5-foot Rule for Barrels

[Richard Wolfe]

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

These lay pretty flat on the floor and looked like a little mustache!  Trimming would be limited to what the judge could see as they still have to position for seeing the contact performances, probably.

[Chris on Mushtown Road]

Question: has the use of barrel markers (whiskers, bean bags, or cones) been extended beyond Funraisers?  And will we see them at Champs?
And are they required on VT runs with barrels?

I tried bean bags yesterday, and DDare ignored them; I have orange golf whiskers on order and will get nails with which to secure them in my grass. 
I am just wondering what to train and expect. Thanks!

Chris

[Richard Wolfe]

Hi, Chris!  Long time, no see!  Ours were NOT a fun-raiser, it was a club trial.

[Karen Birdsong]

Re:  What type of barrel markers will be used at champs...visit the Rules section of the forum and look under No More Hoops on Barrels.  Here is a post from June 28th.   Just remember, everything is subject to change.


Re: No more Hoops on Barrels
« Reply #58 on: June 28, 2016, 05:22:26 PM »

Quote from: Lisa Bonker  In The Zone Agility on June 28, 2016, 05:01:07 PM

    what type of barrel marker will you be using at the champs?

Reply:  Golf whiskers.  Some day we will return to hoops on barrels, once people understand their use and purpose!
    Sharon

[Chris on Mushtown Road]

Thanks, Karen and Richard. Since there is always Change (or, Improvement!) I like to ask after a rule's been announced and digested!

Chris

[Maureen deHaan]

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.

Well I am certainly NOT a person who obsesses or freaks out about things -  so the fact that the flat soccer markers were distracting to my and many other people's dogs was bc they were just that - a distraction.

That being said  - I put them out in class tonight and I also put out some whiskers - all the dogs ignored the whiskers and some did look at the flat cones more - again my young dog was distracted by them - doing foot touches on them and thinking about picking them up  - but once we got over the part of class where we were desensitizing the dogs to them they were all fine - including mine - training issue yes - but my issue is still that they look like frisbees or targets and shouldn't be used in the ring -

I will also say that now that I have used the whiskers - I like them for marking distance lines and will use them in class for such- and would be ok with them around barrels -  but golf tees with surveyor tape will still be my first choice

[Lois Mierau]

Could we use golf tees and surveyors tape and make an actual line like the Chances line?

Lois Mierau
Sondog Agility

[Sharon Nelson]

Question: has the use of barrel markers (whiskers, bean bags, or cones) been extended beyond Funraisers?  And will we see them at Champs?
And are they required on VT runs with barrels?

I tried bean bags yesterday, and DDare ignored them; I have orange golf whiskers on order and will get nails with which to secure them in my grass. 
I am just wondering what to train and expect. Thanks!

Chris

Yes, they are being used at many trials now.  Yes, they will be used at champs.  Yes, they should be used on VT runs.

Sharon

[Sharon Nelson]

Could we use golf tees and surveyors tape and make an actual line like the Chances line?

Lois Mierau
Sondog Agility

Yes you could.

Sharon

[Karen Birdsong]

I feel this all comes down to familiarization and training.  We train out dogs not to visit the ring crew, not to pick up the numbers, not to grab the hoops (yep seen that), not to leap the marker tap by a mile, not to pee on the barrel, etc.  Amazingly they learn, and often learn quickly (LOL), and we love them for it.   

Thank you NADAC for letting us know about this change prior to Champs, it is greatly appreciated.  Sounds like a lot of folks are taking this opportunity to familiarize their dogs and to reassure themselves that their team is ready.     

[Chris on Mushtown Road]

Question: has the use of barrel markers (whiskers, bean bags, or cones) been extended beyond Funraisers?  And will we see them at Champs?
And are they required on VT runs with barrels?

I tried bean bags yesterday, and DDare ignored them; I have orange golf whiskers on order and will get nails with which to secure them in my grass. 
I am just wondering what to train and expect. Thanks!

Chris

And I got my orange golf whiskers today---and am very happy to find that a golf tee fit into the slot and I was able to easily "install" a practice one. Which DDare also ignored.  I agree with Karen--any stress about these, lives in our minds, not the dogs'  All id good!

Chris

Yes, they are being used at many trials now.  Yes, they will be used at champs.  Yes, they should be used on VT runs.

Sharon

[Donna Fernandez]

I hate to show my ignorance, but what are golf whiskers? I tried to google both what they are and where you purchase them and came up empty.

Thanks for your help!

[Sharon Nelson]

I hate to show my ignorance, but what are golf whiskers? I tried to google both what they are and where you purchase them and came up empty.

Thanks for your help!

Amazon is where I buy them, less than $8 for 25 of them. Many colors available.  I bought yellow and bright pink.

Sharon

[Donna Fernandez]

I hate to show my ignorance, but what are golf whiskers? I tried to google both what they are and where you purchase them and came up empty.

Thanks for your help!

Amazon is where I buy them, less than $8 for 25 of them. Many colors available.  I bought yellow and bright pink.

Sharon

Thanks! Now I know what we're talking about! They're kinda cute

[garypaula]

We hosted our first trial with markers around the barrels.  4RK9s hosts trials at the Quad Cities Dog Center in Davenport, Iowa at an indoor facility with artificial turf.  We used the same bright orange bean bags for the barrels that we always use for holding down the tape lines in Chances.  The experienced dogs had no troubles at all even though many had never seen this before.  The younger, less experienced dogs had a few difficulties, but no more than you would expect.  All in all, it went fine and I heard no extended complaining from anyone about the experience.