Jul 20, Dog Obedience -- For Fun and Competition

Dog obedience competition is a sport in which a dog completes a set of tasks as directed by his handler. The real purpose of these trials, however, is to demonstrate how well the dogs have been trained to behave in the home, in public, and around other dogs.

All-breed obedience trials are the most common type of trials.

They offer competitions for more than 150 dog breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC).

Specialty trials are restricted to dogs of a specific breed.

AKC obedience competitions are offered at three levels: Novice, Open, and Utility.

A dog must complete the requirements at each level before moving on to the next.

The Novice Class demonstrates good canine companion skills.

These include heeling (both with and without a leash), coming when called, standing for a simple physical examination, and staying in both a sit and a down position with a group of dogs.

The Open Class is more challenging, as all exercises are done off leash.

These include a heeling pattern and figure eight, drop on recall, retrieve on the flat, retrieve over a high jump and a broad jump, and group exercises (three-minute sit-stay and five minute down-stay) with the handler out of the ring.

The Utility Class is the most challenging level of competition.

The dog must do a complex heeling pattern off lead that includes a hand signal exercise and a more rigorous stand for examination.

He must respond to hand signals (only) that direct him to go down, sit, come, and return to heel.

He uses scent discrimination to find two articles handled by his owner out of a pile of several items.

His handler then directs him to retrieve one of three gloves placed in the ring. He's also required to clear a high jump and a bar jump at the handler's direction.

Why would you want to bother with obedience training?

Here are a few reasons: Dog training for obedience competition provides an opportunity for you and your dog to work as a team. It provides mental stimulation and physical activity for a bored pet. It provides you with a fun and challenging hobby. It strengthens the bond between you and your dog. It helps your dog realize his full potential. Obedience has useful applications in everyday life with your dog. Training for competitions builds on basic dog obedience training. Your family, neighborhood and community all appreciate a well-trained dog. It allows you to enjoy the fun and excitement of competing in various dog sports. Your veterinarian will be glad you taught your dog to stand quietly for examination. Obedience training is the foundation upon which all dog activities are based, whether conformation, agility, tracking, search and rescue, service dogs, fieldwork, etc.Any dog registered with the AKC can enter AKC obedience trials, regardless of conformation.

Unregistered purebred dogs can also compete in AKC events if they obtain an Indefinite Listing Privilege (ILP) number.

To qualify, a dog must look like an AKC-recognized breed, be spayed or neutered, and be at least six months old.

The ILP is a great help to those who adopt dogs from animal shelters or rescues or who purchase purebred dogs without registration papers.

If your precious pooch is a Heinz 57 mutt, he can still enter obedience events sponsored by the organizations listed in the next section.

Titles are awarded through several organizations. In the United States, these include the American Kennel Club (AKC), the United Kennel Club (UKC), Mixed Breed Dog Club of America (MBDCA), American Mixed Breed Obedience Registry (AMBOR), and Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA). Despite its name, the ASCA allows all breeds and mixed breed dogs into their non-conformation activities.

When a dog earns a title, an abbreviation is permanently affixed as either a prefix or suffix to the dog's registered name. The titles given by different organizations vary a bit, but most are similar to "CD" (Companion Dog), "CDX" (Companion Dog Excellent), "UD" (Utility Dog), "UDX" (Utility Dog Excellent), and "OTCh" (Obedience Trial Champion).

The sport of dog obedience competition in the U.S. dates back to 1933 when the first obedience trial was held to demonstrate how well dogs and owners could work together.

The sport has grown by leaps and bounds since then, and today there are over 2,000 trials held in the U.S. every year, with more than 100,000 dogs competing.

Goldens have been a major presence at obedience trials since the beginning.

When the Obedience Trial Champion title was added in 1977, the first three dogs of any breed to attain it were Golden Retrievers.

Since then, more Goldens have earned the title than any other breed.

Why are they so good at this sport?

Well, obedience trials are designed to demonstrate the teamwork of a dog and his handler, as well as the trainability of the dog.

Those are two areas in which Goldens excel, because they love to be with their owners and they enjoy doing whatever makes their partners happy.

A Golden Retriever from any background (field, show or pet) can do well because it doesn't matter what he looks like. The important thing is how he focuses on your directions and how happily he responds.

If your Golden constantly watches you, waiting for your next signal, he'll do very well in this sport. Teaching him what you want him to do is easy and fun with positive methods like clicker training.

In recent years, a new form of dog obedience competition, known as Rally Obedience, has become very popular.

It's designed to be a "bridge" or casual step between the Canine Good Citizen certification and the more formal obedience trials.

Perhaps adding a little music to your training session might reveal your dog's natural flair for the fun sport of canine freestyle.

