LifeofRubie
Moderator
Oh, yay! Congrats on the BCAT and the anticipation for photos is always the woooorst but they'll be worth it!
CAT & FCAT possible!
- Thread starter Ravenbird
- Start date
This is awesome! I bet pretty Asha didn't cause much disruption that night in the hotel room 
Big girl bark, eh? Oji has a great big boy bark, but I bet if he were amped up and in pure prey drive excitement he would give his high pitched yelping like he was being injured.
26 MPH? Impressive! Given that Asha has, according to what I think you've said, has those big front paws like Oji does, I bet Oji would come in a couple MPH under that. Then again, they're probably about the same bodyweight and Oji has longer legs so, hmmm. Maybe I should try to find out.
Big girl bark, eh? Oji has a great big boy bark, but I bet if he were amped up and in pure prey drive excitement he would give his high pitched yelping like he was being injured.
26 MPH? Impressive! Given that Asha has, according to what I think you've said, has those big front paws like Oji does, I bet Oji would come in a couple MPH under that. Then again, they're probably about the same bodyweight and Oji has longer legs so, hmmm. Maybe I should try to find out.
That’s awesome! Well done to them both 
So looking forward to seeing the photos.
So looking forward to seeing the photos.
She was much improved in the hotel this time - but I'll attribute it to getting use to it as a semi-routine thing now and also getting told clearly via e-collar that it's not allowed the last umpteen times. Friday night she wore the e-collar all night, Sat night I took it off around 1 a.m. and Sunday night she didn't wear it at all. No explosive barking, except when the cop knocked on our door for questions about an incident that we happened to see the tail end of when out for our potty walk.... but that's another story for another time on another thread.... and nothing to do with the dogs, just what we saw....This is awesome! I bet pretty Asha didn't cause much disruption that night in the hotel room
Big girl bark, eh? Oji has a great big boy bark, but I bet if he were amped up and in pure prey drive excitement he would give his high pitched yelping like he was being injured.
26 MPH? Impressive! Given that Asha has, according to what I think you've said, has those big front paws like Oji does, I bet Oji would come in a couple MPH under that. Then again, they're probably about the same bodyweight and Oji has longer legs so, hmmm. Maybe I should try to find out.
You typo'd that 26 mph, it was low 25's. I just want to say that, so someone skimming through the threads doesn't think my dog is that fast! 26 is really upper tier for a Doberman.
You should find out! It's fun and if Oji will chase a moving object that's all it takes - no training, just prey drive. Since you bicycle with him he should be plenty fit. You need one person to release and a 2nd to catch and the runs here are $20 - $23 each, depending on the club. I think everyone who's done it will agree it takes a few runs before they really get in the groove - This was Ashas 3rd event, and really the first time she gave 110%.
Here's the link to current Fast Cat speeds. To be in the top 25 of over 200, you've gotta hit 26 mph.
Kaiser2016
Well-Known Member
Whoa, so that is still super fast! With a few more runs, do you think she could make 26?
Yep. At the cabin trip, it felt like all we kept saying was 'leave it' lol.
I really don't know. I think @LifeofRubie kept improving every time, but they all have "as fast as they can go". It would be fun, but really I just do this for the dogs fun, not to make or break records. Icing on the cake for me to see faster times! They get away with murder behavior-wise - no prongs or e-collars allowed - so pulling and dragging and barking. They know it's only at this kind of event that they can get away with it. Then they get to chase the "bunny" which is never allowed at home. It's like a free-for-all just for dogs.
LOL, yeah, been saying Leave It for 2 freakin' years now!
Wow she's really tearing it up! 
I had to chuckle at this since it's so true for me too.
LifeofRubie
Moderator
Rubie peaks at just over 25 on certain courses. I've been to courses where people keep commenting on how fast their dogs are that day and another where a guy was grumbling because his #1 dog for the breed was running some of the slowest times ever.
In true nerd fashion, I have a tracker in my phone of all their runs (MPH - DATE = cumulative points). My dogs run at a x1 handicap so their MPH are the points they accrue. Smaller dogs can be at x1.5 or x2. BCAT is 150, DCAT is 500 and I believe FCAT is 1000 cumulative points (right?):
The course we ran on 09/03 was the course with the guy grumbling about how 'slow' it was.
EDIT TO ADD: and yes, with nothing but flat collars, keeping dogs under control is quite a task. I have a bit more control over Rubie so I've been releasing her and my husband has been catching (opposite for Moo). I can at least get her to sit and demonstrate a little impulse control before we get into the fence (sometimes)
Oh man, look at your tracker.
One of the Whippet folks went up to the lure operator and told him how to keep the lure further away from the Whippets. They get too close their heads come up & they change their speed getting ready to catch the rabbit. Leave the lure further away and they keep their heads down and body low and they get a better time. Some breeds will get discouraged if the lure is too far away, but not a Whippet. So the lure operator did listen and they made a little better time the next day. Being ex horse race-tracker, I KNOW some surfaces that look the same to everyone else will make faster or slower times, so it's true about that.
One of the Whippet folks went up to the lure operator and told him how to keep the lure further away from the Whippets. They get too close their heads come up & they change their speed getting ready to catch the rabbit. Leave the lure further away and they keep their heads down and body low and they get a better time. Some breeds will get discouraged if the lure is too far away, but not a Whippet. So the lure operator did listen and they made a little better time the next day. Being ex horse race-tracker, I KNOW some surfaces that look the same to everyone else will make faster or slower times, so it's true about that.
Rits
Hot Topics Subscriber
Wow, I'm sort of surprised that you can speak to and tell the lure operator how to run and tell them how to adjust anything for certain dogs! I'd think that's their job, not yours. What if MY particular dog runs better with it farther away? Just surprising with AKC's new proposals to the rules about not allowing the timer operator to run the timer or record a dog of the same BREED as theirs or any member in their household has. AKC is pretty stickler about those sorts of things because I guess people do anything to get faster times. Good grief!!Oh man, look at your tracker.
