Wworm

Well i have good news... I am going to get evaluated on my "aptitude" for Agility... that sounds like a test and it sounds just as scarry as GroundDog Day!

but we must do so in order to get started at an Agility training center here, so i guess that is exciting. we got inspired after attending the Dog Show here in SF last week.... we went to visit the basset hounds & guess what?? Mr. Mikey & Mrs. Soundtrack are known here on the Left Coast.... whatta small world!! so-and-so's dog was mentioned and we said... "oh yes! so-and-so is Mrs. Soundtrack!"

Evaluation for aptitude, aptitude, attitude, ... do they mean my Bassetude?? my Bassetude is that i m a bit stubborn but will do anything for foods! yes, that's fooooods, plural.

ok, well we think we are heading down this road first, but we had some other ??s. wonder if folks here know.
1. Canine Good Citizen: is this a good thing to do? what're the benefits of becoming a good citizen? at first we were wondering whether to do CGC first or agility, tho we r leaning on agility first right now. but out of curiosity, would anyone prefer to do one or the other first?

2. Treiball: my teacher is starting classes in this. Any opinions on whether Bassets would like or be good at this sport? i never seen it before. from what we hear it sounds like doggie soccer? but with medicine balls that we push around with our nosies? would love to hear thoughts on this sport...

3. Flyball: my teacher is also starting class on this. Also what do folks think of this sport & bassets? i'm not sure i totally get what this is about either. it's like doggie relay race? and the dog has to run over and push a lever to get a ball and catch the ball. and run with it over what looks like doggie hurdles? did we get that right?

one of my doggie pals wants me to train in... can't remember if it's treiball or flyball... cuz she thought i'd be an asset if i wuz on their team...! maybe cuz it's becuz i'm short? i dunno! wedunno! if anyone knows stuff bout these sports, please enlighten us!
--Worm

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Wworm

My Bassets would love one of these to play ball with!!!

ah HA! bumping this link that explains flyball. kewl! now i see why my taller pal wants me on her team!

the OP on that thread is way too cute! the peeples r clever, the the toddler is very, very cute, and the dachshund is both clever & cute!

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Soundtrack

Canine Good Citizen - the exercises for this are the basic ones that any pet should know to be a wlcome member of human society. Any dog can benefit from learning this.

There is no reason why he can't learn both at once. The CGC training will help give you control during agility classes.

I used to have a Basset that was ball-crazy. We did flyball and he loved it. Flyball was more challenging back then as the box would actually toss the ball in the air and the dog had to catch it. If Wworm is good at this (and reasonably fast) he will be in demand as teams ar always looking for a good short dog to bring their jump height down (the team jumps the height for their shortest dog).

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Chili-Ch Soundtrack Spice Up Your Life
Curry-Ch Soundtrack Canadian Brass
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Vina-Ch Soundtrack Grand Illusion
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Deela-Ch Soundtrack Wink Of An Eye
Hermione - Soundtrack Spellbound
Eowyn - Soundtrack Rain Dance

Mikey T

from what I have seen which amounts to a youtube video it is a sport highly geared to the hearding breed building on their natural tendencies IMHO not a sport a basset is likely to excel at being directed verbal from a distance.

just learned it is the german sport of "ball herding " who could of guessed.



I know there was/is at least one active basset competing in flyball . How is wwormy at fetching if he is like most basset good at chasing not so good at coming back with things in his mouth flyball is not the sport for him. Also It pays to be deaf. And people complain about bassets barking yeeesh go to a fly ball Tournament some time.

In fly ball the hieght the entire team jumps is based on the shortest dog so one short dog allows the entire team to jump a lower hieght and be therefor faster, whether they can make up the spped difference between a bc and a basset is rather doubtful however.
the US style ball kickers are different



CGC is a good thing it is often required to get into therapy dog work etc. It is basic manners and temperment testing.

CGC Test Items
1.Test 1: Accepting a friendly stranger
2.Test 2: Sitting politely for petting
Test 3: Appearance and grooming
Test 4: Out for a walk (walking on a loose lead)
Test 5: Walking through a crowd
Test 6: Sit and down on command and Staying in place
Test 7: Coming when called
Test 8: Reaction to another dog
Test 9: Reaction to distraction
Test 10: Supervised separation

Toughy and Zephyr had no problems Mariah on the other hand would not stand a chance of passing.

shallhb

I agree with Mikey T. on Treiball. Really looks like a sport designed for herding breeds to me.
What goes into the Agility evaluation? One center around here does evals before they accept new students--they seem to look for general soundness and the handler having enough control over the dog that he or she won't be too disruptive or cause problems with the other dogs. Also, really basic obedience training--things like coming when called, heeling (sort of)--more like staying with the handler. And, a positive, supportive handler.
Have a great time! Hope it works out for you. If not, they may give you some pointers on what to do to get ready.

