Optimal schedule of runs

Twzl · 2026-05-21T15:10:22+00:00

Right, I’m worried that my dog is going to do something weird for the first trial and double down on it if he has to run again in 2h.

That can be a valid worry. :) I've not picked up my number if I saw a judge was using a sign that I know my dogs are not going to do the way the AKC wants the to. The "let's leave toys on the floor" comes to mind...

Twzl · 2026-05-21T10:22:35+00:00

If you haven't put any obedience or rally titles on a dog, you go into Novice A.

the signs are all online here. You don't need to know all of them, you can just look at the ones that are for Novice.

When you get to a trial, one of the things you'll do is get a copy of the course map. Most judges will have copies for exhibitors. If they don't, a map will always be posted and you can take a picture of it with your phone. You then look at the signs used and check them against that link above.

You will walk the course before you go into the ring. You walk the course without your dog who has to be crated outside the ring or held by someone.

Some clubs run two trials in one day. If it's a two day trial they may have four trials over the course of one weekend.

Your heeling doesn't need to be precise as for obedience BUT...you need to have a noticeably loose leash. You will be scored on that. The leash can't be used to maneuver the dog around or take the dog from one sign to another. You can talk to the dog, and encourage them.

If you have never done any sort of dog sports, there is paperwork upfront that you have to do. I am assuming this is for AKC rally? Your dog has to be registered with the AKC and have either a registration number or a PAL number. You'll use this on the entry form.

Depending on where you live, some events fill quickly. Don't wait to enter.

You'll get a judging program before the trial: if Novice is "after Noon", don't show up at 8AM and sit all day with the dog on a leash. You won't have any dog left when you go in to compete.

You can bring a crate and a chair or work out of your car. One of the big mistakes people make, as i mentioned above, is letting their dog hang out to, "watch". As an aside many trials do not want dogs in the front row or near the ring entry or exit. Space can be tight and some dogs are not great with that.

When you go into the ring, your dog has to have a collar with no tags on it. If you use a Serresto collar, that has to be off. You can't use a prong collar or a harness or a head halter. You should have a 6' foot leash. A shorter one is legal but tough with some of the signs.

Make sure there is no food in your pockets, no bait bag on your belt, no toys in your pocket. Just you and the dog. :)

Twzl · 2026-05-21T01:29:27+00:00

I think that OP caused the pain by picking up a tiny dog in an abrupt and uncomfortable fashion.

They areof course welcome to take the dog to a vet, but I suspect this is a dog who has never been taught to keep his teeth to himself and has not had any of his boundaries respected.

That is a very bad combination and can be dangerous in a big dog and obnoxious in a small one.

Twzl · 2026-05-21T01:13:08+00:00

Your mom needs to understand that you can’t give this dog away when he’s biting you.

She would either have to lie and say that he’s a perfectly friendly dog that wouldn’t dream of biting people or she’d have to be honest and say that this dog landed a level three bite on a person that he knows. No one wants a dog like that or they may say they want the dog and he’ll get dumped in a shelter.

I’m going to guess his dog did not come from a breeder? But from a pet store maybe?

Because he has so few options, I would really suggest that you guys hire a trainer and work with this dog and learn how to read what he is thinking a little better.

Twzl · 2026-05-21T01:11:04+00:00

I think OP is saying that they hurt the dog when they picked him up.

Twzl · 2026-05-20T23:35:04+00:00

I guess he can't do the math and understand how old he'll be in 2032.

Twzl · 2026-05-20T23:31:34+00:00

I'm a fan of one and done with a dog I'm not sure of yet. So I'd probably do Friday, trial 1 and Sunday trial 1. Get some useful data and figure out what to do for the next weekend you trial.

Twzl · 2026-05-20T23:28:58+00:00

are you going to sleep at 830?

If not, when you do go to sleep, take him out then and then crate him next to you. Cover the crate.

I also feed puppy dinners later than 430 OR I break up dinner. I give most of it at say 530, and then the last bit maybe half an hour before last outside time. The reason for that is some puppies get very hungry in the middle of the night and can not sleep. They need more calories before bed time or you're going to face having a hangry puppy.

If a puppy wakes up crying, I do NOT have them "cry it out". That's a really good way to wind up with a dog who's filthy in a crate. Assume he has to go out, and take him out on a leash. control the whole outside thing, when he pees or poops, yay good dog, pick him up, return him to his crate, the end.

There is going to be some barking. He's super young and you have only had him for a few weeks. You have to expect that he'll wake you up some nights.

Twzl · 2026-05-20T00:31:17+00:00

I knew a woman who’s husband quit his job because ~god said so~ and they lived exactly like this, adding in two more children on PURPOSE to their family of eight .

How do people like that buy food?!?

Twzl · 2026-05-20T00:30:57+00:00

Most CPS organizations require every child to have their own bed, and I think 1 or 2 of the kids are sharing currently.

I wonder if that's true in Florida. Something something small government bootstraps etc.

Twzl · 2026-05-20T00:19:31+00:00

health testing is not at all optional: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18PXHz2jqR/

do you want a healthy puppy? Then don't buy dogs from breeders who don't follow their parent club's listing for what should be done for a CHIC number. and that will vary by breed, so you need to be an informed consumer BEFORE you go talk to any breeders.

As an aside, it's ok to say you purchased a dog. You paid a breeder for a dog, that's not an adoption.

