# Video of Kodi's Level 2 run



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

For your entertainment! (sorry for the direct view of my butt in the beginning... that's what you get when you hand a camera to a total stranger!ound


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## brugmansia (Dec 6, 2007)

Wow, that ring is as big as the one I ran this weekend with Dickson. Great job!!! Thanks for sharing.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

brugmansia said:


> Wow, that ring is as big as the one I ran this weekend with Dickson. Great job!!! Thanks for sharing.


Oh, do you have video of Dickson? We'd love to see it! How did he do? What level are you running?

Re: the size, yeah, APDT courses are a lot longer than AKC courses, so they need more space. Now that he heels well, I like the more open courses, though. They don't feel as cramped.


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

Good going! Love Kodi's exuberance! Since our first class, where Augie ran amok off leash, he has been doing great. I think little brother has helped use some of that excess energy!  It is much easier off leash than on, I think. In class, it seems like all our dogs do better off leash.


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## brugmansia (Dec 6, 2007)

I will have to agree with the off leash. I think Dickson certainly loves being off leash. It is hard with him on leash.


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## brugmansia (Dec 6, 2007)

Karen - We just completed Level 1A. We are now in Level 1B, since Dickson is soooo not ready for Level 2. We're just doing AKC Advanced and I think that APDT Level 2 is much harder than AKC. Now I have to figure out where to get the next 9 legs for Dickson to earn his Level 1B title. The club we participated in only holds an APDT trial once a year . . . time to travel out-of-state and out of our area, but that's good practice for Dickson.


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

Great job! I love Kodi's enthusiasm!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

motherslittlehelper said:


> Good going! Love Kodi's exuberance! Since our first class, where Augie ran amok off leash, he has been doing great. I think little brother has helped use some of that excess energy!  It is much easier off leash than on, I think. In class, it seems like all our dogs do better off leash.


I agree! Once they've really got the idea of heeling, off leash is easier. Unfortunately, you've still got to get through Novice (or Level 1) before they allow you to work off leash (and then the exercises are harder!) so don't stop practicing with the leash too!

What I've found with Kodi is that when he was REALLY ready for Level 2, the on-leash stuff was easier too, because it simply became superfluous. If he's really heeling tight (where he should be) the leash is completely slack anyway, and has no influence on him one way or the other.


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## ShirleyH (Sep 13, 2009)

What a STAR he is, Karen, just a great job.

Shirley H. (Keeper's Mom)


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

brugmansia said:


> Karen - We just completed Level 1A. We are now in Level 1B, since Dickson is soooo not ready for Level 2. We're just doing AKC Advanced and I think that APDT Level 2 is much harder than AKC. Now I have to figure out where to get the next 9 legs for Dickson to earn his Level 1B title. The club we participated in only holds an APDT trial once a year . . . time to travel out-of-state and out of our area, but that's good practice for Dickson.


We have just one more level for our level 1 championship, but we're lucky that have a lot of APDT trials in our area. We did exactly what you are planning. Kodi got his Level 1 title in his first 3 trials over two weekends. He was only 15 months old and WAY not ready to move on to Level 2. That's one of the things I like about APDT, there are always other titles and combined titles you can work toward, even if your dog isn't ready to move up.

I really have to look into what AKC trials are in the fall and see if we can get our AKC Advanced done too. We're also preparing for our AKC Beginner Novice Obedience. He's close, but not quite ready for that. (and I've got to get used to not talking to him so much!ound

Where are you? There are a lot of APDT trials here in New England, and I've heard there are quite a few in the NJ area too.

The new thing coming to our area is CDSP Obedience. (it used to be St. Hubert's) It's harder than AKC Beginner Novice, but doesn't have the long sits and downs that AKC has. It has an "honor" stay, like AKC Rally Excellent, but their whole philosophy is that they never want two dogs off leash in the ring at the same time. I think I'll feel safer with that. We'll probably eventually do AKC obedience beyond Beginner Novice too, but I think we'll probably do it at the Toy Dog Cluster we have here in MA. Then he'll only be sitting loose with dogs who can't, potentially, eat him.:biggrin1:

We want to see Dickson's title photo when you get it!!!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Great stuff, he looks relaxed. And that is a nice facility. Keep up the great work.


