height measurments
Do I just show up at a show and ask for my dog to be measured or do I have to be competing in an event in order to even get measured? I am a little comfused as to how to go about getting started with all this. |
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| If you just started training it's probably a bit premature to worry about a height card. You only need one in agility - in obedience and rally you merely declare your dog's height - and you don't even need to do that in novice since there are no jumps - and if the judge feels s/he has cause to disagree, s/he may wicket the dog, though I've never personally seen it happen.
OK, translation. Temporary card used to refer to any card you got before the dog was 2 years old. Now that you need two measurements, and Sybil is my first new dog since this change went into effect, after you get your first measurement you still need to (quickly) get the second one. My agility instructor is also an agility judge as well as what they call VMO (Voluntary Measuring Official or something like that - I can look it up if you want specifics.) It used to be that only agility reps (this is all AKC, every organization does it differently) could measure your dog. There aren't very many of them so it used to take a while before you lucked out and got your height card. Now they have these VMOs and as long as there is one of them AND/OR an agility rep at a trial you can bring your dog to have him/her measured even if you aren't entered. In fact, it's a good idea to take the dog to some trials before you're ready to enter just to get him/her used to the atmosphere without the pressure of running. Now that you need two measurements (pain in the butt if you ask me, but oh well) visiting a few trials is even more advantageous. Not all trials have measuring officials, but many more do now and it will say so in the premium. You can still enter your dog before you have any kind of height card, but now you're guessing. I finished Belle's Novice standard title plus picked up a jumpers leg or two at 24" before I found someone who would measure her and she measured down to the 20" class. That means she is 22" or less at the withers (21.5" officially in her case). Any dog that measures OVER 22" at the withers (i.e. the majority of OES males for starters) jumps at the higher jump height - 24". If your dog is anywhere near 22", when you go to enter, if you don't have a height card yet. enter the dog in the 20" jump height classes. That way, if s/he measures in, you're fine. If s/he measures up, that's OK. But if you enter him/her in the 24" jump height and it turns out s/he is 22" or less, they won't move you down to the 20" class for that trial. That would stink. I had this argument with Maxxm last year when she entered the national (agility) as I recall and felt a wee bit put out that you have to pick a jump height (you do) and I made her pick the lower one to cover her patootie. Well, not hers really, but Toby's. It pays. Trust me. Been there, done that. Another thing you might want to consider doing is teaching your dog to (a)stand nicely and (b) stand nicely when some strange person lowers a stick onto his/her shoulder blade. I've played with measuring my own dogs with just a measuring stick and a piece of wood, but I'm always off, so I just watch the youngsters grow, compare them to the bitches I have measurements on, and pray they won't get too tall 
Hope this helps. How long have you been training? Kristine |
| Thanks for all the info. We literally just started training this session. My instructors tell me that Bear would have no problem earning his CD right now but I dont believe we are ready because I have no idea how the shows work so I am going to go check some out in the area in the next coming months. Lily, my girl will start training more intensly in agility in October and hse will be my jumpin girl, bear will just do rally and obedience. I am reading about rules and regulations and all that stuff now, hence the questions, and I have ordered some books and things as well. I didnt knwo I was allowed to take them with me to go view a show without entering, I thought only dogs that were in the show were allowed on the premises. I have also been trying to figure out in what order you have to take the classes and how many times you have to qualify to get a title and all that stuff. Some times when I read the rules it makes sense but then when I go back to clarify something I read somewhere else it makes no sense to me again. I dont know, maybe I just dont get it and it really isnt as hard as I am making it out to be. I also am going to join a local club to work more on showing and so on but I havent decided which one yet. It is difficult for me to find a club that participates or at least has training courses in all 3 events I am interested in ( agility, obedience and rally). I contacted the OESLNC but havent heard from anyone and I also wanted to join the OESCA but I dont know 2 people to get signatures from in order to be able to join. I didnt think it would be this confusing and sometimes difficult to get info. There are very few OES around my area which I find disappointing or anything related to this breed. Mostly everything that is breed specific is in Los Angeles area and that is a 7 hour drive for me. I just cant make it on a regular basis down there due to working nights and weekends. Anyway, thanks for all the info that helped out a lot. Im sure a lot more the more I attend some shows and ask questions. |