Even if you just want to use dog obedience training to help your pooch be a better pet, the relationship you share with your furry friend will be strengthened by working together.

Return from Dog Obedience to Dog Breed Activities

Return from Dog Obedience
to Lovable Golden Retriever Home Page

View the original article here

Aug 12, Rally Obedience -- Dog Obedience With A Twist!

Rally Obedience is the new dog sport that's taking the nation by storm. Also called Rally-O, it combines competition dog obedience with agility -- with the emphasis on having fun. That's why fun-loving Golden Retrievers love this sport!

Rally-O is basically an informal, relaxed version of competition dog obedience.

All dog breeds are welcome -- both purebred and mixed breed dogs.

It doesn't take athletic skill to participate and is even open to physically challenged handlers and dogs.

Rally is a natural bridge from the Canine Good Citizen certificate to dog obedience (if you choose to go that route).

It's also a great way to have fun with your dog!

Attitude is more important in Rally than precision. The emphasis is on having a good time and developing teamwork between you and your dog.

Here's how it works.

You and your dog will enter the ring and follow a course of numbered signs.

Each sign indicates a different obedience skill for your dog to perform.

You move at your own pace, completing each skill before moving on to the next one.

Though your dog has to be under your control, a perfect "heel position" is not required.

Rally is a fluid, continuous performance.

Once started, you move from one exercise to the next without being directed by the judge. He just tags along to watch for mistakes.

His stopwatch is running, but the time is only taken into consideration if there's a tie in scores.

There are currently about 50 different exercises in the sport.

The judge will choose 10-20 exercises and build a course using the signs designating the selected exercises.

All exhibitors will receive a course map from the judge.

They're allowed to walk the course without their dogs prior to the start of the class.

Each owner/dog team starts out with the same number of points.

The judge deducts points for such errors as missed or incompletely performed stations, touching the dog, and leash corrections.

The team with the highest score (i.e., fewest number of faults) wins first place. The next highest score takes second place, and so forth.

Unlike traditional obedience, in Rally you can give your dog numerous verbal cues and hand signals to help him with each exercise.

You can talk to him and praise him as much as you like. You may even repeat your commands without losing points.

You can also encourage your dog by clapping your hands, patting your legs, whistling, or whatever works for the two of you.

In some venues, like the APDT, you can even use food to reward your dog at the end of selected stations.

Now that's encouragement a Golden Retriever can understand!

In fact, the only thing you can't do is physically touch your dog or make leash corrections.

Loud or harsh commands or intimidating signals will also be penalized.

The signs for beginning levels include basic skills like sits, stays, and downs. The more advanced level skills introduce jumps, distractions, stands, spins and heeling backwards.

There are three levels of Rally-O competition: Novice, Advanced and Excellent (or Levels 1, 2 and 3 depending on the venue). Titles can be earned at each level.

Your dog will perform on-leash in the Novice class, but off-leash for the Advanced and Excellent levels.

This fun sport was originally devised by Charles "Bud" Kramer from the obedience practice of "doodling."

That means doing a variety of interesting warm-up and freestyle exercises.

Bud is a dog sports enthusiast who has been instrumental in using positive dog training methods (like clicker training) in the sport of agility.

He came up with the idea to merge obedience and agility, and called it Rally, for the sport of road rally for cars.

Rally-O is now offered by several venues: The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) conference held the very first Rally trials in September 2001. The American Kennel Club allowed AKC Rally Obedience as an exhibition sport at obedience trials for several years before it began awarding titles in 2005.

The United Kennel Club (UKC) added Rally Obedience to their program in January 2009. C-Wags is a relatively new organization that appears to be mainly in the midwestern US. Canadians participate in the sport through the Canadian Association of Rally Obedience (CARO) and Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) Rally. In the UK, Talking Dogs Rally (TD Rally) produced their own version which was launched in January 2010.

The American Kennel Club held their first Rally, Agility and Obedience trials for mixed breed dogs in April 2010. How did this come about?

In response to surveys and inquiries, they initiated the AKC Canine Partners program in 2009 to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the organization. The program allows owners to register their mixed-breed dogs, making their pets eligible for participation in AKC events.

Many local dog clubs offer Rally Obedience training classes, as well as schedules of upcoming Rally events. Check the Internet for your nearest club.

Rally is an excellent way to practice basic obedience skills, work toward passing your Canine Good Citizen test, or train with the goal of formal obedience competition -- all while having fun with your dog.

Although Rally was designed with the traditional pet owner in mind, it can still be very challenging for those who enjoy higher levels of competition.

So why not give Rally Obedience a try? You're guaranteed to have a great time!

Return from Rally Obedience to Dog Breed Activities

Return from Rally Obedience
to Lovable Golden Retriever Home Page

View the original article here

Aug 12, Rally Obedience -- Dog Obedience With A Twist!

