Post by megan on Jan 21, 2013 10:46:06 GMT -5
VALOR, the “Virtual Agility League,” is essentially a non-traditional agility venue that is perfect for dogs that maybe wouldn't be as successful in a traditional venue, or need to work up to a traditional trial setting for whatever reason. So, for example, dogs that are dog aggressive or dog reactive, extremely shy or distracted, dogs that shut down easily or dogs who maybe had a bad ring experience and need some "trial" practice in a less stressful environment, or dogs that are fearful or reactive of people as well. Also, VALOR allows dogs of all breeds or mixes, and is not mutually exclusive from other venues. I know there are some dogs that participate in VALOR and still run their dogs in traditional venues when possible.
The gist of it is basically that you can set up a VALOR course (the courses are listed on the VALOR
group) at any VALOR approved facility, tape the run, run it as many times as you'd like to earn a qualifying run, and send it in to earn titles. The rules are a little more relaxed in VALOR, because it’s meant to be an environment where any dog can be successful. So, some examples of things that are different are that a dog can jump as low as half their jump height and still get a Q, obstacle refusals don’t count as NQ’s, and only down contacts count. There are other things that are different, but I can’t remember all off the top of my head.
There are certain "VALOR approved" facilities; theoretically, you could go and set up a course and run whenever or wherever you wanted, as long as you have access to a facility that can be VALOR approved. In NJ there is JAG in Wall Township and St. Hubert's in Madison, and we do “VALOR days,” basically where typically one time / month, several of us get together to build the courses and take turns running our dogs. And this year is the second year they are doing a VALOR Nationals event in NC, where people from all over come for a weekend with their dogs and there are sign-up times for use of various areas so it’s managed safely for reactive dogs or dogs that need space.
There are other approved facilities that can all be found on their website under approved facilities, and it’s not super difficult to get a facility approved but you’d have to check out the website for more information.
Here’s the website: www.dogtrainingraleighnc.net/VirtualAgilityLeague/VALOR_home.html
So, Roxy and I run in VALOR because we've had a handful of negative experiences in traditionally run classroom settings. She's fearful of and can be reactive towards of other dogs as it is, and we were working on it and had a ton of success. We were actually doing well enough to participate in traditional classes where several people were practicing on various equipment at the same time. We were careful about our choice in classes because I was focused solely on creating positive experiences, but unfortunately, there were a handful of situations where another dog who shouldn't have been working off-leash, was working off-leash, and charged us, and set us back very far. Her reactivity can be managed and with a lot of training it's gotten significantly better, but unfortunately we can't control the actions of other handlers and their dogs. Right now I prefer VALOR partly because I don't want to put Roxy in a situation where she has to feel defensive. And although we both really enjoy agility, I can't participate in traditional venues at the expense of her feeling unsafe or afraid. So VALOR is the perfect setting for us. And the folks that participate at VALOR are great folks. Everyone is very understanding of each dog's needs and everyone just "gets it" in regards to working with a reactive dog.
The gist of it is basically that you can set up a VALOR course (the courses are listed on the VALOR
group) at any VALOR approved facility, tape the run, run it as many times as you'd like to earn a qualifying run, and send it in to earn titles. The rules are a little more relaxed in VALOR, because it’s meant to be an environment where any dog can be successful. So, some examples of things that are different are that a dog can jump as low as half their jump height and still get a Q, obstacle refusals don’t count as NQ’s, and only down contacts count. There are other things that are different, but I can’t remember all off the top of my head. There are certain "VALOR approved" facilities; theoretically, you could go and set up a course and run whenever or wherever you wanted, as long as you have access to a facility that can be VALOR approved. In NJ there is JAG in Wall Township and St. Hubert's in Madison, and we do “VALOR days,” basically where typically one time / month, several of us get together to build the courses and take turns running our dogs. And this year is the second year they are doing a VALOR Nationals event in NC, where people from all over come for a weekend with their dogs and there are sign-up times for use of various areas so it’s managed safely for reactive dogs or dogs that need space.
There are other approved facilities that can all be found on their website under approved facilities, and it’s not super difficult to get a facility approved but you’d have to check out the website for more information.
Here’s the website: www.dogtrainingraleighnc.net/VirtualAgilityLeague/VALOR_home.html
So, Roxy and I run in VALOR because we've had a handful of negative experiences in traditionally run classroom settings. She's fearful of and can be reactive towards of other dogs as it is, and we were working on it and had a ton of success. We were actually doing well enough to participate in traditional classes where several people were practicing on various equipment at the same time. We were careful about our choice in classes because I was focused solely on creating positive experiences, but unfortunately, there were a handful of situations where another dog who shouldn't have been working off-leash, was working off-leash, and charged us, and set us back very far. Her reactivity can be managed and with a lot of training it's gotten significantly better, but unfortunately we can't control the actions of other handlers and their dogs. Right now I prefer VALOR partly because I don't want to put Roxy in a situation where she has to feel defensive. And although we both really enjoy agility, I can't participate in traditional venues at the expense of her feeling unsafe or afraid. So VALOR is the perfect setting for us. And the folks that participate at VALOR are great folks. Everyone is very understanding of each dog's needs and everyone just "gets it" in regards to working with a reactive dog.
I look forward to learning much here