Obedience Competition

[Fin]

Is there a resource somewhere that tells me how an obedience routine goes. Is every routine the same, ie heel in a square, turn left, stop and down your dog etc etc.

Looking at preparing for Novice and although we're a fair way away yet I would like to start practicing some sort of overall routine.

[sidoney]

The exercises are in a set sequence, and the heeling exercises will have the same components in them, although heeling patterns may vary in sequence depending on the judge. I found when I competed that most heeling patterns were similar, but one or two judges' patterns were fairly different in the sequence.

[EddyAnne]

G'day, Eddy here.

Yes there is a resource, it's called the ANKC Obedience Rule Book, available from your Training Club Secretary or from the State Canine Council general office. I feel if you intend to trial then it's wise to study this book with your Training Instructor as part of your preparation for trialling.

By the way, just click on this link and you will see I've included a copy on my website at this address:-

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~safcav/Tra...dienceRules.htm

[Guest Tess32]

Hmm, I'm thinking of doing some trialling when Reilly gets to about 3.

Is it better to train *for* novice and then trial for novice or train all the exercises up to utility and then go through?

Nat

[EddyAnne]

G'day, Eddy here.

Well I train for novice but as my dog was ready for novice trialling at 3 to 4 months of age but wasn't allowed to trial as he was too young (ANKC Rules say 6 months of age), well I then decided to train for open before novice trialling. After open titling well I then start UD training and obtain 1st UD pass at 10 months of age and UD titling at about 1 year old. My other doggies were just a bit older with similar results. Personally I feel "training one thing at a time" best avoids confusion and training problems, and in the long term it's the easiest and fastest way to OC titles.

[Guest Shadowboxer]

I prefer to train up to UD and then start entering Novice. I feel that dogs learn new behaviours/exercises more quickly at a young age. Also, Novice work is boring, and retrieving, jumping, scent, etc. gives them something interesting to do between all that heeling

[Guest Tess32]

Ta.

We train slowly but surely.

I don't want to bother about it until I've trained him to be a well behaved doggie in general, but we also are doing our own basic training on every exercise we can think of.

No point training heeling when we're not 100% with just loose lead!

Nat

[sidoney]

Heeling will help with loose lead walking. Helps the dog to become aware of your body location/movement/positioning.

[EddyAnne]

G'day, Eddy here.

I have seen some people start off with their dog's pulling on lead when out walking, then progress to loose lead walking, then later again progress to precision heeling for obedience.

Personally I prefer to "back-chain" to the above by first training precision heeling then later for walking on loose lead this for reasons that sidoney mentioned, and the last thing I train is pulling on lead such as when we do Tracking.

[Fin]

Thanks Eddy, thats exactly what I was after. Beau's going really well unless there is distraction around. I think he'd probably do quite well in the ring as the distraction is quite controlled and he is really well behaved in the show ring. Anyway, we'll keep going with these exercises in mind...Thanks.

[Guest Tess32]

That makes sense - but I made a decision to train him all basic, practical, well behaved canine kinda stuff first and then move on to more precise behaviours when we are both more experienced.

It works for me...we can't heel yet, but we can walk down a street in a new place mostly loose leash, and sit down for lunch at a cafe while my dog quietly lays down and waits. It's probably not a big thing for experienced handlers but it makes me proud *g*.

Nat

[Tralee]

Hi Tess32.

we can't heel yet, but we can walk down a street in a new place mostly loose leash, and sit down for lunch at a cafe while my dog quietly lays down and waits.   It's probably not a big thing for experienced handlers but it makes me proud *g*.

Sooki does the same thing, only we go to the same place because she always gets a free sausage and there are lots of calls like; "There is that dog again"

Makes me swell up too.

Edited March 27, 2005 by pewithers

[Greytmate]

Tess you may benefit from joining an obedience club that is VCA affiliated.

That way you will be taught the exersizes that will be judged in the obedience ring. The exersizes are all things that are useful and practical in everyday life, for instance heeling is simply walking next to the handler on a loose lead, stand for exam is what happens at the vets, etc.

The precision that is called for in training at a trialling club is useful, as it reinforces to the dog that it must work exactly as it is told to work, and is not allowed any leeway to make its own decisions. That is what obedience training is all about, and it results in a dog that works sharply and responds quickly to command. There is no confusion for the dog, it knows exactly what is expected of it while it is working.

As you progress through the classes, you improve to a level where one day the instructor will say "How about entering a trial?" There is no need to re-learn or alter anything you have learned in the past, and you won't be having to undo any bad habits that may have resulted from a less precise approach to training.

Nothing wrong with clubs that don't teach the excercises that are judged in trialling, but it is such a shame to put all that work in, and then have no benchmark to see what you and your dog have acheived. That is what trialling is all about, a common benchmark to test a wide range of dogs and handlers from different backgrounds and training methods.

Before entering a Novice trial, there is a class called Encouragement, that does not require any off lead heeling. It is a fun way to start competition.