Rally Obedience is the new dog sport that's taking the nation by storm. Also called Rally-O, it combines competition dog obedience with agility -- with the emphasis on having fun. That's why fun-loving Golden Retrievers love this sport!

Rally-O is basically an informal, relaxed version of competition dog obedience.

All dog breeds are welcome -- both purebred and mixed breed dogs.

It doesn't take athletic skill to participate and is even open to physically challenged handlers and dogs.

Rally is a natural bridge from the Canine Good Citizen certificate to dog obedience (if you choose to go that route).

It's also a great way to have fun with your dog!

Attitude is more important in Rally than precision. The emphasis is on having a good time and developing teamwork between you and your dog.

Here's how it works.

You and your dog will enter the ring and follow a course of numbered signs.

Each sign indicates a different obedience skill for your dog to perform.

You move at your own pace, completing each skill before moving on to the next one.

Though your dog has to be under your control, a perfect "heel position" is not required.

Rally is a fluid, continuous performance.

Once started, you move from one exercise to the next without being directed by the judge. He just tags along to watch for mistakes.

His stopwatch is running, but the time is only taken into consideration if there's a tie in scores.

There are currently about 50 different exercises in the sport.

The judge will choose 10-20 exercises and build a course using the signs designating the selected exercises.

All exhibitors will receive a course map from the judge.

They're allowed to walk the course without their dogs prior to the start of the class.

Each owner/dog team starts out with the same number of points.

The judge deducts points for such errors as missed or incompletely performed stations, touching the dog, and leash corrections.

The team with the highest score (i.e., fewest number of faults) wins first place. The next highest score takes second place, and so forth.

Unlike traditional obedience, in Rally you can give your dog numerous verbal cues and hand signals to help him with each exercise.

You can talk to him and praise him as much as you like. You may even repeat your commands without losing points.

You can also encourage your dog by clapping your hands, patting your legs, whistling, or whatever works for the two of you.

In some venues, like the APDT, you can even use food to reward your dog at the end of selected stations.

Now that's encouragement a Golden Retriever can understand!

In fact, the only thing you can't do is physically touch your dog or make leash corrections.

Loud or harsh commands or intimidating signals will also be penalized.

The signs for beginning levels include basic skills like sits, stays, and downs. The more advanced level skills introduce jumps, distractions, stands, spins and heeling backwards.

There are three levels of Rally-O competition: Novice, Advanced and Excellent (or Levels 1, 2 and 3 depending on the venue). Titles can be earned at each level.

Your dog will perform on-leash in the Novice class, but off-leash for the Advanced and Excellent levels.

This fun sport was originally devised by Charles "Bud" Kramer from the obedience practice of "doodling."

That means doing a variety of interesting warm-up and freestyle exercises.

Bud is a dog sports enthusiast who has been instrumental in using positive dog training methods (like clicker training) in the sport of agility.

He came up with the idea to merge obedience and agility, and called it Rally, for the sport of road rally for cars.

Rally-O is now offered by several venues: The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) conference held the very first Rally trials in September 2001. The American Kennel Club allowed AKC Rally Obedience as an exhibition sport at obedience trials for several years before it began awarding titles in 2005.

The United Kennel Club (UKC) added Rally Obedience to their program in January 2009. C-Wags is a relatively new organization that appears to be mainly in the midwestern US. Canadians participate in the sport through the Canadian Association of Rally Obedience (CARO) and Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) Rally. In the UK, Talking Dogs Rally (TD Rally) produced their own version which was launched in January 2010.

The American Kennel Club held their first Rally, Agility and Obedience trials for mixed breed dogs in April 2010. How did this come about?

In response to surveys and inquiries, they initiated the AKC Canine Partners program in 2009 to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the organization. The program allows owners to register their mixed-breed dogs, making their pets eligible for participation in AKC events.

Many local dog clubs offer Rally Obedience training classes, as well as schedules of upcoming Rally events. Check the Internet for your nearest club.

Rally is an excellent way to practice basic obedience skills, work toward passing your Canine Good Citizen test, or train with the goal of formal obedience competition -- all while having fun with your dog.

Although Rally was designed with the traditional pet owner in mind, it can still be very challenging for those who enjoy higher levels of competition.

So why not give Rally Obedience a try? You're guaranteed to have a great time!

Return from Rally Obedience to Dog Breed Activities

Return from Rally Obedience
to Lovable Golden Retriever Home Page

View the original article here

Jul 20, Dog Obedience -- For Fun and Competition

Dog obedience competition is a sport in which a dog completes a set of tasks as directed by his handler. The real purpose of these trials, however, is to demonstrate how well the dogs have been trained to behave in the home, in public, and around other dogs.

