Over the past few weeks, Liam and I have been working on a new skills program Canine Hoopers Canada (CHC) has instituted.
The skills program has five levels: First Steps, Pre-Bronze, Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each level has a series of exercises that you teach and, then once you can do the skill, you take a video of you and your dog doing that exercise. There's also a written portion to each skill level but you can use the rule book to find the answer, so no trick questions.
You can start the program wherever you like. When I looked at the first two levels there were exercises that we once knew but that I would have to re-teach so I decided we would start at Bronze. That, and because, Bronze focused more on actual Hoopers sequences and moves rather than foundation skills.
Each of the exercises for the Bronze skills weren't all that long but with the weather being so hot and humid and having to get a good video that showed both you and your dog, I was only able to do one or two sequences a day. Some of the exercises said you could use a ground target so I was using our treat ball, then I asked if that was permitted and got the reply that it could only be a target and not the reward. I was, however, allowed to throw the reward after the skill was completed. It meant though I had take new videos of some of the skills we had already completed.
Then came the hard part, you have to take all those video clips and put them into one video to be submitted to the CHC where an assessor (a qualified judge) would review all of your skills. Next time, I'm going to put the videos into a folder and rename the ones I'll use for the submission with the skill name so it will be much easier then to put together the final video.
Video of our Bronze Skills Test
Its took about 10 days from the time I submitted my video but then I received an e-mail saying that I had incorrectly performed one sequence. The assessor told me I could just redo that one skill and submit another video. I struggled a bit because I thought the test was more about the dog being able to perform the obstacles with the handler at a distance but it turned out they also wanted to see consistent (a certain) handling from me as well.
In the video, in the part labelled Front Cross L to R, I have Liam do the three hoops directing him only with my left hand. What they needed to see was a change of side also known as a change of hands. The program is so new that I didn't even know whether I was to submit the new video to the assessor or complete the online form again. I submitted it to the assessor and shortly afterwards received an email with our assessment report. In the video below, you'll see now that I release Liam with my right hand then direct him with my left.
Video Front Cross Right Hand to Left
Today, we got our title certificate by email with the notification that our medal is in the mail.
We'll be excited to get our medal. Sure, hope Canada Post doesn't lose it. Ours will look like the one on the left.
It's a really nice program. You can work at your own speed. You don't need a big facility or a lot of equipment. And you get a nice medal for your efforts.
Where Liam and I went for the Hoopers trial, they use surveillance cameras so that means you can buy videos of your runs. Since we haven't been doing Hoopers for very long, I bought photos, which I've already posted, and I also bought the videos of our runs.
In dog agility, runs usually allow about a minute and half, but most times dogs are much faster; I would say on average though you get about a minute in the ring. In Hoopers, you get points for a clean run as long as you are under 90 seconds. I don't think I saw a dog go that slow. Liam's slowest run was just over 22 seconds and his fastest run just over 17 seconds.
Don't blink, you might miss it!
If the videos aren't available in your browser, I've added a link to the YouTube videos of the same runs. Just click the link below.
Video of Liam Beginner Hoopers
Video of Liam Beginner Tungo
Video of Liam Beginner Parkour
Liam and I went to Guides Canins for a Hoopers trial yesterday. Guides Canins is about an hour and half away from me; it's not a bad drive as it's all highway, although my GPS wanted me to go cross country. I used to go there and camp when I was running agility with my other dogs but with Liam's eyesight I hadn't made the trip in years, not since before COVID. They've built a new facility in that time and it is spectacular. They have an indoor turf building, an indoor/outdoor dock diving pool, two large classrooms, offices, grooming rooms, and gender neutral bathrooms.
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| Turf Hall |
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| Entry to Dock Diving Pool |
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| Dock Diving Pool |
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| Classroom |
This trip, we just went for part of the day so I left Teddy home. We had to leave just before 7 am to get there in time to set up and give Liam some time for a walk before the trial started. We timed it right and arrived just as they were opening the building.
We ran 3 events. At the Beginner level, there are only 3 games, Hoopers, Tungo and Parkour; we ran one of each. In all of them you just follow the numbers and you can run with your dog but the judge will include distance challenges that are indicated by lines or by a handlers box. All of our runs included challenge lines. You earn points for getting a clean run but you can earn additional bonus points for being able to do the course from behind the challenge line or from within a handlers box. You might be able to see the line in this photo of us walking the course, they are marked with white tape.
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| Walking the Course |
It takes 50 points in Beginners to get a title. Liam only needed 10 points in Parkour and Tungo to get his Beginner title in those games. I was pretty sure we could go clean but I wasn't sure how he would run in a new place and with so much distance between obstacles as we train in a smaller venue. I walked the courses using the 10 point distance line but in all of our runs I had to cross that line so we only got 15 points for each of our runs. Enough for his Beginner Tungo Dog of Canada and Beginner Parkour Dog of Canada.
