# NEAROE Tournament



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Kodi and I are home from the New England APDT Rally Obedience Enthusiast's Tournament of Champions. (how's THAT for a name!:biggrin1

The Tournament is only for dogs who have titled in the various levels. The classes are BIG and the competition fierce. Kodi was awesome. We ran 8 courses over the two days, and Q'd 7 times with scores of 202, 203, 206, 207, 208 (5th place), 210 (3rd place broken on time) & 210 (3rd place broken on time). We had one "brain freeze" moment, and NQ'd in one level 2 class, which put us out of the running for overall placing in Level 2, but ended up fourth overall in Level 1! We also completed his RL1X2 title. 

As usual, the judges had nothing but positive to say about him, even in the class where we NQ'd. In his last 210 run, the judge wrote "Gorgeous Run!!!" on his score sheet!

APDT is such a WONDERFUL venue. People are so nice and supportive of each other. If you are going to try Rally, really consider APDT if it's in your area. You won't regret it!

I do have some video, but it will take a couple of days to get it sorted and downloaded. Also some cute photos of him in the car on the way home.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Way to go, Karen and Kodi! Will look forward to the pictures and/or video!


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## Beau's mom (Oct 6, 2011)

Karen -

Maybe you could define some of the terms for those of us who are uninitiated? I don't even understand what a rally is. I'm sorry if I'm asking you to repeat yourself.

But, congratulations!! I do get that it's a big deal!

Thanks.


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

Congrats!!!! So happy for you both, I can't wait for the pictures!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Beau's mom said:


> Karen -
> 
> Maybe you could define some of the terms for those of us who are uninitiated? I don't even understand what a rally is. I'm sorry if I'm asking you to repeat yourself.
> 
> ...


Rally Obedience is a form of competitive obedience where there is a course laid out with a bunch of signs. You proceed around the course doing what each sign tells you and are judged on your performance. There are, as far as I know, three main Rally venues here in the U.S. ... AKC, APDT and UKC. Kodi and I compete in AKC and APDT. (we also compete in formal obedience and agility, but explanations of those will have to wait till another day!:biggrin1

Both AKC and APDT have 3 levels of Rally. The first level is similar in difficulty between the two and both are done on-leash, though there are differences between the venues. After the lowest level in both AKC and APDT, all work is done off-leash. APDT Level two is about the level of difficulty of AKC Excellent, which is AKC's highest level. Level 3 in APDT is VERY difficult. Kodi isn't quite ready for it yet. AKC works on a maximum score of 100, APDT works on a maximum score of 210.

Kodi has completed Levels 1&2 in APDT, and is working on advanced titles in those levels. He has achieved his "ARCH" (APDT Rally Champion) title. He has completed all three levels in AKC, and is working on his "RAE" (Rally Advanced Excellent) which is the highest AKC Rally title offered.

Here is a YouTube video of us doing APDT Level 2 with a perfect score of 210.






If you look under KarenRandall54, you can see a bunch of other runs, some better, some worse, some APDT, some AKC, plus a couple of CDSP Obedience (formal obedience) runs. I THINK Kodi's very first Rally competition ever is there too. That should give you an idea of some of the different venues and the two different sports. (most of them are probably also posted here on the forum under the Rally section, but you'd probably have to dig for them a bit)

Hope that explains a little about a fun sport. If you are really interested, both AKC and APDT have websites with all the rules in detail. It's really fun... Consider giving it a try!


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## Rene831 (Mar 25, 2012)

Way to go Karen and Kodi! Looking forward to seeing the video. Charly thinks rally might be fun.


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## Lsprick (Jul 8, 2010)

Karen, congratulations! You're an inspiration to me! Will watch for the video.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

OK, here are the videos, as promised. I've put up the good and the bad, so you can see both.<g> I still don't know why he got "stuck" in the run where he wouldn't move off the start line. (the caption says we NQ'd, so you can tell which one it is) He didn't need to potty... I'd just taken him. He wasn't tired, because he went on to have other good runs. When I watch the video, he isn't laggy or unhappy looking in between the "stuck" moments, so I really don't have a clue.

In another video, there is just ONE place, where he got distracted, moved away from me and froze. THAT is a different kind of getting stuck, and I know what causes it, because I've seen it before, both in training and in competition. If he thinks he's done something wrong, even if I do NOTHING to correct him, he will freeze like that. Fortunately, I was able to get him heeling forward again in that run, and it wasn't a big deal... just a 1 point "out of position".

