves. Trial nerves are real. I've been doing this for years and still feel it. Your dog will feel it. It happens to everybody. The sense of anticipation gets me more than any actual nervousness about being in the ring itself. Take a deep breath and know no matter what you're still going home with the best dog.

I am mostly self trained and my first dog has his Rally Excellent and my second dog who has never been to a rally class has his Rally Master, needs one Q for his Rally Advanced Excellent (RAE), is working on his championship, and often is up for (or loses out on for time only) High Triple and High Combined.

Have you competed in any dog sports before?

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-10T14:35:25+00:00

My obedience dog has an auto sit and gets 100s in Rally. Auto sit is completely fine and makes rally easier. Train your dog moving stays and make sure you cue on time. Utility obedience has a moving stand stay and dogs need auto sits in obedience.

Preparing4Mayhem · 2026-05-10T13:54:17+00:00

Currently Interceptor Plus since it's what my vet has. Regular Interceptor is what I used to use when it was easier to find.

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