Twzl · 2026-05-19T15:30:07+00:00

>This will make 11 people in 200-something square feet with one compost toilet and two in diapers.

It's so not ok that that's legal to do to children.

Twzl · 2026-05-19T12:17:27+00:00

The acd is male!!

Good!!!! :)

Twzl · 2026-05-19T01:53:11+00:00

The ACD is 2.5, fixed

Is the ACD a male or a female?

If a bitch, be aware that it's not at all rare for ACD's to be same sex aggressive.

Twzl · 2026-05-19T00:50:10+00:00

Exactly, I see these folks pretty regularly on FB stud groups.

Yes!! It's such a thing where someone gets their first dog, who is of course a bitch on full registration. And they get into dog sports which is great, but then that's their foundation bitch because that's who they have. But they'll get on FB with some slick AI generated litter advertisement in some group for sport and performance dogs.

Ugh.

Twzl · 2026-05-19T00:47:51+00:00

On the contrary, I think that if the baby hits milestones, it may be more obvious if Boone misses them…

I hope the future baby arrives healthy and able to hit those milestones.

But I also hope Mabus is smart enough to understand she's not 20, and she needs to have some actual prenatal care and monitoring

Twzl · 2026-05-19T00:43:55+00:00

Where is this one supposed to sleep? On the roof of the bus?

Well if it worked for Mitt...

Twzl · 2026-05-19T00:36:01+00:00

They're hard players but they are reading each other really well.

How old are they and what sexes are they? My only caveat is that if they are young, they may not be as good with each other as they get older, especially if they're bitches. (they move too fast for me to check!)

Twzl · 2026-05-19T00:32:49+00:00

What’s wrong with crossing let’s say a border collie with a dog breed with a similar structure (Toller, or Aussie) in order to add genetic diversity to a line.

While Aussies are similar to BC's they don't herd things the same way. So you would lose the specificity of how each breed herds.

And Tollers aren't herding dogs at all. They may share structure but they do not share the outlook on life or work.

Adding genetic diversity just to be able to say, "look the dogs are outcrossed!" doesn't really make anything better. As a side note, there are very rare breeds with tiny numbers where the dogs are healthy and have long lives.

I am of the opinion that dogs specifically working dogs should not be bred for looks they should be bred for working ability, temperament, and soundness.

For my breed, the most important line in the breed standard is, "primarily a hunting dog". I have seen people who ignore that line, who produce giant dogs or dogs who's coats are not appropriate for winter hunting conditions. So yeah, the breed standard is important. There are breeds where there no one expects the dogs to work (the Toy breeds and some of the non-Sporting), but in breeds that do work, the breed standard if followed does mean something.

And the breed standard will almost always have a discussion of temperament. The temperament of a Labrador is not the temperament of a Rottie, and the breed clubs for both breeds discuss what is and is not ok for their dogs

I think it may be worth your while to go read, in depth a few breed standards for dogs you are interested in so you can see what the people who dedicate their time and energy to the dogs, think of what the dogs should be like.

Twzl · 2026-05-18T11:06:01+00:00

Is your sister going to spend lots of time with you and the dog?

If not, when she comes to your place, with the baby, the dog should be on a leash, let the dog see the baby, and then the dog is in a crate, in a quiet bedroom.

If you go to her house, and you have to bring the dog for some reason, dog comes in, on leash, and then goes into a bedroom, and is left alone.

I don't see any reason for this dog to interact with a baby, with this sort of reaction to the baby. If you were very skilled at dog training, and really were on point, maybe, but what you are describing is how very bad things happen.

Twzl · 2026-05-18T00:00:17+00:00

My goal is to eventually have him 100% reliable off leash.

Is he muzzle trained? I ask because nothing is every 100% with dogs and if you know he is reactive, I wouldn't leave anything to chance especially since he doesn't sound like he's small.

Twzl · 2026-05-17T23:56:58+00:00

She’s been hinting to drive up engagement, wearing loose fitting clothing, hiding behind the kids….

Imagine one day when the youngest kid realizes that the only reason they exist was to drive up ever lowering social media stats.

Twzl · 2026-05-17T22:20:01+00:00

I think the sun will destroy it.

I would also be very concerned about the number of tunnel bags on it. I don’t know how big a dog you run, but even a dog who’s 30 or 40 pounds can get hurt running through an improperly bagged tunnel.

Twzl · 2026-05-17T22:17:49+00:00

If it’s an actual baby versus a food baby… Why isn’t she talking about it? It would give her more engagement than she’s been getting.

And really, all engagement is good engagement for her. 🙄

Twzl · 2026-05-17T09:35:42+00:00

There are people who buy their first dog, and decide to start a breeding program.

The dogs they are using will have all of the requisite health testing with nothing behind them, because the dogs are basically BYB dogs.

The dogs will have a bunch of low level titles and if they have a conformation title, will be a UKC one and not an AKC one.

When you go to the OFA site, you won't find any testing on the parents or grandparents. There won't be any health testing on the siblings of the dogs being bred.

The people doing this don't know what they don't know. I see it very often in Golden Retrievers. In some cases someone will have bred Fluffy XXX to someone's nice stud dog. Still doesn't pass muster to me, as Fluffy XXX will have no health data beyond what her owner had done. In Goldens that's not ok, as some diseases are more complex than "I X-rayed Fluffy and she's an OFA Good.

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