5-foot Rule for Barrels

[Sharon Nelson]

How many markers are set around a barrel?  Just 2 or could there be more?

Thanks.

Isabel

There are three.

Both sides and the back.

Sharon

[Karen Birdsong]

At the trials I was at 2-3 were used depending on the path around or by the barrel.

Our club has purchased whiskers in several colors thinking me may use them to mark bonus boxes and barrel paths.

[Pam Kaye]

Thanks for the short tee tip, Marj.  My little markers are ordered and I hope will arrive soon.

[Janice_Shavor]

Any suggestions for the colors which will stand out on dark red dirt???  The arena we use has dirt based on red clay soil;.

[Marcy Matties]

I bought yellow ones.  I think they will stand out on any surface.

[MoabDiane]

MDS just had some red ones in grass.  That is genius!!  It shouts out to us....but just looks like long grass to dogs (red/green "color blindness").
I guess it depends on the "red" of the red dirt....but I would think red or green would be good.

While I've not seen a single dog as much as look at the markers, I think a contrasting color - to dogs' vision - could be more of an attraction.

JMHO,
diane

[Rosemary]

I am very glad to have the barrell criteria spelled out so clearly. It makes perfect sense to have "a performance goal". I haven't invested in barrels like those in a trial so I use round trash cans and laundry baskets. 😅  I put my number cones about five feet away and it seems to highlight the path for my dog.   It always amazes me how adaptable these animals can be.

[Maureen deHaan]

Ran course with barrels for the first time since the "marker" designation discussion -  The club used the flat soccer makers to mark the areas for the barrels

some feedback - THEY LOOKED LIKE FRISBEES laying in the grass - not ok - my personal opinion.... if no toys are allowed in the ring then we shouldn't be using something that LOOKS like a toy.

Kiva - my more focused and more seasoned dog paid no attention

Zoe - my 3 y/o - husky mix - less focused , less seasoned dog found them VERY distracting (she is in Open Barrelers) - I can understand her checking them out bc she is hyper-aware of her surroundings always and change is bad for her - but when she tried to pick one up (she loves frisbees) that was not cool - also - Zoe has a LOVELY barrel performance having learned agility with barrels since a pup - These markers were distracting enough to actually make her go wide.

many dogs checked them out at the trial - all levels

went out and bought some to use in classes to desensitize - but I will never use them in trials - I will be using golf tees with surveyor tape bc I also don't like the whiskers as I think they could be dangerous to the feet regardless of what everyone says - it all depends on who is putting them in the ground and how soft / hard the ground is -

Just some feedback for what it might be worth

[mephalon]

Interestingly enough my Roxanne- who in the entire 11 years I have had her has never really had any interest in any toys other than a Jolly Ball on a rope when she was a puppy- stopped, went to the flat cones and stuck her nose into the hole in the middle- so having these types of cone markers on course were defintely noticed by the dogs.  It was interesting because I don't recall her ever looking at a number cone- and we don't train with those in practice.    I didn't run my novice dog in barrelers so I don't know if he would have noticed- probably would have. 

Definitely need to train all the different types of markers that will be used but I like the surveyors tape tied to a golf tee idea the best as the dogs are used to seeing tape from chances.

[Richard Wolfe]

We had our first experience with the whiskers this past weekend.  On the first run with the barrel, Rowdy finished the dog walk and started towards the barrel but sort of veered out a foot or so aiming to see what the whisker was.  He got about a foot from it and was satisfied and completed the barrel performance correctly.  LOL!!!!
Both of my other dogs completely ignored it.  I'm still convinced it's a non-issue unless the handler worries about it.  Same with many of the other problems we freak out about.

[mephalon]

I don't think it is always a handler issue. -  I actually was pretty convinced my dog wouldn't even notice the flat cones (even though dogs running before me had) as she is just not that type of dog so I didn't even think twice about them on the course.  I was kinda surprised when she went over to it-  then once she was satisifed it was nothing we moved on.   Just made reminded me that you never know what your dog will find interesting.      

[Richard Wolfe]

I don't think it is always a handler issue. -  I actually was pretty convinced my dog wouldn't even notice the flat cones (even though dogs running before me had) as she is just not that type of dog so I didn't even think twice about them on the course.  I was kinda surprised when she went over to it-  then once she was satisifed it was nothing we moved on.   Just made reminded me that you never know what your dog will find interesting.   

I agree.  I didn't even notice the whisker myself until Rowdy sort of pointed it out to me.  But my point was that we make the problem worse when we obsess on it.

[MoabDiane]

Richard, just curious:  was this trial outdoors or inside?  If inside, what is the surface like and what color were the 'whiskers' ?
diane

[Richard Wolfe]

Richard, just curious:  was this trial outdoors or inside?  If inside, what is the surface like and what color were the 'whiskers' ?
diane

Hi, Diane.  It was indoors with very good lighting on green Astroturf or whatever they call it now.  I didn't pay much attention but the whiskers were orange or red, I think.

[MoabDiane]

Thanks for the info.  I think on any kind of indoor turf, the "whiskers" would stick up much higher than outdoors, where they're half-buried in grass.
I wonder if "trimming" them to about half length would reduce the dog investigations....just a thought.

diane