brisk
adj. brisk·er, brisk·est
1. Marked by speed, liveliness, and vigor; energetic: had a brisk walk in the park.
I've been going to obedience (and now Obedience/Rally) trials for many years. One of the most common mistakes I see in Rally and the lower levels of Obedience is a lack of briskness on the part of the handler. In straight English, I see a lot of handlers walking at a snail slow pace around the ring, looking at their feet, taking tiny steps. It's usually because of apprehension/nerves.
In Rally, lack of briskness (LOB) is a specific deduction. Enough hits for lack of briskness and a team may NQ (not qualify) on points even if they do all of the stations correctly. In Obedience judges don't have a specific LOB deduction but can and will deduct for a very slow team. Obedience heeling routines have a "Slow", and the handler must slow down perceptibly during this portion of the heel. If the handler is already walking slowly, it's much more difficult to have a perceptible "Slow".
In high levels of competition obedience, handlers learn exact footwork and pacing, often using a metronome. I'm not going into that in this post. For one it would take too long, for another I'm not the person to discuss that, Andrea or Paula are the ones to go to for that. Briskness applies to all footwork at all levels in all situations (except for the Slow), so I'll discuss briskness.
Though the above definition says "speed," briskness in Rally and Obedience should not be a race walk. You should not look like a five year old desperately trying to make it to the bathroom. Lively, energetic, vigorous; those are the important components of briskness as it applies to pace in the Obedience and Rally rings. You should move through the ring as if you have a destination in mind. A place to be. Not as if you're wandering aimlessly through a garden. You should stride out confidently, shoulders back, with long energetic strides. If you have a toy dog don't worry. In almost all cases the dog can keep up quite well unless he's very tiny and you have very very long legs. Even then, you can slightly shorten your stride yet still be brisk. Briskness is an attitude as well as a physical pace.
One thing that helps is to look forward, not down. If you're looking down at your toes you are less likely to be brisk. If you are looking forward toward the next Rally sign (or ring gate) you are more likely to be pulled to it and be more brisk.
One last huge benefit to briskness. If you are brisk, your dog is far more likely to stay engaged and involved. Moving briskly keeps the dog's attention focused and helps them be more up in attitude.
So get out there and be brisk! Practice it with and without the dog, and carry it with you to your next show.
I've been going to obedience (and now Obedience/Rally) trials for many years. One of the most common mistakes I see in Rally and the lower levels of Obedience is a lack of briskness on the part of the handler. In straight English, I see a lot of handlers walking at a snail slow pace around the ring, looking at their feet, taking tiny steps. It's usually because of apprehension/nerves.
In Rally, lack of briskness (LOB) is a specific deduction. Enough hits for lack of briskness and a team may NQ (not qualify) on points even if they do all of the stations correctly. In Obedience judges don't have a specific LOB deduction but can and will deduct for a very slow team. Obedience heeling routines have a "Slow", and the handler must slow down perceptibly during this portion of the heel. If the handler is already walking slowly, it's much more difficult to have a perceptible "Slow".
In high levels of competition obedience, handlers learn exact footwork and pacing, often using a metronome. I'm not going into that in this post. For one it would take too long, for another I'm not the person to discuss that, Andrea or Paula are the ones to go to for that. Briskness applies to all footwork at all levels in all situations (except for the Slow), so I'll discuss briskness.
Though the above definition says "speed," briskness in Rally and Obedience should not be a race walk. You should not look like a five year old desperately trying to make it to the bathroom. Lively, energetic, vigorous; those are the important components of briskness as it applies to pace in the Obedience and Rally rings. You should move through the ring as if you have a destination in mind. A place to be. Not as if you're wandering aimlessly through a garden. You should stride out confidently, shoulders back, with long energetic strides. If you have a toy dog don't worry. In almost all cases the dog can keep up quite well unless he's very tiny and you have very very long legs. Even then, you can slightly shorten your stride yet still be brisk. Briskness is an attitude as well as a physical pace.
One thing that helps is to look forward, not down. If you're looking down at your toes you are less likely to be brisk. If you are looking forward toward the next Rally sign (or ring gate) you are more likely to be pulled to it and be more brisk.
One last huge benefit to briskness. If you are brisk, your dog is far more likely to stay engaged and involved. Moving briskly keeps the dog's attention focused and helps them be more up in attitude.
So get out there and be brisk! Practice it with and without the dog, and carry it with you to your next show.
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