Novice A, for Amateur – Rocket’s Rally Journey

In my first post, I told you a little about Rocket and our entrance into The Dog World via AKC Rally. Well, now I’m telling the full story of our Rally journey. To start, we’re going to back to 2016. Picture the wavy screen from a 90’s sitcom flashback…

Getting Started in Rally

It’s summer and we just completed the second class at our first training facility. Previously, I said that I’m not sure why I signed up for the second class. The truth is that I was fully hooked on dog training and I didn’t know where else to go. Rocket’s breeder convinced me to try training for Rally, so I asked about competition classes. Of course they didn’t offer any because none of their “trainers” were competitors.

To get started, I went to the 2016 Houston World Series of Dog Shows and watched. I saw teams compete across all three levels (Intermediate and Master weren’t introduced until later) and was completely inspired. There were a few teams that stood out among the rest. Their teamwork was nothing short of incredible. They were #goals.

At Least I’m Pretty Good at Independent Study

I went home and immediately began studying the signs, reading the rule book, and watching videos. There were a lot of unfamiliar terms. Like “finish” for example. I had never heard of a finish and didn’t truly understand what heel position meant.

However, I worked on a plan and we started training for Rally Novice by ourselves. I didn’t know where to look for another training facility, so I just used what I knew to teach the new skills. We did learn some valuable things at our former training facility: marker words, reward timing, proofing.

So, for the next year I taught Rocket the skills needed for Rally Novice to the best of my ability. Besides being a little crooked, Rocket did everything with enthusiasm and learned really quickly. We learned fronts, left and right finishes, left about turns, etc.

When the 2017 Houston World Series of Dog Shows rolled around, we were ready to compete. Or so I thought. I entered us in Rally Novice A.

A is for Amateur

Amateur sums up how I felt.

For those that don’t know, you can only compete in Novice A with one dog. The Novice A class in Rally is for dogs and handlers that have never completed a title in AKC Rally or Obedience. Your first competition dog becomes known as your “A” dog. Rocket is my “A” dog for Rally.

Newbs, Am I Right?

We were the epitome of a Novice A team. We showed up on a Wednesday morning without a crate or a chair. Just me, Rocket, and my backpack. The only thing I knew for sure was that I could park in exhibitor parking instead of visitor parking.

Back then, they had chairs set out around the rings, so it wasn’t a huge deal to not have a chair. It was a big deal to not have a crate. I was convinced that I was not allowed to bring a crate because I was new and crate space was only for experienced exhibitors. I also thought you had to pay for crating space in the obedience area like you did for conformation.

It turns out that not bringing a crate makes you stick out like a sore thumb. We got a lot of looks that said “look at that totally unprepared Novice A person.” Not having a crate is problem when it’s time to do the walk-through of the course. You can’t bring your dog in there with you, but you also have nowhere to put them. Thankfully, someone offered to hold Rocket’s leash while I walked the course.

Do Better, Dog People

Dog People, I’m going to call you out here: not one person walked up and told me that I could bring my own crate the next day. Not one person offered to get an extra out of their vehicle. And I know y’all have extras because I have 5 crates for only two dogs. Someone did ask me to move away from the ring gate because a reactive dog was about to do their run. I was sitting in the first row of spectator chairs, which are several feet away from the ring gates with my dog behind me in a down stay.

Look, I get it. I’ve competed enough now to know what trial day is like. I know you have your own dogs to worry about and you have a million things going on in your head. However, I also see a lot of you complaining on the internet about the state of the Dog World. You don’t get to complain and then pretend Novice A people don’t exist. Put up or shut up as my mother would say.

Truth Bomb Saturday? Doesn’t have quite the ring to it…

Here’s a freebie truth bomb: If your dog can’t handle another dog being at least 6 feet away from the ring gate, you shouldn’t be competing with that dog. Period.

Have Courage and Be Kind

Anyway, the next time you see an unprepared Novice A person, have some kindness. Walk up and give them some tips. They will appreciate it, I promise.

Would you like to know who held Rocket during walkthroughs? Another Novice A person who also didn’t have a crate. We took turns holding each other’s dogs. We didn’t know what we didn’t know.

Rally Time!

Anyway, it kept getting closer and closer to our turn and I started to get more and more nervous. I was glad I wore a dark colored shirt because I sweat when I get nervous.

It was finally our turn and it was pretty great! I accidentally started a cone weave on the wrong side, which was an automatic 10-point deduction. We lost another 10 from crooked sits and being out of position (OOP) for a score of 80. I was so excited! Not only had we qualified, but we received a solid B- grade from the judge. If not for my error, we would have gotten an A-.

Rally Day 2

Day Number 2 rolled around, and I felt much better. I didn’t make any 10 point handling errors, but Rocket’s focus wasn’t as good as the previous day. We ended up with an 83 though, so not too shabby! We went to the conformation ring after we were done and watched the Goldens for awhile. I met a super nice breeder and her sister who came and watched us the next day!

To this day, I am so thankful that I went to the conformation ring and started chatting with other Golden people.

Rally Day 3

On day 3 I felt both more confident and more nervous. Our Rally Novice title was on the line now. I think Rocket could tell because his focus was even worse. He was not quite two years old yet, so to ask him to compete for three days in a row without being properly prepared wasn’t fair. I know this now, but back then I just wanted to do a fun competition with my dog.

Anyway, we showed for the third day in a row and the performance was abysmal. I took the rule about keeping your dog on a loose lead way too literally. I was so worried about getting points off for a tight lead that I let him have the entire length of his 6-ft leash. Turns out that it was a moot point to let him have more leash. We lost the same number of points since he was OOP.

Despite these errors, we qualified! Our score was a solid 75 and we got third place. I was so happy and relieved!

The judge was very nice. My new friends encouraged me to take a photo with the judge for my first title. I didn’t even know you could do that. They also introduced me to a fellow Rally competitor. The one that invited me to train with her on the other planet.

That First Title Feeling

That first title feeling is incredible. I texted Rocket’s breeder to let her know that we titled. I thought my phone might explode from her excitement. And, not to brag, but totally to brag: Rocket’s title was the last one she needed to achieve Breeder of Merit status with AKC.

Our first trial experiences weren’t perfect, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world. I learned more than I was expecting. We got our first title! And most importantly, I had an incredible time with my dog. Nothing builds a bond with a dog like training and competing.