#akc rally

[pippindot]

Pip got a 96 in rally excellent today even tho she kinda dgaf'd about me in the ring. one more leg to go!

[southerntchiorny]

There’s a reason my dad calls Kaiju’s gangly ass Snuffleupagus 🤣 He was pretty great this weekend though

Finished with a 3rd and 4th place, got two legs of his Rally Intermediate title, and so many compliments

[dalecorgi]

Thank you to the Santa Ana Valley Kennel Club for a well-organized event this past weekend!

Mr Link earned his NEW Rally Excellent title (pending AKC confirmation) with a 4th place finish, as well as his first Q in Master level.

Miss Dolly earned her 2nd Q with a 3rd place finish in Rally Excellent so she needs 1 more qualifying score to finish her Rally Excellent title!

Link

AKC: RE (pending) NAP NJP OFP BCAT TKA

NACSW Nose Work: NW2

Dolly

AKC: RA FDC BCAT CGC TKI

NACSW Nose Work: L1C L1I

[gar-a-ash]

And the video of our run! He scored 98 out of a possible 100 points and earned us first place, couldn’t be prouder. I do see a few hover sits he decided to fix halfway through the course, but honestly I’m just glad he did that stationary front. He tends to be 50/50 on whether or not he feels like doing them correctly lmao

If you’ve been following me for a while you know how long I’ve struggled with him, and after our last trial I was about ready to give up. But I’m glad I didn’t, because he finally decided to grow up this year and I couldn’t be happier. Love you Reese!

[elvenferretots]

My friend took some gorgeous pictures of TenSoon the first day of the trial, which entirely makes up for the club not having blue ribbons for his first place rally run and him not earning any ribbons in obedience (tried to befriend the judge off the broad jump???).

[theadventurek9]

We’re finally back to training! Been working on fixing Aayla’s forging. We’ve also had some issues pop up with directed retrieve. (Anticipation of the ‘get it’ cue and not going to the correct glove.) If anyone cares to see the oops reps I might show those later and how I dealt with them.

[whatisshelties]

me: Why did I stop doing AKC events? Was I wrong? Was I immature?

AKC: is AKC

me: Oh, this is why.

[hazard-and-friends]

had 30 seconds of "how the hell am i going to balance entry fees and schedules for TWO actively competing dogs" then remembered that between hazard being 6 and himself and having literally 0 intentions of entering baby in anything before she is 18 months, that's uh

that's not likely to happen

[doberbutts]

Do you do/train for/compete in any dog sports with your dobermann? Would you recommend a dobermann for a beginner sport dog? Thank you!

Yes, Fenris and I are currently training in a protection dog sport called mondioring, or just mondio for short, and we'll probably pick up a few obedience-only titles in IGP (used to be called IPO, which used to be called schutzhund, another protection dog sport) along the way to support the United Doberman Club (which is mostly IGP-based tbh). I debated AKC obedience and rally but honestly right now my focus is mondio because I like it more and he seems to be doing really well in it. If we hit a wall we may switch tracks. But so far he's got nothing but compliments, so I'm not really worried about it.

As for whether I'd recommend dobes for a beginner sport dog, it sort of depends what you mean by that and what sport. I have had 4 dobermans total thus far. Only two have done anything in sport due to temperament of the other two, and of those two neither has actually accomplished anything in competitive sport. Creed had a mock BH under his belt (preliminary title to begin competing in IGP), but it wasn't an official trial so it doesn't count, and he's been gone for the past 2.5 years. Fenris just turned 13 months and being a young puppy I'm honestly in no hurry to put any titles on him- he passed his puppy temperament test and that's all I've done with him thus far because I am deliberately taking things slow with him. (and I didn't even enter him in the temperament test, his breeder did because she was showing her keepers at the same event!)

So... I mean... it's not like I'm a seasoned competitor. To the folks at training club, I'm a beginner too. And to my knowledge, Fen's breeder's foundation bitch was her beginner sport dog- his grandmother. Far be it from me to discourage you if you feel it's the right fit.

However, I will say that if you are wanting a doberman you should be committed to the doberman, vs if you want the sport you should be committed to the sport. What I mean by that is- if you are looking to really excel and have a nice dog right off the bat for your introduction to a sport, you may want to consider breeds more suited to the sport you are thinking about playing in. There's nothing wrong with getting a border collie for agility, or a golden for obedience, or a shepherd for IGP, or a malinois for mondio. But if you want to get a doberman, then commit knowing that your journey will likely look very different from those who chose more in line with the breeds that do well in their sport of choice.

The doberman was never intended to be a sport dog. It was intended to be a personal protection dog. That doesn't mean dobermans can't do well at various sports- in fact many dobermans excel at many sports! But it does mean that you're probably going to experience different challenges in your training than your fellow competitors, and you should keep that in mind instead of feeling discouraged.

[pippindot]

Pip and I had our first Rally Excellent trial this morning. She got a 98/100! She was joyful and peppy the entire time we were there, and I am so proud of our performance.

The judge told us we only got points off because she dinged me for sending Pip around behind me back to heel position after each jump...which I am slightly aggravated by but. It's not a big deal!

