Quick NADAC question

Melanie L Chang wrote:
> If I understand correctly, a dog never actually has to move up in NADAC
> (i.e., Solo and I could live in Novice forever if we wanted to).

This is actually true of AKC as well--you don't have to move up until
you get a leg in the higher class. So I've run Cala in Open Standard the
past two show weekends, have realized she's not quite ready to deal both
with getting contacts *and* with the tougher courses, and am moving her
back to Novice for the thanksgiving weekend.

What
> are the pros and cons of moving up? In the games classes, it seems like
> the only difference is that the times are tighter, am I right about
> that?

Yes. For games, that's true. And it's also sometimes true for the
Regular classes (something I don't like). So for you and Solo, there's
no reason not to move up in games, it's just a time thing. He'll make
time or he won't (and I bet he will).


I am filling out an entry form and don't know which class to put
> Solo in. The trial is small and only offering games classes (Tunnelers,
> Weavers, TNG) and I don't know if Solo is supposed to be in Open
> Tunnelers now or what. Is it much more stressful or just about the same?

About the same.
>
> OK, more than one question and I should be better prepared but frankly I
> never really thought this would become an issue.

Do what feels the most comfortable for you. If the thought of Open makes
you apprehensive, then don't go there. Think about it, and you'll know
when, and if, you're both ready.
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Rocky wrote:


>
> That's another consideration - I like to keep levels relatively
> consistent, and my voluntary move to Open in NADAC corresponded
> to Rocky's mandatory move-up to Advanced in AAC.

Yeah, best laid plans and all that. My criteria for moving Cala up to
Open was running clean Novice courses--which she was doing in Jumpers.
In Standard she wasn't having offcourses, but was either blowing
startlines or not doing her contacts consistently--both reasons for me
to pull her off the course. But when she did hit contacts, she was
clean. So I decided to move up, because I wanted her to start seeing 12
poles in competition and learning to handle the slightly tighter courses.

I have had her in Open the past two weekends, and have decided to leave
her in Open Jumpers, but knock her back to Novice Standard. That way I
still get to work her on some tighter sequences and with 12 poles at
least part of the time, but in Standard she's not having to deal both
with tighter handling *and* the contacts. Once she has demonstrated to
me that she really can do contacts consistently in a trial setting, I'll
go back up to Open Standard.

So now I'll have one dog in Novice Std and Open Jumpers, and one dog in
ExB Standard and Jumpers--a recipe for conflicts!! Ah well, it's best
for her.
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"Melanie L Chang" <mlchang.RemoveThis@mail1.sas.upenn.edu> wrote in message
news:cm616j$4jtq$1@netnews.upenn.edu...
> If I understand correctly, a dog never actually has to move up in NADAC
> (i.e., Solo and I could live in Novice forever if we wanted to).

Yep.

What
> are the pros and cons of moving up? In the games classes, it seems like
> the only difference is that the times are tighter, am I right about
> that?

Well, as far as games go, I think it depends on your motivation. If you're
just out there to have fun, it really doesn't matter what level you are
running in, as the courses are the same. If you want to have fun but also
enjoy a bit of positive reinforcement, you can go for outstanding and
superior titles at the Novice level. If you see that your dog is making time
for Novice easily, compare them to the Open level times, and if it looks as
though time is not an issue, moving up will let you get legs towards higher
level titles. If time is an issue, I wouldn't move up, since you may stress
yourself or your dog trying to go faster, or just not have as much fun when
not getting the reinforcement of a ribbon or two.

I am filling out an entry form and don't know which class to put
> Solo in. The trial is small and only offering games classes (Tunnelers,
> Weavers, TNG) and I don't know if Solo is supposed to be in Open
> Tunnelers now or what. Is it much more stressful or just about the same?

If you will stress yourself or your dog because of tighter times, yeah, it
will be more stressful. If you go out and run the course regardless of
times, and then look at a Q or placement as icing, then moving up shouldn't
be too big of a concern.

> OK, more than one question and I should be better prepared but frankly I
> never really thought this would become an issue.

Congrats on the title!
I'm running Wylie this weekend in our first NADAC show since the summer,
when we did mostly training in the ring (contacts.) I'm actually going to
try and qualify in this trial instead of going into training mode, though
I'll TIR if necessary. We are in mishmosh land - novice regular (and
gamblers too as a result, though we have our novice gamblers title,) open
tunnelers, novice weavers, elite jumpers. I'm hoping to nail the two novice
regular courses for his title so I can move up and run the open level
regular/gamblers class on Sunday. I haven't tried this combo thing before,
should be interesting, because I have no need to earn legs in the novice
level, so I won't really "have" to gamble there.

Christy
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"Robin Nuttall" <robinjn RemoveThis @mchsi.com> wrote in message
news:Nrxhd.342586$MQ5.120165@attbi_s52...

> Yeah, best laid plans and all that. My criteria for moving Cala up to
> Open was running clean Novice courses--which she was doing in Jumpers.