| Kristine's advice, was as usual very helpful. I figured out a few of my own gaps reading it
As for joining OESCA - I went to my breeder. Since my dog had co breeders it worked out well for me - two signatures, no problem. I did wait until my dog was two ato do it though - I always have issues  SOunds like you have two dogs so you still might have access to two signatures that way. |
For clarification - most indoor shows will have something in the premium stating "no unentered dogs allowed". This is due to space. Also, shows that are attached to allbreed conformation shows tend to be stricter on the no unnentered dogs allowed. However, outdoor agility trials tend to be very liberal about allowing unentered dogs and even (hsssh) puppies (no puppies under the age of 6 mos are permitted at AKC sanctioned events). So when you ask someone at an agility trial with a puppy how old the puppy is, it is ALWAYS six months old, OK?  They're more liberal because they realize young/green dogs need that exposure. These are hectic, high energy events and getting dogs used to that before they compete is a huge advantage for dog and handler - and their future competitors
Titles - well, the starting out ones are simple. Most rally, agility, obedience titles requuire 3 legs (qualifying scores) under at least two different judges. When you get to the higher levels, some titles may require ten legs - such as the MX and MXJ and whatever the FAST equivalent is in agility - and possibly a combination of qualifying scores from two classes on the same day such as obedience UDX: need to qualify in Open B and Utility B ten times at the same trial/same day, or rally - the RAE requires qualifying in Advanced B and Excellent B ten times on the same day. And then there are the championship titles whic are different again. Don't worry about those - by the time you're ready for those titles, it will all be old hat for you. Herding is different and I can put you in touch with someone who can explain it because I will no doubt get it wrong 
I'm geographically challenged: is San Mateo in Northern California? If so, one of our top herding people is in Wilton, CA. Debra Lehr. She's an AKC (and I think maybe also AHBA) herding judge who breeds OES and Border Collies, OESCA member, also shows in breed as well as obedience and a little rally. She teaches herding as well. I know that's a haul for you (bless you, Mapquest) but PM me if interested and I'll give you her contact info. I strongly suggest you make an appointment to have your guys privately herding instinct tested, or ask her about events in your area that might be of interest to you that she plans to be at and ask her to talk to you about these things, give you some pointers, etc. She would be an invaluable resource. I know several herding people in the midwest who'd give anything to be as close to her geographically as you are. Consider yourself lucky!!! She probably won't know too much about agility, though I think she's trained at least one dog in it to some extent. Lucky you (again!) - you have another one of the breed's top performance people in Northern California (Valley Springs, I think), also within driving distance, that would be Marjorie Trebino. I'm pretty sure she teaches obedience, not sure about agility, but she's a superb competitor and she also does tracking - she has the breeds only (two) TDX dogs. She's down to one OES these days (also a Bear) plus her border collie. I'm hoping she'll get another puppy soon. Also an OESCA member, also an incredible resource. Same deal - PM me for contact info. (That goes for other OES people in that area who are interested in performance - you have no idea how darn lucky you are!!!!!) The thing about joining OESCA is to be able to sponsor you, people have to know you sort of personally, beyond the forum. So you need to meet OESCA members. The above is a start and they can also put you in touch with others and let you know about events. You are correct that No California is not as well populated OES-wise as So Cal, but the national next year is in Northern California and the performance events look to be outstanding, herding especially. You can also join the yahoo performance group http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/performance_oes/ It's small (less than 60 members) and very quiet compared to this, but very friendly and supportive. Mind you, to get answers, you have to ask. There are times when we are very quiet and also times when we are very preoccupied (the national for instance). But it can also be a helpful resource. I also wrote a (very basic) article for the Seattle OES club that I put on the performance oes website ( www.performanceoes.com - front page - "more than just another pretty face") that has some introductory info and I know OESCA is planning to add much more performance information including a how-to-get-started  information to their website, but for now use the other resources and know that the questions you ask are actually helping ME know what to write about. So thanks and keep asking!
Kristine |
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