Obedience Trials

I spent Saturday morning at K9 Obedience Club of Jacksonville. There were two rings set up: Obedience in one and Rally in the other. A GSD Club member was running her dog (the Infamous Julie) through Rally, so I spent most of the morning watching her. The big thing I learned from the day is that I still have a lot to learn about obedience trials. I've been doing a lot of reading and thought I understood the rules. Apparently I don't know bupkis. *sigh* I can build a missile, drive a stick shift and navigate the Japanese mass transit system -- so why is this so difficult?! I'd like to say that the confusion is because the club was using UKC rules (as opposed to AKC) but I have my doubts. I hope it'll make more sense when I'm actually running a dog through it. K9 Obedience Club is only about 20 minutes from the house, so Puppy and I will probably be joining the club sometime in the future.

I feel more confident about Rally. First of all, the instructions are on the course, making it easier to know what to do next. I like the fact that the handler is allowed to walk the course beforehand too -- no surprises! Best of all, you're allowed to talk to your dog the whole time. However, I have a feeling that the Infamous Julie made it look easier than it probably is. I'm not totally clueless though. Six months ago Son #1 bought me an excellent book all about Rally called The Ultimate Guide to Rally-O. I think I could actually do this!! I can't wait until Puppy gets old enough to participate in Rally with me. Of course, he needs to be born first . . .  -- K