Practice At IPO Events - Page 1

Do we really need to have schedule practice at out National IPO Events anymore?  I feel that practice at our events are more traditional than necessary, our trainer are way more sophisticated then we were ten years ago.  We could save money, time, and not have to worry about whether or not someone is looking over our shoulders for abuse.  At the BSP they are not allowed to practice protection, only obedience. This years WUSV World Champion Helmut Huber did not practice protection at the stadium.  I know this thought will scare the shit out of most competitors!   I know, I know, what about the blinds?   What about the send out?   My question is,  are these commands only good once a dog is familiar with his surrounding or is it a command that should happen anytime, any place?

With todays economy imagine how much money the competitors and the organization would save and imagine how much better dog trainer we will be come.  Give me your thoughts.

LOL, Wallace, apparently your audience is speechless . Yes, it would make us better trainers and make the competition more difficult. If practice at national events is eliminated, I would also like to vote to introduce a “draw” for the order of the motion exercises in obedience. It might become quite interesting if we would move away from pattern training and see a performance where the dog does not know the routine of the exercises better than the handler does.  

Would raise the bar and make us better trainers!

Daniela

Hi Wallace, can't believe you would ask the question!!  It must be to illustrate something to someone?  Not many will touch this with with you as the author, LOL!
I'm just the fool on the hill.

Connie Doan

Hi Connie,
  I demonstrated it at this years qualification trial.  I missed making the team with a 2 1/2 year old dog by half a point.  You can go to youtube to see the video and I didn't practice at that stadium at all.  My dog walked the last article on the track other wise I would have been on the team.   One judge gave me 90 the other gave me 95 in obed.  one judge gave me 99 the other gave me 100 in protection.   So, not practing in the stadium wasn't the reason why I didn't make the team.

I just think it will make us stronger trainers and save us a lot of money.

Wallace, you have proven yourself and your training many times over many years.  Your accomplishments are known in the sport the world over.  So sorry you missed a beat (or a half beat) this year.  I look forward to seeing you again and visiting my friends in Atlanta!

I would love it if we didn't have practice! Separate some dogs from the others. And some trainers from the others. Come to think of it, I probably shouldn't have done the sendout at my practice.... Might have had better luck with that "platz"...
Shade

Are you saying no practice of protection and obedience or just protection? Maybe just eliminate protection practice? This would free up the helpers' time as well since they wouldn't have to be available for those extra days. Club and  even Regional trials it would be nice to still have the option to practice, but for the Nationals it shouldn't be a deal breaker. Although I do think it would be nice to allow the handlers on the field to walk it and get a feel for it. I know at certain horse shows you would never be allowed to practice on the horse, but the venue would have walk through times for the riders. It was a nice thing to do to get a feel for the place and to make mental notes of dips in the terrain or a weird view that may set the horse off. It is a helpful thing for some people to get a sense of the place. I have a horrible sense of direction so the option to give myself some visual markers just to keep myself centered is a bonus. 
Of course, Wallace, you have been to way more events than the average joe so it may seem like a non-issue to you way more than someone who is there for the first time. 
Annette

Wallace,

I agree with your idea for the most part, and I say that especially for the WUSV and FCI (international) competitions this should be the scenario. I do, however, feel that we are still struggling to get the participation at the regional and national level competitions. This year the DVG nationals in your neck of the woods was a nice turn out, however, in recent years it has been lack luster among most of the organizations and sparse at a lot of the regional and national events. I feel that a lot of handlers are "pulling" at the last minute or last days leading up to the trial. I'm more interested in figuring out ways to increase the popularity and acceptance of our dog sport through education.

By removing the practice time at the international level we can see the separation of the highest level of dogs. If we do this first we can assess it's results and outcomes, and my opinion is that some "holes" in certain training styles will be exposed. Is that what we want to do at our regional and national level events? I can tell you that most less-experienced trainers will likely skip the higher trials and may miss out on a great opportunity within the sport simply because our sport is already very tough for the average to above average handler-dog team. When the participation reaches the point of the BSP in germany and our regionals similar to the LGA, then I would say we should assess the scores and see if there is something needed to separate the top competitors more clearly. Then we could remove practice for those events without preventing new interest in our sport!

Daniela-To change the order of the exercise would be to drasticly change our sport, and while it might create a change in training, I would say that we are already judging the obedience differently to increase the difficulty. Are we seeing too many "V" obedience routines? No... Is IPO a real life scenario? No... IPO is still a sport, and it has a lot of history and tradition. While our dogs are not quite the same as they used to beat at the inception, neither are the training methods or understanding of psycological principles. If many dogs were recieving "excellent" ratings in obedience then I would say that we need to do something to separate, but it is not the case.

Wallace-I do want to reiterate that your point is valid and with merit. It would save money for many and possibly change with way we look at training for the higher level competitions, but is it worth it to save money only to have a negative experience at a national level competition? You have an excellent understanding of how to train a dog which is apparent through your success, mentorship in your club and associations, and your reputation in IPO, but most of the trainers are years and years away from where you are, and I would venture to say that during those years while people are preparing themselves for competing at that level and obtaining knowledge within our sport they will NEED every bit of help they can get. Do you personally feel we are scoring too well at our events or are you more interesting in changing the dynamic of our sport with these changes? Both are interesting and noteworthy topics, to me.

Travis

Hi Travis,
   The only thing I'm interested in is the expense.  The number two reason for lack of attendence (Right behind the dog is not ready) is the expense it takes to be at these events.  If practice was gone we would only have show up at draw if we choose.  The five or ten minutes of practice really does not influence the out come of the event but the extra day or two it takes to do those five or ten minutes does influence your wallet!  Also, keep in mind I did not mention regionals championship and in most cases that I have observed MOST of the dogs I watch practice really gain nothing from it.  If practice was that important the score would reflex such.  Don't get me wrong,  I may very well practice at my next event but, if practice wasn't there we would save a lot of money and I and many other would be there blowing send out, blinds, and going around jumps.  But, the next championship we will be richer and better.