All-breed obedience trials are the most common type of trials.

They offer competitions for more than 150 dog breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC).

Specialty trials are restricted to dogs of a specific breed.

AKC obedience competitions are offered at three levels: Novice, Open, and Utility.

A dog must complete the requirements at each level before moving on to the next.

The Novice Class demonstrates good canine companion skills.

These include heeling (both with and without a leash), coming when called, standing for a simple physical examination, and staying in both a sit and a down position with a group of dogs.

The Open Class is more challenging, as all exercises are done off leash.

These include a heeling pattern and figure eight, drop on recall, retrieve on the flat, retrieve over a high jump and a broad jump, and group exercises (three-minute sit-stay and five minute down-stay) with the handler out of the ring.

The Utility Class is the most challenging level of competition.

The dog must do a complex heeling pattern off lead that includes a hand signal exercise and a more rigorous stand for examination.

He must respond to hand signals (only) that direct him to go down, sit, come, and return to heel.

He uses scent discrimination to find two articles handled by his owner out of a pile of several items.

His handler then directs him to retrieve one of three gloves placed in the ring. He's also required to clear a high jump and a bar jump at the handler's direction.

Why would you want to bother with obedience training?

Here are a few reasons: Dog training for obedience competition provides an opportunity for you and your dog to work as a team. It provides mental stimulation and physical activity for a bored pet. It provides you with a fun and challenging hobby. It strengthens the bond between you and your dog. It helps your dog realize his full potential. Obedience has useful applications in everyday life with your dog. Training for competitions builds on basic dog obedience training. Your family, neighborhood and community all appreciate a well-trained dog. It allows you to enjoy the fun and excitement of competing in various dog sports. Your veterinarian will be glad you taught your dog to stand quietly for examination. Obedience training is the foundation upon which all dog activities are based, whether conformation, agility, tracking, search and rescue, service dogs, fieldwork, etc.Any dog registered with the AKC can enter AKC obedience trials, regardless of conformation.

Unregistered purebred dogs can also compete in AKC events if they obtain an Indefinite Listing Privilege (ILP) number.

To qualify, a dog must look like an AKC-recognized breed, be spayed or neutered, and be at least six months old.

The ILP is a great help to those who adopt dogs from animal shelters or rescues or who purchase purebred dogs without registration papers.

If your precious pooch is a Heinz 57 mutt, he can still enter obedience events sponsored by the organizations listed in the next section.

Titles are awarded through several organizations. In the United States, these include the American Kennel Club (AKC), the United Kennel Club (UKC), Mixed Breed Dog Club of America (MBDCA), American Mixed Breed Obedience Registry (AMBOR), and Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA). Despite its name, the ASCA allows all breeds and mixed breed dogs into their non-conformation activities.

When a dog earns a title, an abbreviation is permanently affixed as either a prefix or suffix to the dog's registered name. The titles given by different organizations vary a bit, but most are similar to "CD" (Companion Dog), "CDX" (Companion Dog Excellent), "UD" (Utility Dog), "UDX" (Utility Dog Excellent), and "OTCh" (Obedience Trial Champion).

The sport of dog obedience competition in the U.S. dates back to 1933 when the first obedience trial was held to demonstrate how well dogs and owners could work together.

The sport has grown by leaps and bounds since then, and today there are over 2,000 trials held in the U.S. every year, with more than 100,000 dogs competing.

Goldens have been a major presence at obedience trials since the beginning.

When the Obedience Trial Champion title was added in 1977, the first three dogs of any breed to attain it were Golden Retrievers.

Since then, more Goldens have earned the title than any other breed.

Why are they so good at this sport?

Well, obedience trials are designed to demonstrate the teamwork of a dog and his handler, as well as the trainability of the dog.

Those are two areas in which Goldens excel, because they love to be with their owners and they enjoy doing whatever makes their partners happy.

A Golden Retriever from any background (field, show or pet) can do well because it doesn't matter what he looks like. The important thing is how he focuses on your directions and how happily he responds.

If your Golden constantly watches you, waiting for your next signal, he'll do very well in this sport. Teaching him what you want him to do is easy and fun with positive methods like clicker training.

In recent years, a new form of dog obedience competition, known as Rally Obedience, has become very popular.

It's designed to be a "bridge" or casual step between the Canine Good Citizen certification and the more formal obedience trials.

Perhaps adding a little music to your training session might reveal your dog's natural flair for the fun sport of canine freestyle.

Even if you just want to use dog obedience training to help your pooch be a better pet, the relationship you share with your furry friend will be strengthened by working together.

Return from Dog Obedience to Dog Breed Activities

Return from Dog Obedience
to Lovable Golden Retriever Home Page

View the original article here