I've TRIED to put these up in the order we ran them in, but I'm not sure I've got it exactly right, and there are two missing that didn't get taped.
















And finally, here are a couple of (bad) iPhone photos of my tired boy on the way home!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Once again Karen, congratulations on another great perfomance. And thanks for promoting APDT events. Our group IAABC is possibly merging with APDT. Lots of good info at their site. http://www.apdt.com/ Sorry for sneaking in this plug. LOL


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> Once again Karen, congratulations on another great perfomance. And thanks for promoting APDT events. Our group IAABC is possibly merging with APDT. Lots of good info at their site. http://www.apdt.com/ Sorry for sneaking in this plug. LOL


Thanks, Dave, and no problem with the "plug". Actually, APDT is selling off the Rally venue. They've decided (and I'm sorry, but I do understand their position) that administrating a competition venue doesn't mesh with their vision and mission. They've made it clear that they are going to try to be VERY careful to place APDT Rally in the hands of a group who will continue to support and nurture it as the great sport it is. We were supposed to know by now what their decision was going to be (there are several groups bidding on it) but I very much hope it ends up in the hands of the long-time Rally supporters, competitors and judges who have come together as "RAD" (Rally All Dogs), formally known as "Rally Nation". (there's MY plug! )

In the mean time, we keep Rallying on!:biggrin1:

BTW, I'd love it if you and Carol would look at the video where he got stuck and NQ'd and see if you see anything I don't in terms of what might have been going on in his furry brain. I think I did the right thing by NQ'ing myself and turning it into a fun practice run, but I can't figure out for the life of me what happened!


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Karen, Call Pam and see if you two can work out how to watch the videos at the same time so you can talk about individual instants. We just watched them all several times together.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

krandall said:


> Thanks, Dave, and no problem with the "plug". Actually, APDT is selling off the Rally venue. They've decided (and I'm sorry, but I do understand their position) that administrating a competition venue doesn't mesh with their vision and mission. They've made it clear that they are going to try to be VERY careful to place APDT Rally in the hands of a group who will continue to support and nurture it as the great sport it is. We were supposed to know by now what their decision was going to be (there are several groups bidding on it) but I very much hope it ends up in the hands of the long-time Rally supporters, competitors and judges who have come together as "RAD" (Rally All Dogs), formally known as "Rally Nation". (there's MY plug! )
> 
> In the mean time, we keep Rallying on!:biggrin1:
> 
> BTW, I'd love it if you and Carol would look at the video where he got stuck and NQ'd and see if you see anything I don't in terms of what might have been going on in his furry brain. I think I did the right thing by NQ'ing myself and turning it into a fun practice run, but I can't figure out for the life of me what happened!


yeah as far as him looking distracted or signs of stress, I couldn't see any. No displacement behaviors. You're probably asking the wrong guy though when it comes to the rules. Are treating and luring allowed? Let me get back to you.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> yeah as far as him looking distracted or signs of stress, I couldn't see any. No displacement behaviors. You're probably asking the wrong guy though when it comes to the rules. Are treating and luring allowed? Let me get back to you.


I know the rules, that's not the problem. Treating is definitely allowed at the end of stationary signs in APDT. Luring with treats (or even the "appearance of luring", like holding your fingers as if you had a treat in them) is an automatic NQ, which I knew before I did it. (you ARE allowed to use an open hand as a "target") But he was pretty totally stuck, as you can see in the video. I was more concerned about making it a good experience for him than I was about the Q. So I made the decision to get the cookies out sooner rather than later, to get him moving and enjoying the "game" again.

I NEVER want to put a score or title above my relationship with my dog. The nice thing about APDT is that unlike AKC, where "training in the ring" is expressly prohibited, if things are going badly, it is encouraged by the judges in APDT. I've seen people turn to the judge in level 2 ( performed off leash) when their dog is running amuck, or has left the ring, and ask for their leash back. Obviously, they are not going to Q with their leash, but they are allowed to finish the course for training purposes anyway. It's pretty common, if a dog is struggling, for a person just to decide to feed and NQ. The couple of times I've done it, (the other time was Kodi's very first competition) the judge has told me that I made the right decision to help my dog.


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## ShirleyH (Sep 13, 2009)

Great work, Karen and Kodi. 

Keeper's Mom


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Got a reply from a superb trainer and IAABC member .

"I thought her choice was a good one. I would have done that too - NQd 
but kept it fun for the dog."

