# Week of a Trial



## MaddieMagoo (Aug 14, 2007)

Okay...this topic was in the Clean Run magazine...a month ago, I believe. So I'm just wondering...what do you guys do the week of a trial? I'm talking about Obedience and Agility...either one, doesn't matter. Do you just keep on training...or just hit really hard that week? What do you?

And as far as agility I heard that letting the dog take the day off before the trial is good to do. What do you guys think?

I'd like to hear your thoughts!

(and I'm not trying to overshadow Quiz's great weekend.Just something that popped into my head..lol)


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## gabbys mom (Apr 23, 2008)

I train the same up until the two or three days before a trial. Then completely off until the trial - we do other stuff like chuck it, walks, play group, etc, for exercise.


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## MurphyTeller (Sep 28, 2008)

It really depends on what we did the weekend before and what the show is the following weekend. If we had a trial Sat/Sun I give them Monday off - we work obedience on Tuesday, some contacts/weave entries on Wednesday and they'll have Thursday and Friday off (typically tricks and swimming) - Friday is typically my travel day to shows - most of the trials I go to are 4+ hours away. Sometimes I'll do fieldwork or tracking on Thursday - but those are my days to "catch up" in real life.

If they didn't have a trial they worked agility on Saturday and Obedience on Sunday - I'll work Agility on Monday again - sequences, then obedience on Tuesday and the same thing for Weds/Thursday.

For an obedience trial I don't work them after Tuesday...So this weekend we had a Sat/Sun agility trial and next weekend we have an obedience trial (our first in a LONG time) - it's a home show so no travel day, but it's also a Friday/Saturday/Sunday trial...So Teller will have Monday off (I'll likely work Murph in agility) and he'll work obedience on Tuesday and then have Wednesday and Thursday off...

Does that make any sense?

Erica


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## MaddieMagoo (Aug 14, 2007)

Yeah I think it does! haha. 

So in Maddie's case...we have a trial at the end of the month, the 25th, I'm going just one day...and I think that's all we can handle right now. Anyways, so she hasn't trialed in agility since 2007 and since then we've been working. I've been practicing out in the yard every other day or so...and working on obedience every day. So...anyone know what I should do with Maddie...so what should we do on Friday...just play and have some fun??


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

I typically train like normal. Which is maybe 10-15 of work on something. Not always agility but some sort or training. We also run every morning M-F (about 30 minutes).


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

I like to have a normal training session maybe Monday or Tuesday. Then have one or two more sessions of very motivational training -- play games, crazy heeling, go outs with parties at the end and no jumping, etc. If I can do this as a run thru in a ring setting (there are two obedience clubs within driving distance that have buildings with permanent ring setups -- that is perfect), all the better. Then I leave it at that. 
I would not want to introduce or advance any new concepts that week for fear that the dog's mind is on that or a problem crops up and don't want to make an issue over it.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

It depends on the dog too! With my agility dog (lab) we have class on Mondays, Tues and Wed are long walks, possibly a short one on Thurs then rest on Friday. I want my dog FRESH and a bit wild for the trial. She never gets "too" up. However Teddi will probably go for a LONG bike run the day before her trial to try to wear her out. I may have to get up early and take her for one on the day of the trial too. Her adrenaline kicks in and she is a NUT!!! 

My friend found with her lab a day and a half of dock jumping competitions and he is right where he needs to be to focus. 

With Belle I have to worry about too much work. She is a laid back lab, right now she is on a complete agility hiatus. She returns to class on Monday, and has a trial the 18th and 19th, I am hoping she will be SO excited to be back. It will have been at least a month since she did any agility.


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## hawtee (Nov 1, 2006)

For Lilli in agility I usually have a laid back week. I will try to find courses from the upcoming judge and pick their hardest segments and do them for 10 to 15 min a day. Also get in my weave poles. I never run a full course the week of, just parts. I do throw a lot of bumpers for her. We usually have to leave the day before to get to a trial so she is a wild child the day of.


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## Mighty Casey and Samson's Mom (Jul 16, 2008)

Casey's best trial was when I was out of the country the week before! He was so glad to have me back, he couldn't take his eyes off of me. Since then, I've trained normally until a couple of days before, then just lots of play till the trial.


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

K9-Design said:


> I would not want to introduce or advance any new concepts that week for fear that the dog's mind is on that or a problem crops up and don't want to make an issue over it.


I totally agree with this. I do not do anything new the week before a trial.


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## MaddieMagoo (Aug 14, 2007)

Ahh..okay. So just practicing and keeping things fun will help keep stress away..for both the dog AND handler! I get it! LOL. =]


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Over the years I never did anything different the week of a trial, especially agility. We have basically two agility seasons, spring and fall where I am. (Although I stopped running agility about 2 years ago and now the seasons stretch into on really long one with more indoor facilities being available for trials). During the 'season, we would have 2-3 trials a weekend every weekend and still trained during the week. And although obedience trials were not as frequent even when we had trials on successive weekends I would still train my normal amount in between.


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

Most of the time when I'm home every week is the week of a trial. I usually end up giving him Monday and Tuesday off because I don't get home until it's dark (we play ball during my lunch break but it's too hot to do agility). Then do 10 minutes or so of agility in the backyard on Wednesday. It's usually just short sequences, sometimes I'll do weave entries or address some other problem that popped up that weekend, but it's not very structured. Our class is on Thursday, and then I don't do any agility on Friday.

The most important thing is don't teach anything new, try to change anything, or try to do something you've never done before. Like last week I decided to see whether Boo could do an A-frame/tunnel discrimination with just the verbal cue, after a year of virtually no training it's absolutely shocking that he couldn't : It didn't affect us at all because I can control myself and not react emotionally, but in a less mature team stuff like that can ruin the whole weekend. It's best to go pretty easy on her, especially when you're getting toward the last half of the week, to avoid frustrating either of you.


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