Hi everyone!
I'm brand new to the dog sports world and a bit autistic so I have a hard time understanding rules for sports and stuff without having a very clear example of exactly how it's supposed to go lol. I have read over rulebook and watched some videos to help but I still have a few questions about, well, a lot of it. I have 3 dogs, each potentially doing different events, so I will split this into sections for each of them.
Sherlock (~1 y/o yorkie):
- Fast CAT - we were planning on trying Sherlock in a fun run for Fast CAT at a show last weekend, but we arrived too late and they were no longer accepting fun run entries or day of entries. We wanted to try a fun run because we are attending another show at the end of next month and he will be old enough by then to earn a title. Would it be better to do a fun run the first day we're there to introduce him to it, and then if he enjoys it, try for a title the next day? Should we find somewhere to do a fun run sooner?
- Dock - Sherlock has not taken dock classes yet but we're working on swimming and water confidence at home for now. The training facility does not have their dock open for the season. Would paying for a practice jump during the show be a good or bad idea? He will have to have a life jacket on, so I know he wouldn't be able to actually compete of course, but I would like to see how he handles it. Would it be better to just wait until after classes? I don't think we have any shows over the rest of the summer that are nearby so I'm trying to get all my stuff together for this one.
- Barn Hunt - we want to try an instinct test with Sherlock for barn hunt. He has not taken classes for this either, just want to see if he'd take any interest in it. I know barn hunt is rule heavy, so I printed out and reviewed the rulebook for it last night. My 2 major concerns are: he is potty trained but we occasionally have issues with him marking still (terriers 🙄) I would be mortified if he did this in the ring but I know they don't allow belly bands or antthing of the sort and I won't be able to keep him on a leash of course. Second is that he has very high prey drive which we love, but I'm terrified he's going to grab one of the tubes and manage to hurt the rat. He's tiny and so is his mouth, so I'm probably overthinking it, but I would love some feedback on that subject lol.
Sophie (9 y/o yorkie)
- Fast CAT - Sophie will not be fully competing but we want to try a fun run with her because of her prey drive as we feel she would enjoy it. However, she is rather fearful/reactive towards strangers, but only in close proximity. We are staying at a hotel, so if we do run her and Prince, we will pick her up, run, and then they will go back, so thats not a concern. I just want to make sure that her issues with strangers will not prevent her from running (obviously if she just doesn't want to that's fine. We just think she'd like it and are willing to try)
Prince (~7 y/o golden)
- Prince is dog reactive. We don't know why, he's a rescue. I know that muzzles are permitted for Fast CAT, so he will have one on (basket muzzle from muzzle movement). I'm mostly just trying to see of other people have experienced running with their dog-reactive pup and if it caused an issue. As long as he is not approached by another dog he is fine, and i know most people will have their dogs put away, I'm really just looking for some reassurance and maybe personal experiences with this sort of thing.
If anyone else has some other advice for a newbie, feel free to leave it in the comments! I appreciate all of it! Thanks everyone!