Calliesmom
Moderator
there are definitely judges to stay away from.... I don't know many yet but I know that they are out there............
Piper obedience brag
- Thread starter Piper's mom
- Start date
there are definitely judges to stay away from.... I don't know many yet but I know that they are out there............
Piper's mom
Moderator
I had been warned about her but I had no idea! Lesson learned. On the plus side it will make me clean up my run (and that's a good thing) but she's just too harsh and VERY soft spoken! Not a good thing when your in a busy arena with barking dogs and lots of other noises! I had to strain to hear her at times!
Cara Sandler
Forums Enthusiast
There are a few judges in agility that I absolutely won't trial under - including the one who wheeled his course without even realizing it had been built incorrectly, and when it was pointed out to him, he proceeded to correct the course - however that completely changed the first 3 obstacles! So I asked if we could re-walk (because my plan now needed to change) and he said the entire class could have 1 minute to re-walk!!!!!! Jerk. And that also taught me to supervise the course building and if something looks off from the course map, point it out prior to the walk!
Calliesmom
Moderator
that is tough when you can't hear what the judge is saying - I've never really been warned about anyone specifically but have been learning on the go......
Calliesmom
Moderator
oh- that is so wrong.....
our course builders do a pretty good job so there's very little tweaking after by the judge....
Piper's mom
Moderator
Piper today was just awful lol. Poor guy, I think a 4 day trial is just too much for him! Did the glove ok but a horrible front, sent him for his first article and honestly, he couldn't have walked any slower lol. Sent him for the second and he didn't even make an attempt. Sauntered over to the high jump, looked around and then looked at me. I'm going to enter another trial in October (6 hour drive so a road trip) but it's 4 trials but just over 2 days and good judges! I've learnt my lesson...if I hear bad stuff about a judge then I will not enter. The judge we had over the first 2 days was fantastic, I'd trial under him any day. He was there today (not judging) and I was getting Piper ready before we entered the ring so we were walking side by side and he said 'stand your dog' lol. Really nice guy, not this other one
!
Cara Sandler
Forums Enthusiast
I understand, and I'm sorry things didn't go as you hoped today. But as far as judges go - take things with a grain of salt as well. I was warned about one of the judges at our last agility trial (after I had entered and committed to make the trip with a friend). To make a long story short - I ended up LOVING this judge and his courses, and my dogs did outstanding on them! I had been warned that he makes ridiculous calls on the contact equipment and his courses don't flow but I found the opposite to be true. I thought his calls were extremely fair and his courses were perfect for my girls. We came home with an entire box full of ribbons and medallions! So while I won't trial under anyone who has a reputation for being rude or harsh, I did learn to go into trials with an open mind. That being said - there are still a few judges who I refuse to trial under, but I have actually had bad experiences with them personally.Piper today was just awful lol. Poor guy, I think a 4 day trial is just too much for him! Did the glove ok but a horrible front, sent him for his first article and honestly, he couldn't have walked any slower lol. Sent him for the second and he didn't even make an attempt. Sauntered over to the high jump, looked around and then looked at me. I'm going to enter another trial in October (6 hour drive so a road trip) but it's 4 trials but just over 2 days and good judges! I've learnt my lesson...if I hear bad stuff about a judge then I will not enter. The judge we had over the first 2 days was fantastic, I'd trial under him any day. He was there today (not judging) and I was getting Piper ready before we entered the ring so we were walking side by side and he said 'stand your dog' lol. Really nice guy, not this other one
Piper's mom
Moderator
You make a valid point and like you, I've trailed under judges that I'd been told were unfair or harsh with their scoring but that was years ago...totally different when I trialed under them. It's ok that we didn't get his title yet...in all honesty even if we got it the other day it would've been a horrible score as Piper was slow moving on articles and very poor fronts. As much as I didn't like this judge she taught me to be clean, to make my run as mistake free as possible so it doesn't matter who the judge is. That's my goal now. Piper has never given me really good fronts and no matter how much I try he won't correct it but yesterday and today were atrocious lol. With Finnie I'm teaching him straight from the get go, he will never learn crooked like Piper did.
ghggp
Moderator
Gosh, Lisa sounds like the volume of time Piper had to be on his 'A' game might just be too much as you suspected. I really feel like the first two days gave you hope to continue. Stright fronts are now going to be my focus! You are so dedicated and I know Piper tried his best ...
There is always another show! Shoot, I could not do half of what you have accomplished already with him!
There is always another show! Shoot, I could not do half of what you have accomplished already with him!
Piper's mom
Moderator
Your absolutely right Gloria! I should've remembered from a year ago when we were doing novice, was the worst on the last day and of course now it was so much worse because of the volume of things Piper needed to do in Utility!
I'm so proud of him though...we accomplished what I wanted...the HIT in the Sheltie Specialty and unseating the reigning champ plus getting 2 legs of his Utility!
Utility is really hard and so many handler errors...we'll be going to Regina in October for a 2 day 4 trials road trip (6 hour drive) and I'm going to clean up my run and work on getting higher scores with Piper.
Here's our picture being awarded the HIT ribbon and trophy (we don't keep the trophy but our names go on it)
https://imgur.com/a/ffSs5Qr