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

krandall said:


> I agree! Once they've really got the idea of heeling, off leash is easier. Unfortunately, you've still got to get through Novice (or Level 1) before they allow you to work off leash (and then the exercises are harder!) so don't stop practicing with the leash too!
> 
> What I've found with Kodi is that when he was REALLY ready for Level 2, the on-leash stuff was easier too, because it simply became superfluous. If he's really heeling tight (where he should be) the leash is completely slack anyway, and has no influence on him one way or the other.


Well, the problems we usually encounter with the leash are usually caused by handler clumsiness! :biggrin1: I talk a lot to Augie too - usually idiotic stuff so he will stay focused on me!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> Great stuff, he looks relaxed. And that is a nice facility. Keep up the great work.


Thanks. He seems to have a great time with it... As far as he's concerned, life's a game!

That's Gail Fisher's All Dog's Inn!:biggrin1:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

motherslittlehelper said:


> Well, the problems we usually encounter with the leash are usually caused by handler clumsiness! :biggrin1: I talk a lot to Augie too - usually idiotic stuff so he will stay focused on me!


I think I mentioned that at the workshop on Friday, one of the exercises was to run a course without talking at all. (not even voice commands) It was amazing how well everyone did. Not perfect, but it was pretty obvious that we ALL talk a lot more than we really NEED to!


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Great job Karen and Kodi. I wish that I were younger so that I could get Rosie into agility. By the way, there is not another dog out there that looks any better than Kodi. I would judge him best of breed anytime. And his gait, the way he puts his front feet down--lovely.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Aww, gee, Lucile, THANK you!

BTW, Agility might be too much for you, but after you get your heart business all squared away, there's no reason you and Rosie couldn't do Rally... You only have to walk around the course. We have a lady who competes with us who just had her 80th b'day!


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Karen, I just saw your video, it's SO fun to watch! Thank you for having someone tape it for you to share with us, too. Kodi has such exuberance is his obedience, I can't help but grin. LOVE HIM!! 

Question about the judging, though... Is this not obedience? Does he get marked down for the jumping? When I competed in obedience (25 years ago) I don't think it would have been allowed.


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

Love Kodi's pop when he finish's right, really looks great. I knew you would want do Obedience eventually, it is all about precision, but you can still have fun!!! I have been doing obedience with Misty and when we started doing Rally the odedience training really helps.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Sheri said:


> Karen, I just saw your video, it's SO fun to watch! Thank you for having someone tape it for you to share with us, too. Kodi has such exuberance is his obedience, I can't help but grin. LOVE HIM!!
> 
> Question about the judging, though... Is this not obedience? Does he get marked down for the jumping? When I competed in obedience (25 years ago) I don't think it would have been allowed.


It depends. The jumps he does when he's doing a finish or a pivot, where he doesn't touch me are fine, and don't count against us. I've been told they are even fine in formal obedience.

He should NOT have jumped on me in the recall... if you notice, I told him to sit when he was half way to me in an unsuccessful effort to pre-empt it:biggrin1: We definitely got points off for that. I don't remember if she took points off for the little pop-up he did before the down, but he didn't jump ON me, so it wasn't a big deal.

He doesn't usually jump up before a down, but it's definitely something we're working on with the recalls. I have an easier time slowing him down on an AKC length recall. The distance is so short for the APDT recall that I can't get "Sit!" out of my mouth fast enough for him to put on the breaks. At least he always comes when I call!ound:

His score for the course was 200, out of a possible 210. I lost 3 points for not staying 6' out from the jump, and another 3 points for telling him to stay for the recall more than once as I walked away from him. (both were intentional, to prevent worse errors!<g>) he had a crooked sit on the finish from the recall, which would have been another point. That leaves 3. My guess was she took 2 for him jumping on me on the recall, and one for him popping up on the down. (I have to pull the score sheet off my camera before I can look to see if my guesses are right!)