Now we move up to Novice in those games. Our next trial will be a virtual one and hopefully he'll get his Beginner Hoopers title then as we now have 35 points in that game. There's also an overall title once you have all the titles at a particular level, so getting our Beginner Hoopers qualifying score actually will get us two more titles.
We'll have to work on getting more distance though as the distance challenges just get harder as you move up.
But we're still celebrating so whoop hoop de doo!
Liam and I did another virtual Hoopers trial the week starting from 22 Mar. For virtual trials, you can practice the runs before taking and submitting your videos.
There are four games now in Hoopers. In three of the games you can run with your dog or you can try to do part of the course from a distance. Doing the distance challenges earns you more points towards your titles. This past year they added a new game called Challenge, in that one you have to stay in the Handler's Box for the whole run. It's only offered at Novice level and above. Liam is still in Beginners although that is now an optional level.
At this virtual trial, we ran a Hoopers course that only has hoops and some barrels, a Parkour course, that has all of the obstacles permitted by Canine Hoopers Canada and a Tungo course that has only barrels and tunnels but in Beginners uses one hoop for the start.
Liam got three clear runs and we got the easier distance challenge in each run so he got 10 points for each run. Five for the clean run and five bonus points.
We have a physical trial at the end of April and there's another virtual trial at the end of May. Titles are based on points, in two of the games Liam now has 40 points; you need 50 points for the Beginners title in each game. I think Liam will be able to get those titles at the next two trials.
Then we'll be able to say Whoop, whoop or should I say Hoop, Hoop!
I've been doing Hoopers classes with Liam for about a year now. Canine Hoopers Canada (CHC) has been doing virtual trials since there aren't a lot of qualified judges yet and so they can build the organization by getting people to play who otherwise wouldn't be able to. For the first time, they included a smaller space option that could be done at the facility where we take our classes. There were six events, two of each of the games. I entered Liam in one of each, two other students also entered so we got together Friday evening to set up and run the courses.
With CHC, you can run the courses with your dog like you do in agility and get a qualifying score. Each qualifying score is awarded points and titles are point based. Each course will have distance challenges using either a Challenge line (CL) or a Distance Handler Box (DHB). If you have a clean run and have successfully completed a distance challenge you are awarded extra points, so the titles will come faster if you can work at a distance.
Our first run was a Hoopers course. It had two Challenge Lines, a 10 point line and an easier 5 point line. Not sure you can see the lines in the image, the 10 point line runs across from the number 2, the 5 point line is just above the number 1. I didn't think Liam would be able to get out to the barrel at obstacle 6 and 13 with me behind the 10 point line so I ran it from behind the 5 point line. You can click on the link below to see our run. I did try it from the 10 point line, twice, and while Liam did go out the the barrel for obstacle 6, he wouldn't go back out again for obstacle 13.
Our next run was a Parkour, very similar to Hoopers but it uses all the equipment permitted by CHC so there was a gate and a bottomless tunnel as well as barrels and hoops. This course had a handlers box; the judge had allowed two options for extra points, run the whole course from the box or just get the first three obstacles while you were in the box. You can't send your dog from the box to the first obstacle to start the course so your dog does need a sit stay to let you lead out to the box. Let me tell you getting obstacle three while in the box was harder than it looked as Liam wanted to wrap the barrel or he took obstacle 4 turning in the wrong direction.
Our last run was one called TunGO, it uses just barrels, tunnels and gates, with a hoop as the starting obstacle. The other students, who were with me, were doing all six runs so it was getting rather late. As a result, I decided to not even try this one from the distance lines but just run it with Liam. Again the distance lines are not really visible in the picture. The 5 point line runs from obstacle 3 to obstacle 6. The 10 point line is about half way back from that towards obstacles 2 and 7. Perhaps you'll see them in the video as we were using red and blue plastic tubing.
You're allowed to practice the courses at a virtual trial, For our Hoopers and TunGO runs, it was the first time Liam did either course. I did try the Hoopers two more times afterwards to try and do it from the ten point Challenge Line. For the Parkour, Liam was a little high and we had to start this one three times before we got a good run. You only submit what you think are clean runs to be judged. I uploaded our runs to YouTube and put the link to each run on the virtual trial's FaceBook group and waited for them to be judged.
Whoop, whoop, Liam got a clean run on each of our courses! We also got a 5 point bonus in the Hoopers course and a 5 point bonus for the Parkour. I wasn't sure about that one, I had to move out of the box so quickly to keep him in line for the next barrel that I thought I might have stepped out too soon.
So whoop whoop, now Liam is on his way for his Hoopers titles. For those who've seen him run agility, look how smooth and steady he runs the courses. Now we just have to work more on our distance skills. For those agility handlers out there, come give CHC a try, your agility dog will learn the obstacles quickly, they know the body language already and you can work on distance over time.