One of the Whippet folks went up to the lure operator and told him how to keep the lure further away from the Whippets. They get too close their heads come up & they change their speed getting ready to catch the rabbit. Leave the lure further away and they keep their heads down and body low and they get a better time. Some breeds will get discouraged if the lure is too far away, but not a Whippet. So the lure operator did listen and they made a little better time the next day. Being ex horse race-tracker, I KNOW some surfaces that look the same to everyone else will make faster or slower times, so it's true about that.
Here's the proposals:
Published today in the AKC Gazette (Pages 84-85)
SECRETARY’S PAGES 84-85
AKC GAZETTE AUGUST 2021
............Fast CAT®: Limiting Participation for Timers,
Lure Operators and Paid Event Secretaries
The Board reviewed a recommendation to
add eligibility restrictions on dogs owned or
co-owned by individuals performing key activities at Fast CAT® events. Specifically,
1.Individuals involved with timing - Currently
an individual cannot operate a timer or
record the time for their own dog or a dog
owned by a family or household member.
This is being extended to include that an
individual cannot operate a timer or record
the time for the same breed they, or any
member of their immediate family or
household, own or co-own, if their dog is
entered in the event.
2. Lure Operators -
Currently an individual cannot operate the
lure for their own dog or a dog owned by
family or household member. This is being
extended to include that an individual cannot operate the lure for the same breed they, or any member of their immediate
family or household, own or co-own, if their dog is entered in the event.
3. Paid Event Secretaries -
Dogs owned or co-owned by a paid event secretary, or any member of their immediate family or household, are
not eligible to enter an event where the individual is the event secretary. Paid means the person is compensated in any manner,
whether directly from the host club or as part of a service provider team.
These changes are being made to ensure participants remain confident that everyone is being treated equally and fairly.
These are changes to the Fast CAT® Regulations. If approved by the Board, these changes would be effective September 1,
2021. This will be discussed further at the August Board meeting.
I shouldn't have used the word "told" the lure operator how to do his job. I think they just explained how different breeds look at it (the lure). Some of the non-prey-drive dogs (Chow-Chows were there!) would totally lose interest if the lure were further out, whereas the sight hounds would run faster and harder. So I don't think it's out of hand to help educate the operator if he's open to learning. I wasn't part of this, the guy just told me about it. The club that put this on is a sight hound group, totally into sight hound lure coursing and my guess is that they do the Fast Cats for extra income since it's all breed. I don't know, just guessing. Obviously there are more AND less experienced lure operators. Some might be open to conversation and some may slap you for telling him how to do his job. One of the first times Reckless ran (she looks like a GSD mutt to those who don't know a Dutch Shepherd) one operator didn't keep the lure going fast enough away from Reckless & she caught it and tore it up halfway down the field. His job is to watch and read the dog & not to let them catch it until it stops. Totally ruined her run. My friend wanted to chew him out for it, but didn't say a word. No, you don't tell a judge in a ring how they didn't judge correctly, I agree with what you're saying. But especially here in the middle of nowhere, lots of newbies, lots of people new on the job and eager to learn. I would think the lure operators job is to be able to judge the dogs drive and speed within a few seconds and adjust accordingly to encourage the dog to its best. If they learn that some breeds work / run harder at a distant lure and some work / run harder at a closer lure, then they should be happy to use this knowledge for win/win situations! I don't think its cheating as there were many other Whippets there besides the ones that this guy brought, and he was talking about the breed doing better with a longer distance lure, not just his # this or #that dog that came up.
Rits
Hot Topics Subscriber
Oh not I didn't think it was cheating at all, I was just surprised people could even do that, go to the lure operator and talk to them during the event, considering how stickler AKC is about everything. I brought up the proposed rules AKC is considering, because apparently there are some bad apples that do cheat so AKC thinks they have to ban all time operators from recording same breeds they own because they feel they'll be bias and help cheat. I'm shocked at the lengths people will go to just to get a faster run. At the end of the day, who cares. The dogs are just there having fun.
Though to add to the thought of talking to the lure operator, I suppose there may be a better time and place to do that. I don't know how it goes hiring them but would think that maybe they would do test runs the prior evening.
LifeofRubie
Moderator
If you open them in paint, they have a pretty easy resizing tool!
Just change one of the horizontal or vertical measurements to "50" or so and it'll take care of the rest!
Is that a Windows thing? I have a Mac. I can use Preview to resize, but I've done that before then you get a big white box with a smaller picture in it. LOL, I need to go back to school and catch up with the tech world. Somewhere there was a thread I think @JanS posted about photo size requirements for DCF but I haven't found it yet.
OK, here's 3 of them, I didn't change the size, but with my slow internets it took 20 min to load.
OK, here's 3 of them, I didn't change the size, but with my slow internets it took 20 min to load.
I can't even remember now since it was increased trying to allow for full size calendar photos.
Nice! Yup that's a Hughesnet thing and 20 minutes is pretty good. LOL
LifeofRubie
Moderator
Ah! Those are great!!!! Look at her happy face
Oh, and the photographers name is Alej Gaytan - she was so mad at herself for missing the nose on this photo, but as she said, she's still learning. And I didn't choose these, she sent me all 12 that she took! I wanted to share it anyway because the extended stride
photos are my favorite. And yes, Asha still has big feet. LOL.
photos are my favorite. And yes, Asha still has big feet. LOL.
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Kaiser2016
Well-Known Member
Great shots! I love the extended stride myself - shows off the powerful but sleek Doberman body!
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