I moved Wylie up in AKC as soon as he titled, mainly because the tighter
excellent level courses make it WAY easier for me to keep up. Ironically,
the recent trials I've attended have had a strong NADAC influence on the
courses, with big, sweeping runs, especially in jumpers, which spells
disaster for us... at least with NADAC, the 2-3 refusals don't count (except
for time.) In NADAC, I've moved Wylie up as well as there is no way to keep
level in that venue until he's in Elite across the board.

> So now I'll have one dog in Novice Std and Open Jumpers, and one dog in
> ExB Standard and Jumpers--a recipe for conflicts!! Ah well, it's best
> for her.

The worst thing about that, for me, was running one dog in the early
morning, then waiting hours to run my green dog. He was ballistic from first
watching my other dog run then not getting to go for a long time - even when
I took him out and ran him to get the edge off. We did much better when I
just entered him and arrived later. Now, I don't think it would matter, but
as a very green pup he was a handful.

Christy
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Christy wrote:
> "Robin Nuttall" <robinjn RemoveThis @mchsi.com> wrote in message

>>So now I'll have one dog in Novice Std and Open Jumpers, and one dog in
>>ExB Standard and Jumpers--a recipe for conflicts!! Ah well, it's best
>>for her.
>
>
> The worst thing about that, for me, was running one dog in the early
> morning, then waiting hours to run my green dog. He was ballistic from first
> watching my other dog run then not getting to go for a long time - even when
> I took him out and ran him to get the edge off. We did much better when I
> just entered him and arrived later. Now, I don't think it would matter, but
> as a very green pup he was a handful.

Well Cala's been going to trials and watching Viva run since she was a
baby. Now she gets to go play too, but it's not a real problem. In fact,
they're now very good about not screaming after each other at trials. At
home in the training building is a different matter!
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"Robin Nuttall" <robinjn DeleteThis @mchsi.com> wrote in message
news:zBDhd.353824$D%.54266@attbi_s51...
>
> Well Cala's been going to trials and watching Viva run since she was a
> baby. Now she gets to go play too, but it's not a real problem. In fact,
> they're now very good about not screaming after each other at trials. At
> home in the training building is a different matter!

Wylie too - since 11 weeks old. It was only after I started trialling him
that it became an issue - suddenly he was getting a turn! So waiting around
all day for that turn was unbearable for him.

Christy
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"Melanie L Chang" <mlchang RemoveThis @mail1.sas.upenn.edu> wrote in message
news:cm616j$4jtq$1@netnews.upenn.edu...
> If I understand correctly, a dog never actually has to move up in NADAC
> (i.e., Solo and I could live in Novice forever if we wanted to).

Yep. And you can also move DOWN any time you want to.


>What
> are the pros and cons of moving up?

Pros... earning titles (assuming you Q <G>), more challenging courses.
Cons? None I can think of, except the higher probability of not Q'ing.
That's for me personally, though - I've known other people who get
frustrated, have more handling miscommunications, etc. on higher-level
courses, and let it affect how they deal with the dog. (Not to say that
doesn't happen to me *sometimes*, but in general it doesn't.)


>In the games classes, it seems like
> the only difference is that the times are tighter, am I right >about
> that?

In the non-jumping classes (Tunnelers, Touch & Go, Weavers), that's
correct. Which makes it fairly easy to figure out if your dog is ready to
move up- if you're Q'ing in a lower level, just compare the dog's times to
the SCTs for the higher class.
I've been running Brenin in Novice Tunnelers and T&G this year (I don't
do Weavers with him); by checking his times against the higher SCTs, I know
that he consistently makes Open time, and occasionally makes Elite time.
So I *may* move him up to Open next year. He'll Q less, but HE won't know
the difference.


> I don't know if Solo is supposed to be in Open
> Tunnelers now or what. Is it much more stressful or just about >the same?

That depends on you. ;-)
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> Agility to me has never been about titles, although NADAC does
> have sub-titles based upon Qs within a particular class.

Erm... what?? Or are you talking about Outstanding and Superior titles?
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"Christy" wrote:

>If you want to have fun but also
> enjoy a bit of positive reinforcement, you can go for outstanding and
> superior titles at the Novice level.


Yup. I do that in the jumping classes- among other things, I figure that
when my dog has earned a Superior title, s/he is *really* ready to move up
to the next level.
In the non-jumping classes, because I don't do them as often, and because
Tunnelers is offered more often than any other class, I've only gone for the
Superiors in that class; I move the girls up for T&G and Weavers when the
basic title is earned. (Which Morag is the only one of my dogs who has a
WV-N, and consequently the only one who has a Versatility title.)
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Sionnach said in rec.pets.dogs.activities:

>> Agility to me has never been about titles, although NADAC
>> does have sub-titles based upon Qs within a particular
>> class.
>
> Erm... what?? Or are you talking about Outstanding and
> Superior titles?

Yes. Sorry if I wasn't exact with the terminology.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.
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