[southerntchiorny]

He’s so fucking majestic

[dalecorgi]

Team “3 Musketeers à la Pembroke Welsh Corgi” earned new Rally titles last week! 😊

Our BFF, Mochi, earned her AKC Rally Intermediate title! 🎉🎉🎉

Dolly and Link each earned their AKC Rally Advanced titles. 😄😆

Belated “Thank you” to all the judges, ring stewards, and awesome volunteers. Heartfelt gratitude as well, to the supportive community of fellow Rally participants. 💛

[gar-a-ash]

Have a pair of WET RATS going through the serpentine. Love him to death.

[x22817]

We had some great adventures at the Farmer's Market! The nice lady who bakes all the fun puppy treats was there with new stuff to try. An ice cream cone, peanut butter stars, and our favorite Pup Tarts are in the treat cabinet for this week!

Hek and I are now honorary trainees of the local service dog trainer. We got to hang out with her group of clients for a bit before walking around with them all. There were eight teams of handlers with pets, therapy dogs, and service dogs. Hek and I have never hung out around so many dogs at once! I'm kinda sad I didn't take a picture of everyone. It was so much fun!

The trainer wants to help us get All The Titles because it turns out she is an AKC judge! She also wants us to do rally as she's very impressed with Hek's focus heel and her position work (the exact things we have been working on at home this last week). We also discussed doing scent work and agility because why not do All The Things?

I'm not going to lie it was a bit overwhelming being told that all this can be possible. Everyone was so surprised when I kept saying that we practiced these things at home but never took any of the tests or competed or anything. I was always told that because Hek is a mutt and not a pure bred registered AKC pup, we can't do any of them.

Everything is under consideration, but I don't want to put any kind of strain on our relationship. I had to perform in front of people and get judged for every performance my entire life. I just want to have fun with Hek.

I am grateful to finally have puppy friends in real life. It's nice feeling safe around other people and their dogs. Even if Hek and I don't get into any of the competition or certification stuff, we can still have friends!

[release-the-hound]

since you're kind of The Havanese Person, do these breeders look ok to you? I don't wanna get a puppy from someone who only cares about money

Jangle Havanese

Mariposa Havanese

Windyhill Havanese

Bare minimum OFA screening for Havanese: ACVO Eye Exam (valid for 1 year), Patellar Luxation, Hip Dysplasia

My personal list adds: BAER Hearing, Cardiac Evaluation

Bonus Tests: Elbow Dysplasia, Legg-Calve-Perths, Von Willebrands, CDDY/IVDD, CDP

Things to ask every breeder: how are puppies selected for families (if you get to pick based on color, that's a red flag). What are the CHIC numbers of the parents (if these are not given to you, or the health results are subpar, or the eye exams are out of date, that's a red flag). When can you take a puppy home (if it is less than 8 weeks old that's a red flag). What is the temperament of their dogs, what activities do they do (as a companion dog, they often go to homes that don't compete in dog sports, but I would expect at least some of the dogs produced by a breeder to do obedience, rally, therapy work, maybe agility or trick training etc.), what are the temperaments of their dogs, what are the goals of their breeding programs?

Jangle Havanese is run by the President of the Havanese Club of America. I'm not privy to that inner circle, but I haven't heard of any scandals involving her. Does more than the basic 3 health testing. 5 year health guarantee.

Things to look into: how does she socialize/raise her puppies

Mariposa Havanese raise dogs using Puppy Culture. Breeders can successfully socialize/raise puppies without using PC specifically, but that is an easy green flag for me. Is up front about which health issues to be wary of. Has a good little write-up on the history of the breed (although it's a bit whitewashed in regards to colonization, but truly the bar is on the floor). Has a long history with the Havanese Club of America. Does more than the basic 3 health tests.

Things to look into: are the eye exams of her breeding dogs up to date, would she expect a dog you could no longer care for to be returned to her, are her dogs vaccinated before they go to their homes

I wouldn't buy from Windyhill even though they do more than the basic 3 health testing. Eye issues keep popping up in their lines.

Disclaimer: this is not comprehensive, I am not a Havanese breeder or a dvm or a geneticist. I am not a member of the AKC. I'm very sleepy.

These opinions are formed exclusively from looking at breeder websites and the CHIC database. My next step would be looking through a breeder's facebook for other indications such as positive/negative interactions with other dog breeders and puppy buyers. Anti-vax shenaniganery. Are they doing stuff with their dogs. Are they decent people or are they like.. trump supporters.

Final step would be reaching out to a breeder and seeing if they are producing the kind of dog you want, and if you are capable of giving their dogs the kind of home they want to give their puppies to.

This is not comprehensive. It is judgemental and vibes based.

I will again emphasize that eye exams should be done yearly and definitely be done prior to breeding the dogs. not after they've already produced offspring.

Getting a Havanese may be difficult, but I'm here to help, and I promise it's worth it 💙

I have never once regretted waking up with Whim next to me.

[whatisshelties]

I still find it ridiculous that my (known) mixed breed has more AKC titles than my last two dogs combined.