Pamela Dennison, CDBC
http://www.positivedogs.com
http://idiotsguidepositivedogtraining.com
Email: [email protected]

I'm waiting for a reply from a APDT rally judge. Let you know when I hear back.


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

Karen, I just love seeing you and kodi having so much fun! All your hard work is giveing you and Kodi some real nice runs. The sleepy Kodi pictures are adorable.

You always give Kodi a pre-run treat, I think its a signel between the time you gave it and your step off, in this video it does not show you giving it but, your blouse looks like you did, it could be something in the first movements that he cues off of. It's just a thought...I think you two did great, things like this only make us better.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> Got a reply from a superb trainer and IAABC member .
> 
> "I thought her choice was a good one. I would have done that too - NQd
> but kept it fun for the dog."
> ...


Pam did a clinic at our training facility. I would have liked to go, but I was away at the time. I know they think very highly of her.


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## Rene831 (Mar 25, 2012)

I love the back seat pics of Kodi all worn out after the big weekend of Rally.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

The Laughing Magpie said:


> Karen, I just love seeing you and kodi having so much fun! All your hard work is giveing you and Kodi some real nice runs. The sleepy Kodi pictures are adorable.
> 
> You always give Kodi a pre-run treat, I think its a signel between the time you gave it and your step off, in this video it does not show you giving it but, your blouse looks like you did, it could be something in the first movements that he cues off of. It's just a thought...I think you two did great, things like this only make us better.


Thanks, Robbie! I do try to make sure he's having fun.

I did give him a treat on the start line, it just doesn't show on the video because there was a slight pause as they reset the jump, which had been left up too high. I wasn't sure of the rules under those circumstances, so I didn't give him another one. But I certainly don't ALWAYS do this... I try to mix it up in terms of where or whether I give treats in APDT. We can't use treats at all in AKC, and in CDSP you can give a treat at the END of an exercize, with the dog still in position, but not before or during an exercize. Likewise, we can't bring food into the ring in agility.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not disappointed in how we did. We got 7 Q's all with scores well over 200 (with 2 perfect 210 scores) out of 8 runs. Who could be disappointed with that? I just like, if possible, to understand what went wrong, so I can improve on it, or prevent it the next time. I'm just having trouble figuring this one out!


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## Eddie (Feb 11, 2012)

Kodi you are a star , great video's


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

I really do think it is something subtle at the very beginning of the run. Kodi is very focused on you, this of course is what we want, but he also sees things we don't know we do. It could be anything most of us mix up what we give to our dogs or do with them on the starting line so they will not anticipate, but often we forget about what we do as part of the team. We do human things, some of us fiddle with our hair, some the shoes, others clothing....tiny...tiny. Could it be changing the jump altered your actions in some small way.

We often video each others practice and look at it as a group (any of you new owner/handlers this is great for conformation, you can have a friend video you doing patterns from the angle of the judge), Wow, the things one does not notice, I always step off opposite to most others, my dogs expect this. Yogi needs to see my face, if my hair is in my face he will turn to see my face. Misty is a had watcher so is my new girl.

I am doing a tricks class with my granddaugher for the summer, I have Khloe (really trying to curb the yapping with out baiting her), Alison has Misty...what I notice is Alison was trying to do this exercise..A trick to get your dog in heel position; call front, you move your right leg sideways and it cues them to go thru your legs to heel position, Alison would call front with both hands, Misty would come/sit, Alison would ever so slightly drop her hand and Misty drops in to a down. Alison is going blind in her right eye so this is great for her eye hand coordination.

I really do think it is just a tiny thing and I believe you will get to the bottom of it.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Yeah Pam is great. Has written a few books and videos. I will PM you another reply I got from a Judge LOL . I hear ya though ,sometimes like Robbie mentioned, it's the little changes in routine that I think can throw them off and it drives ya nuts trying to figure out what happened.


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## Cailleach (Jan 30, 2010)

Loved watching the videos. Drat I googled and there are no classes offered other than a 5 hour drive there and 5 home...don't think the hubby would be too interested in doing that.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Cailleach said:


> Loved watching the videos. Drat I googled and there are no classes offered other than a 5 hour drive there and 5 home...don't think the hubby would be too interested in doing that.


But you're already doing Rally, and doing great! Just download the rules and practice the slightly different signs. We eon't have any "rally classes" either... Not even AKC, let alone APDT. I just show my regular obedience trainer what signs I need help with, and she helps me figure out how to teach them to him.


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