__________________
Sharon Hall

Grace (puppy in training)
Bella, UD, VER, TD, RE, CGC
Pearl,UD, TDX, RE, CGC (Waiting at the Bridge)
Samantha, Theodore, CGC, Louella, Zeke and Arty, Bassets All; (All Waiting at the Bridge)

Wworm

Thanks for all the info! the videos were fun to look at

hmmm... well then, YES! methinks i do want to be a Canine Good Citizen at some point! just that it would be too much for my person to take me to Agility and CGC classes at the same time... haha.

shallb, methinks we r talking bout the same place, cuz i am wanting to get started at the place u recommended before... geez, i hope i get a 'pass' at my evaluation...

fetching, fetching, Mr. Mikey.... well, i will fetch balls inside when they are thrown down the hallway, of course only for treeats... we haven't worked on much outdoor fetching cuz i'm usually too busy sniffing or chasing.

thanks for all the links... we do see a place nearby that does training for Flyball, and yeah, now that i thinks about it, my pal Misty wanted me to train for it too cuz i'm a shorty... Flyball seems really interesting and fun. so yeah i'll keep ya posted when i gets involved in them.

healthwise, can someone remind me what is a safe height to jump for bassets? I m 1 1/2 yrs old now. methinks i'm 13-14 inches tall or something...
--Worm

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Mikey T

that question is much debated Me and Soundtrack are among the few that will let are normal height bassets jump 12" most jump 8" in agility either opting for the breed exemption in the venues that have them or competing in the performance/perferred/specialist classes that let you jump one lower height. each agiliy venue has their own jump height cut off often basset fall in the middle of them typically a basset 14" or under would jump 12" in AKC NADAC, ASCA, CPE taking a breed exemption changing to p/p/s early vet exemption etc they can jump anywhere between 4-8 inches depending on the venue. In usdaa the jump height cut off for 12" is 12" there are very few bassets that short so most opt for the performance class that compete in usdaa but there are not many of us that do.

That said you need to work up to full height jumping the load caused by jumping stress the bones in done in a systematic way jumping at low height no higher than the elbow for 4-6 months will change the shape of the joint receving the bulk of the impact they will actually become thick and more capable of hadling the stress of jumping without causing injury.

It is an an exceedingly rare basset that could not benefit form a jumpings fundementals class they need to learn to use the back end to get elivation on their own they tend to try and jump with the front end only which cause very extended jumping style shich is fine for stright line but very bad when you have to turn over a jump.
I follow susan Salo jumping methodology there are others out there that work too. The problem when starting out there are a number of fundanemtal system outh that that are not compatable. and beiang a newbie you have no way of know which is right for you. Most instructor teach only one because like I said the are incompatable. I use Greg Derrett handling system it helps to be faster or as fast as the dog but not required to use this system with Mariah. With toughy and Zypher it was my one system that while it works for the right person it is high personal in that you definately need to be faster than the dog to use it you only want to use it because you are faster than the dog. Basical it is sort of a backward handling system from everyone else because instead of taking the shorter path I took the lonnger one runing the outside of the course not the inside,

yea TMI

I strongly recocomend You Humanz join the bassetagility yahoo group you will get a more deverse variety of opinion there

there are not too many handler that have a handling manuever named after them


and the for the note it certainly was not written by me because I have even done it when the tunnel was under the dog walk require running aroung the entire dog walk.

Extra bonus point for everyone but Mirriam that can answer correctly who are the two other people beside a
really really skinny version of me above.


If an individual does USDAA agility especial if they are a judge they are likely to know me any other venue not so much.

shallhb

[QUOTE=Wworm;132508]Thanks for all the info! the videos were fun to look at



shallb, methinks we r talking bout the same place, cuz i am wanting to get started at the place u recommended before... geez, i hope i get a 'pass' at my evaluation...

Good luck on the eval. Don't fret if they tell you you aren't ready. They'll probably tell you what you need to do to get ready, and it'll probably have to do with basic obedience skills. Also, they aren't the only Agility training site on the SF area. There's one in SF near the freeway, and some down in SJ. So far as the SJ ones go, I've heard at least one is very snity about non-traditional breeds, so you'll probably want to stay away from them. After your eval, feel free to pm me if you want/need to know more.

__________________
Sharon Hall

Grace (puppy in training)
Bella, UD, VER, TD, RE, CGC
Pearl,UD, TDX, RE, CGC (Waiting at the Bridge)
Samantha, Theodore, CGC, Louella, Zeke and Arty, Bassets All; (All Waiting at the Bridge)

Soundtrack

OTOH, my dogs tend to run very fast, me not so much, no way I can keep ahead of them, so I need to be able to cue them from behind. SallyAnne especially would get the zoomies and take whatever obstacle was in front of her, so we needed a strong call off.

__________________
Rosie-Ch Soundtrack Cracklin' Rose CGN AGN RA Am RN TT
Melody-Ch Soundtrack Unchained Melody TT
Sailor-Ch Soundtrack Expedition Sailor RN TT
Chili-Ch Soundtrack Spice Up Your Life
Curry-Ch Soundtrack Canadian Brass
Pepper-Ch Pennieslogon Living La Vida Loca CGN
Vina-Ch Soundtrack Grand Illusion
Leila-Ch Soundtrack Almost Paradise
Deela-Ch Soundtrack Wink Of An Eye
Hermione - Soundtrack Spellbound
Eowyn - Soundtrack Rain Dance

Mikey T

the new diet may have changed all that.

Miriam and Mikey the barefoot twins at the nationals.


as a side note handler speed is only one aspect of handling from in front of the dog. lateral distance also can create a much shoter handling path ie cutting the corners. Handling is all bout getting to where you need to be to dirrect the dog when it needs direcction and letting the dog handle the striaght line stuff that said the Greg derritt system does incorporate and use rear cross, cross when you are behind the dog.



jumpers run with a rear cross