question for Gamblers

S

SheltieChe

Forums Sage
This past weekend was my first time running a dog in competition, my friend allowed me to run her girl, in AKC Novice jumpers and Novice Fast which is similar to Gamblers?
Trudy was a gem and we did great, but I also have a question. How to count what amount of obstacles one can take in alloted time?
We started getting points and then went to send out " gamble" and returned back to the exit but we still had not heard the whistle so technically I had more time for obstacles, right? but I was close to exit line so was afraid to move from it too far...
anyone can point me to good strategy info?
It was such FUUUN!!!!!
 
I think the best thing I can tell you is the more you run, the better you get at being able to tell how long an obstacle or a sequence will take you.

I will sometimes walk my planned course, and then run it at about the speed that I think Bentley will run it.

Some people get really serious and will use a stop watch, and then some people use a song while they are out on the course that is a certain length. They have learned how long it takes them to do certain obstacles, and at what point in the song that is, and at what point they need to head towards the gamble, etc...

I don't think there is a set formula, but the more you do it, the better you are at "feeling" your timing. Also, you can time things when you train, if you're more detail oriented.
 
I admit, I'm more analytical about these things. I do the math thing. I figure out how many yps my dog runs (on average) and how many obstacles he usually has in a standard course. Then I do the math and figure out how many obstacles he SHOULD be able to take.

Soooo...I think I figured I could take about 15 obstacles with my dog. I start counting up the points I would need, I also pay attention to other obstacles that could be "make up points" if he misses something, etc. I think in the end, I typically get about 13 obstacles so I can redo the gamble if necessary (I have a velcro dog).

The more you know how fast your dog runs and how many obstacles were in the run, the easier it gets to figure out how many to plan for in Gamblers. Also, take into consideration any obstacle they do "slow", i.e. the teeter, the dog walk, weaves, etc.

Or yeah, you can grab a stopwatch and run it like some people do. I typically end before the buzzer (which is better as once the buzzer goes off, you lose points).

I enjoy these types...and I don't. lol. Glad you had fun though!
 
I have no idea how to tell, I have no sense of time. We did a run though for FAST. I planned my course with Ember and she did just as I planned and I ended with 1 sec left before the buzzer.

I then took Diva in. Diva took a bonus A frame and tunnel then what I planned, finished running my plan or as close to it as I could, did the gamble, ran to the end with my plan, Diva did a few more bonus jumps and the chute along the way and ended. The I got why did you quit so soon? Huh? My dog was running all over the place and I figured we were out of time. Turned out I have 12 more seconds. How can you figure it out when their styles are so different. Just goes to show I'm more in tune with Ember.:lol:
 
I work out my points first then work out the extras I can do if we have enough time (which we always do). How many obstacles I do depends on how many weaves and contacts I throw in.

I dont worry about being near the start of the gamble when we are accumulating our points, but I make sure the extras (after we have our required points) are heading towards or around the gamble start. For Tully its more important to have a flowing course - she will get to the gamble with enough time as long as she is moving in a flowing motion and heading in the right direction.
 
I basically just look at the course and walk it in the most direct way possible with getting the bonus and I get out with enough points. I don't try to do every obstacle and I don't try to time it out. I just run in and run out with the points needed. It normally works out. We got our open fast title in two weekends. We only didn't Q once because he's not real good on doing contacts away from me. I am only concerned with getting the Q and don't really stress about the run. Now if I could only be stress free about my regular runs! :biggrin2:
 
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