[InspectorRex]

From another Collie lover point of view, here is how I like to train;

Have your dog ready for Novice before you enter Encouragement:

once you have achieved that then start introducing things such as dumbbells and jumps.That way when you have acheived CD title it won't be long before you can compete in Open. Dogs get bored very easily and need different stimuli to keep them happy.

The best time to teach your dog the Articles for UD and dumbbells is when the puppy is teething as the metal articles soothes the sore gums and they accept it easier.

Tess you are doing superb with Reilly, give yourself a huge pat on the back

[Guest Tess32]

Greymate,

I attended the nearest VCA affiliated club near me but all the classes were "called" and I was mostly unimpressed. This is the biggest and most popular club near me.

I'm still undecided about whether I want to trial, I have a sneaking suspicion it will just frustrate me instead of being enjoyable.

I don't believe we will have many bad habits to break though - I am on a few email lists that focus on trialling and bear it in mind when teaching something...eg. I still try to train for a stay that would be accepted, no moving feet etc.

Precision is great - but I just cannot expect to train it properly when I'm not experienced myself.

Nat

[Guest Tess32]

Thanks IR.

I am teaching him a whole number of things all at once - we are about to start the retrieve, we work on scenting and small jumps, drop/sit/stand stays, targetting etc, so he never gets bored.

He *can* heel very basically in the backyard off lead - right about turns and straight up and down without breaking eye contact, but it just doesn't feel solid enough to me to even put it on cue. I'll start working on the heel when we have some solid eye contact.

I think I should go *see* some obedience trials before I decide!

Nat

[Greytmate]

Precision is great - but I just cannot expect to train it properly when I'm not experienced myself.

Of course you can!

And a good obedience club will help you every step of the way.

I don't believe we will have many bad habits to break though - I am on a few email lists that focus on trialling and bear it in mind when teaching something...eg.  I still try to train for a stay that would be accepted, no moving feet etc.

There is only so much you can do working alone on this. Even experienced handlers can require another person to actually watch what they do, and point out little things to help polish up their routine and get it precise. Some even take video footage of themselves to see what can be improved on, but the personal help of instructors is the easiest way to go. It's called ringcraft, and it requires practise.

While trialling may sometimes be a little frustrating, it is a challenge, and the reward of you and your dog earning a recognised title is immense.

Definately go and watch some trials, and you will see that there are handlers from all different clubs there. You may find that some clubs are better represented than others. These are the clubs that help their members achieve, and give them the encouragment and skills to do so.

Edited March 27, 2005 by Greytmate

[Kavik]

I found that some exercises for trialling are very different from what you would want for a pet. Heeling is actually the best example. Competition heeling is not at all practical, as you want total focus the whole time. You would not practice competition heeling on a whole normal walk because you would not get the precision you want, and the dog is not able to relax and sniff, toilet etc, which is often done on a normal walk. Pet training classes often work on teaching the dog to be relaxed and calm, while in competition you want focus and energy and quick responses.

While we are not trialling for novice yet, we are teaching the retrieve and will start a few other more advanced exercises. The stand for exam is our weakest novice exercise at the moment.

[pgm]

Kavik: "Competition heeling is not at all practical, as you want total focus the whole time."

pgm: the dog knows the difference, even without you doing anything (noticably)different the dog is more than capable of picking up the difference in context. One will lose nothing by teaching their dog to heel correctly (competition style) and possibly gain much more than they might otherwise.

Kavik: "Pet training classes often work on teaching the dog to be relaxed and calm, while in competition you want focus and energy and quick responses."

pgm: I don't know about other obedience clubs but the biggest problem I have with my own is that they don't teach the handlers how to get the dogs to heel properly. Hence when it comes to exams to go to the next level nobody passes. Today for instance I sat for an exam the equivalent of novice and out of a class of twenty was the only one to pass. Forget about heeling offlead, nobody could even get their dog to heel on a loose leash. Some of these people have been attending this club with their dog for the past 12 months and are still to even have their dog work on a loose leash. I blame the lack of proper instuction for this.

You wont lose anything by teaching the dog right from the beginning how to heel correctly for competition. Then even if you don't wish to compete you will still have an excellently trained dog - or at the very least better than you might if you start off with just a pet mentality.

[EddyAnne]

Today for instance I sat for an exam the equivalent of novice and out of a class of twenty was the only one to pass. Forget about heeling offlead, nobody could even get their dog to heel on a loose leash. Some of these people have been attending this club with their dog for the past 12 months and are still to even have their dog work on a loose leash.

G'day, Eddy here.

At my local training club some were preparing for trialling such as you described, and why I chose to train completely different to the way they trained.

Maybe the doggies have been conditioned to a years worth of training on-lead and where the leads gave a subtle que here and there to the doggies on what to do.

Here is something to think about, when people come home or maybe arrive at a park, when the lead is removed the dog is allowed to run free, sniff around, go do this or that, these are rewarding to the dog and are provided when the lead is removed, after a year of this might this have some effects on the dog when the lead is removed in training class.