Magnus77 t1_itezzsj wrote on October 23, 2022 at 3:34 AM

I guess i'm not seeing why this is a big deal. Its still just a bunch of things the dog has been trained to do. Its not like they roll out a bunch of novel obstacles the dog has to figure out on the fly.

Beardedshadow t1_itf2shu wrote on October 23, 2022 at 4:02 AM

Let's see you sprint at top speed and change course at someone else's direction and see how well you do against others who train for years to do the same thing -- it isn't easy, those dogs are athletes who are (often) chosen specifically for this one sport.

Good trainers don't get lucky on their first dog and do well, it's often a 2^(nd), 3^(rd), or even 4^th well trained dog that makes it to a national competition level. There's likely a decade of handling experience behind the trainer handling the dog -- all in conjuction with the dog successfully completing each obstacle safely(with is also an entire component of training regular/basic obedience dog trainers & handlers don't even remotely consider)

It's not professional zoomies, like reddit makes it out to be

The variation in the course is the challenge; not the obstacles

Magnus77 t1_itf4c72 wrote on October 23, 2022 at 4:17 AM

I almost edited my comment because I anticipated this response. I didn't mean to dismiss the skill required in dog training, or the physical prowess of the dogs that compete. Both dog and trainer put in a buttload of time for these competitions.

I was saying that i feel changing the order of the obstacles doesn't change the fact that the dog can recognize what to do on any given obstacle.

Mudcaker t1_itf9kv6 wrote on October 23, 2022 at 5:15 AM

Recognising is one of the problems. Some dogs see the tunnel, think “I know what to do!” and run into it. But that was meant to happen later in the order. The dog needs to pay attention and listen and the handler needs to be clear with audio and visual cues, as well as facing to avoid temptation and assumptions from the dog. Having a dog run the wrong object or go in the wrong end of the tunnel is really common at the ones I’ve been to.

Beardedshadow t1_itf5qbf wrote on October 23, 2022 at 4:32 AM

See the last sentence again: the course is the challenge, not the individual obstacles

Changing the order, distance between obstacles, turns, etc -- all in conjuctiojn with front and back crossing with the handler is MUCH harder than most realize (hence the reason for this post) Handler's only get 1 or 2 walk throughs to plan the strategy for the dog

I've seen HUNDREDS of dogs competing in a few different sports, in the field pointing & retrieving, and in protection: it's both impressive to see first hand and humbling

Pyraunus OP t1_itf7wcf wrote on October 23, 2022 at 4:55 AM

Another point is that the route is usually very circuitous and winding, not a straight shot or loop. So it’s not just the order of the obstacles that is different but the actual path through the course. Basically the trainer has to carefully guide the dog through the obstacles in the right order. The team has to be in tight sync in order to get a competitive time.