Also, there IS a difference in the judging between formal obedience and Rally Obedience. Rally is supposed to emphasize the relationship between the dog and handler, and a "perfect" performance is not supposed to be at the expense of a happy dog enjoying his work. So even today, him jumping on me would be scored much harder in formal obedience than it is in Rally.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

The Laughing Magpie said:


> Love Kodi's pop when he finish's right, really looks great. I knew you would want do Obedience eventually, it is all about precision, but you can still have fun!!! I have been doing obedience with Misty and when we started doing Rally the odedience training really helps.


Yeah, if you ONLY want to do Rally, you can get away with a lot. But if you intend to do obedience sooner or later, you have to keep sharpening up those skills. Some dogs in Rally get away with sort of sauntering along, in the general vicinity of the owner. I want his heeling to be nice and tight. He started to lose it on one turn in the beginning of the course, but from then on, he was right with me. I love his pop finishes too... I don't know if he'll always do them, but people sure enjoy watching them now!:biggrin1:


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Well, he's a joy to watch, because he is obviously a happy boy doing something he likes with someone he loves. 

And, it just doesn't get better than that! eace:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Thanks. We continue to work on the jumping. He did manage the "bonus" recall in level 1 without jumping on me, so I know he can do it!:biggrin1:


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## brugmansia (Dec 6, 2007)

We live on Long Island in NY. There are some in NJ but they are all full. There is one coming up in Staten Island, NY on Aug. 20th and 21st. I don't know anything about the facility though.

I see that you have a lot in MA. I used to live up there in the 90s for seven years in Brighton, MA, so I'm familiar with parts of MA. You are lucky to have a lot of trials up there. There is one in Hamden, CT in which one of the judges we had this past weekend will be judging at on Sept. 18th. Another one that was mentioned was the Port Chester APDT Trial that will be in White Plains on Nov. 6th. The other judge said is was a big facility and nice. All of these are indoor. What to do, what to do . . .

If you want a sneak peak at Dickson's title portrait, you can check it out at www.furrypawspetportraits.com under Portraits & Events. You can't miss him towards the end. He's the only Havanese that was in the trial.

As for AKC Rally Advanced - I think the next trial in our area is sometime in October. We have more AKC Rally trials in the Fall, Winter and Spring. We'll see how far we are. Dickson is taking Obedience classes, but we're a long way off. It helps with the Rally though. I like the idea of trialing with other small dogs. I've never heard of CDSP Obedience - I'll have to see if my trainer has heard of it. She takes a lot of seminars and all. Dickson has his first CPE Agility trial in August.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Yeah, you have to really keep on top of the entry dates, for APDT AND AKC to make sure you get them in on time. Some around here have room enough that they can take entries right up to the day of the trial (AKC doesn't do that, though) but you can't count on it. The really popular venues fill quickly. At the trial this weekend, there were ver 20 dogs in both the Level 1 and Level 2 classes, and they didn't technically even offer "A" classes. They let a few of us who were there anyway add an "A" run where they had a scratch.

I'll have to check those CT APDT trials and see if there's one I could get to too. It would be great to meet up for the weekend! We have a lot more AKC trials than APDT trials too... you can usual find one one just about any weekend you want!

I *LOVE* Dickson's title portraits!!!! How cute are those?!?! The trouble is, I couldn't possibly just pick one.:biggrin1:

I'll definitely want to hear how your Agility trial goes too. I haven't even THOUGHT about those competitions yet. Kodi is doing really well in class, and we both have great fun with it, but I have an awfully hard time remembering the courses. I guess I need signs like on the Rally courses!ound:


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## Kati (Feb 20, 2010)

I am so impressed! Good job Kodi and Karen.


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## Atticus (May 17, 2011)

WOW Karen his attention is fabulous, eyes on you the whole time and such a nice tight heel. Of course as someone who does freestyle I secretly loved the pop ups! Really nice job! He is so handsome I love his stride and flowing coat!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Thanks, Jodi and Katrina!


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

Yogi does some pop finishes for obedience, very legal at certain times, it is to keep him from getting board. It really looks good to the on lookers. Just loved seeing Kodi do it.


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