Oh give it a shot yourself! What do you have to lose with virtual? It's a great bonding experience and let's you work and show off your teamwork. But yes, a non-owner can title in B I believe, which Rally Virtual is all B.Wow interesting! I wonder if our trainer could handle Phoebe? I already told her I suck at it and she said she'd be willing to physically show her in rally when we can but I had not heard of the virtual one at that time.
Do it! It's a lot of fun. My advice is to pull out individual signs and work on them one at a time. Then start doing 3 at a time. Then a small course. Then you are ready for running the full course. Dogs can really burn out running a course over and over.Hmmm…..
If it gets more people into getting out there with their dogs and doing something together? People can do a leg virtually and then go ringside. People can title and then go ringside. Or maybe their dog or they are too anxious but this allows them to work towards something together? Maybe this takes some pressure off and gets new folks into the sport? I see only positives and one negative; and that negative doesn't affect the person and their own dog wanting to compete at trial to earn placements. They can still do that.Hmm....not sure how I feel about this. Part of me feels like the competition ringside is all part of it. Doing it virtually seems to take something way.
The only issue with that is you couldn't earn two legs at a trial and then say... there are no more local trials so you go home and do another leg or vice versa. I imagine AKC doesn't want to fully shut off people from attending club trials. If they ever changed it, I'd still do it and wouldn't feel any less of my accomplishment despite the designation to try and deem it so. Just as a 70 Q is still a Q, we don't put scores next to titles.I'm surprised AKC doesn't put a V on the title to let the world know it was not done in a show ring situation.
I think you would be surprised, not all trials are all that different from what you just described with the park setting @Ravenbird I always go over to watch OB or Rally when they are being held at the same location as AKC confo shows and it makes me feel a little more at ease. The more I watch and see the locations and how... Quiet and laid back they are? I think Wow! Tucked into a little room away from distractions. Small clubs even more so. One of our clubs is only large enough for the ring, so no spectators. Just you, your dog, and the judge.My videos were all done in a class situation with other dogs & people at a public park, so not in my back yard alone - but still, not the same as a ring.
Im so glad to hear virtual Rally has helped you and Asha! I think stories like yours and mine are one of the many examples of the positives!I have pushed through this to up Ashas behavior and obedience. It's good for us and my teacher wants to see us do it, even though it's not really our thing. We CAN do it and I know it's good to push through things even when it's not exactly what you want to be doing. I was doing it to keep Asha in a public setting, other dogs & people
That's exactly what I mean. I would worry that it would take some of the value from the title. It is much easier to go for from the comfort of your own home with little distraction. I just feel like working through the various challenges brings more merit.to the whole thing.I got a Rally Novice at my little club through virtual and I'm pretty sure she couldn't have done so well in a formal ring.
Maybe so, but Asha's problem has to do with familiarity, so going to the same park every Sunday for months, with just a few other places thrown in to give them a variety, the people & dogs are familiar with some new ones joining us here & there. I probably didn't send nervousness down the leash, because I was amongst friends & familiars too - I can get a little self-conscious under pressure too. I'm all for the virtual, but I do think more highly of dogs that can perform under the pressure of public ring environment. The two Rally classes that I watched Reckless do a couple of years before I got Asha were seriously like a 3 ring circus. One was indoors with 2 rings - both busy at all times, all the dogs in crates under that roof - the other was outdoors on grass with 3 rings, again all busy at all times. My hat's off to those guys for sure @GennyB.not all trials are all that different from what you just described with the park setting
Well, that was not the case at all in my backyard lol. Plenty of distractions! Just different distractions like lawn mowers, rude barking dogs, neighborhood girls from next door running and screaming, birds dive-bombing from overhead, loud wind, cold weather, hot weather etc. Every day was something different. You could say the same for some of these local trials - easier from the comfort of "home" at a place you have trained at before with little distraction. Or someone could have trialed in the middle of a pavilion in a giant ring with crowds. I'm not one to sit there and judge that it was easier for one person over the next and that they devalue the title because they trialed differently. Going to agree to disagree here that it is easier one way or another. Many factors come into play and both ways could be argued for or against. The end result is the same.It is much easier to go for from the comfort of your own home with little distraction.
No one will take that away from you or steal from you! That is your memory and accomplishment to keep, share and be proud of! We should all be supporting each other and our own personal accomplishments.I too am not sure how I feel about it....having had a reactive boy years ago, and achieving his RAE in two years at big shows with lots of distractions; made me especially proud as a team. I do understand virtual helping get more folks involved with dog sports, because it can be VERY intimidating...but that is another hurdle that I learned from...showing along side people who had far more experience than me, and learning to accept that, and build my own confidence.
Thank youLike I said earlier, I can see both sides. Internet makes for funny conversation: you think it's going to go one way & it goes the other. (my recent post on conformation). I know how hard I work to make my dog be the dog I want her to be and have failed in several areas due to a really hard attitude on her part. So I'm very grateful for virtual - and I train anyway, even if that had never started due to Covid, I still push. But more fun to test and have a virtual trial. But I also know how hard I would beam if I could do this in trial, but looking at her name in my signature no one but you guys will ever know the difference. Big hugs & LETS GO TRAIN!!!!
I didn't mean to come across as a negative Nancy . I am just showing my age...I do agree that virtual creates much more opportunity; I was just reflecting on how I felt with what I achieved in the old days. Dog shows in themselves have changed due to Covid, and many of the clubs still don't hold trials...so the whole thing is different now. Apologize if I came across sounding negative...didn't mean to do thatTo be honest, it's sort of depressing reading these comments, not the reaction I was expecting. I do get in a way where people are coming from but also try to understand where I am coming from. This was supposed to be a positive thread. I was excited to share something with members here that may have never stepped foot in a ring. That it is achievable and a great goal to go for. To encourage and lift each other up to get out there and train their dogs, build that partnership! As someone who has earned a title, going on two, virtually, it makes me feel like my accomplishment is seen as less than and taking away from others. What a crummy feeling...
Dog shows in themselves have changed due to Covid, and many of the clubs still don't hold trials...so the whole thing is different now.