[Judi W]

If you spend too much time in Novice you can believe the poor dogs will get bored out of their minds. You can certainly start your Open (don't do the DOR however) which perks them up a lot. I believe in getting that Novice out of the way and going on. I really don't understand the people who keep their poor dog in Novice after they get the CD just chasing standings. I've watched people do that and the work gets worse and worse. It is a silly ego trip and quite unfair to my mind in going against dogs who don't even have the title yet. How proud can you be of that?

I've always heard of people who train across all levels - but in 30 years I've never seen it with my own eyes. Not saying it is never done, but really, what is the purpose? In fact the couple of people I know who insisted that is what they were doing - the dog never did get in the ring at all!

At each higher level, there are more things that can give you that big NQ even with a pretty decent worker, and don't forget that dreaded anticipation (the bane of those of us with drivey, smart dogs that know the work). In Novice, the only anticipation you are at risk for is the recall. In Open you have the DOR, the two retrieves and the broad jump. In Utility you are at risk in every single exercise even the heeling with the signals. Heeling/signals; scent articles (twice); gloves; moving stand; directed jumping (twice). Those are just the anticipation dangers not counting missing a direction or some confusion. I know handlers that get mixed up because there is so much stuff but the dog is expected to remember everything correctly! I say that because I've asked friends who have UD dogs to run me through and they can't remember what comes next or when to give the orders.