I've decided that we're going to enter the USDAA trial here in November, but am not certain which games to try first. Friday is all tournament competitions, which we definitely aren't ready for and I can't get off work anyway. On Saturday we can enter Standard and Jumpers, which are pretty much like what we're used to with AKC. On Sunday there's only Standard, no Jumpers, but of course there's Snooker and Gamblers. I hate to go for only one run on Sunday, so I'm trying to decide whether to enter Snooker or Gamblers.
USDAA -- which game(s) to try first
- Thread starter Phebe*DD
- Start date
corbinam
Moderator
I don't know much about Phebe, but from what I know, I would recommend Gamblers to you and Phebe.
Gamblers works distance, and dogs that are obstacle focused tend to excel. In the opening your dog can essentially do anything (even if it's not what you tell her to do!) and you can accumulate points. I've seen Phebe work away from you, and I think you would be able to do a Starters Gamble (send) with her.
Snooker works command and focus. Velcro dogs do well here. Obstacle focused dogs get whistled off early...which would be too bad since you pay $$$ to do it. That's the bad thing about snooker...it can be a really quick run. If you make a mistake, the whistle blows, and you're done.
(Of course those are generalizations...but typical obstacle focused dogs= gamblers dogs, and handler focused dogs= snooker dogs)
Gamblers works distance, and dogs that are obstacle focused tend to excel. In the opening your dog can essentially do anything (even if it's not what you tell her to do!) and you can accumulate points. I've seen Phebe work away from you, and I think you would be able to do a Starters Gamble (send) with her.
Snooker works command and focus. Velcro dogs do well here. Obstacle focused dogs get whistled off early...which would be too bad since you pay $$$ to do it. That's the bad thing about snooker...it can be a really quick run. If you make a mistake, the whistle blows, and you're done.
(Of course those are generalizations...but typical obstacle focused dogs= gamblers dogs, and handler focused dogs= snooker dogs)
Thanks, Ashley. That helps me a lot. I was thinking that Gamblers would probably be best for us at this point, but it's good to have it confirmed by someone who runs USDAA.
I'm going to gripe one more time about USDAA jump heights. Because Phebe is too tall for the 16" height (she's over 17"), I have to either put her in 22" for the Championship classes or 16" for the Performance classes. I will probably go for the 16". I'm certain she can jump 22". I just don't think it's good for her to do it on a regular basis.
I'm going to gripe one more time about USDAA jump heights. Because Phebe is too tall for the 16" height (she's over 17"), I have to either put her in 22" for the Championship classes or 16" for the Performance classes. I will probably go for the 16". I'm certain she can jump 22". I just don't think it's good for her to do it on a regular basis.
Silaria
Forums Sage
I'm actually running my first USDAA trial this weekend. I'm fortunate enough that Edan can easily jump 16 inches (he jumps 16 inches in AKC also) - he just misses the cut off for 12 inch jumps.
Even so, I decided to run Edan in Performance for USDAA. I have no plans to really put a lot of focus on USDAA and will only compete in the two trials my club hosts ever year. Since I go to work with the trials anyway, I decided to run Edan for the ring time practice; mostly in the games.
With that in mind, I couldn't see putting the extra stress on his joints for the 16 inch jumps plus the taller A-Frame.
Could we have run Championship? Sure; I've no doubt about that. I just couldn't see putting the extra stress on his joints since I really wasn't shooting for the upper ranks of USDAA.
Caro
Moderator
Snooker is a fave of mine. Hard to get lost and the novice courses are usually well set out and logical, and you dont get faults in the closing either. Its a pretty easy one to start with. I found gamblers took Tully a while to become confident in - she prefers a logical sequence. Mind you, if your weaves arent good Snooker is more likely to have weaves in the closing than gamblers. Most of my classmates started with snooker as the first game.
Silaria
Forums Sage
Snooker drives me NUTS! But I always seem to do reasonably well at it.
I always make it harder on myself than it has to be. Usually toward the end of the walk through I realize this and change my strategy. I've also watched others run and changed my plan based on what I've observed others doing.
The basics of the game itself aren't really that difficult - Red, Color, Red, Color, Red, Color, 2, 3, ... 7. Its when something goes wrong in the opening that can cause a major problem if you aren't good at thinking on your feet.
I did try to write an explanation of Snooker (though with CPE rules not USDAA rules - but I don't think they are that different): http://sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=5125.
Gamblers/Jackpot is frustrating if your dog won't work away from you. If you have a dog with good distance, I'd go with this game since its a little more straight forward than Snooker.
I always make it harder on myself than it has to be. Usually toward the end of the walk through I realize this and change my strategy. I've also watched others run and changed my plan based on what I've observed others doing.
The basics of the game itself aren't really that difficult - Red, Color, Red, Color, Red, Color, 2, 3, ... 7. Its when something goes wrong in the opening that can cause a major problem if you aren't good at thinking on your feet.
I did try to write an explanation of Snooker (though with CPE rules not USDAA rules - but I don't think they are that different): http://sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=5125.
Gamblers/Jackpot is frustrating if your dog won't work away from you. If you have a dog with good distance, I'd go with this game since its a little more straight forward than Snooker.