Our Regulations and Guidelines
In order for BARC to conduct activities in a safe manner and to ensure a clear understanding of responsibilities by all members, comprehensive Regulations and Guidelines are provided.
In pursuit of it's stated Aim and through it's Regulations and Guidelines, BARC also encourages it's member's to approach all training with the following goals in mind:
CONTROL
Start every training session with a warm up. Besides the physical benefits, it can also help you and your dog to develop a calm focus. Basic obedience and consistent, well timed commands are essential to any dog sport training. Many basic agility, freestyle and rally-o skills can be practiced at home also, using simply made or readily available obstacles and tools. Training can and should be incorporated into your daily routine.
ACCURACY
Ensure your dog approaches all exercises and navigates all obstacles in accordance with the guidelines you've been taught - every time, no exceptions. Don't be afraid to go back to basics. Every dog, even an experienced one, occasionally becomes distracted or forgets how to do a particular exercise. Going back to basics not only reinforces to the dog what is expected but rebuilds confidence.
SAFETY
If accuracy is achieved, safety follows. At no time should speed have a greater priority than a safe, accurate session. Never work a dog if they are ill, injured or on medication that could make them inattentive or unsteady. Under such circumstances, much can be learned by sitting out a session and simply watching other handlers and dogs work. Talk, Listen and Ask Questions.
ATTITUDE
Always maintain a positive attitude. Attitude runs down the leash. A happy dog willingly accepts new challenges. Learn to stop a training session before your dog loses enthusiasm and always end it with a positive exercise - something that your dog does well and give lots of praise. Also, learn when NOT to start a session. If you or your dog are having a bad or stressful day, mistakes are more likely to be made, often due to inattention, late commands, mixed signals or loss of patience.