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Below is
a basic description of competitive obedience followed by some class
pictures.
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For obedience brags--go to the
page. |
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Competitive obedience is the
best kept secret around. It is a wonderful sport with you and
your dog forming a team. There are 3 class levels for
competition -- Novice, Open then Utility. Yes, you can do it and
have a great time training and going to trials.
To earn a title in any class
and be able to move to the next level, you and your dog need to
qualify in that class (We call this earning a leg.) three times under
three different judges. Here is a very brief description. For
more details check out AKC, UKC, or
ASCA. (remember
that mixed breeds can compete in UKC and ASCA)
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Novice (CD = Companion Dog) |
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To earn a CD title on your dog,
you and your dog must be able to do the following:
Heel on lead and do a figure 8
Heel off lead
Stand for exam
Recall
Sit/Stay (1 minute)
Down/Stay (3 minutes)
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Kuma doing a front after a recall |
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Open
(CDX = Companion Dog Excellent) |
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Retrieving a dumbbell over a jump in Open |
The CDX can be earned by
learning the following:
Heel and figure 8 (off lead)
Drop on recall
Retrieving a dumbbell
Retrieving a dumbbell over a
jump
A broad jump
Sit/Stay (3 minutes with you
out of sight)
Down/Stay (5 minutes with you
out of sight)
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Mel finding and retrieving a scent article. |
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Utility (UD =
Utility Dog) |
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This is the top level of
obedience competition. The exercises in this class are as follows:
Signal exercise
Scent discrimination (with
leather and metal articles)
Directed Retrieve (retrieving
one of 3 gloves)
Moving Stand
Directed jumping (over a bar
and a solid)
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What
is an Obedience Title, Anyway?
by: Sandy Mowery
Not just a brag, not just a stepping stone to a higher title, to just an
adjunct to competitive scores, a title is a tribute to the dog that
bears it, a way to honor the dog, an ultimate memorial. It will remain,
in record and memory, for as long as anything in this world can remain.
Few humans will do as well or better in that regard.
And though the dog itself doesn't know or care that
its achievements have been noted, a title says many things in the world
of humans, where such things count.
A title says your dog was intelligent, and adaptable,
and good-natured. It says your dog loved you enough to do the things
that please you, however crazy they may have sometimes seemed.
And a title says that you loved your dog, that you
loved to spend time with it because it was a good dog, that you believed
in it enough to give it another chance when it failed, and that, in the
end, your faith was justified.
A title proves that your dog inspired you to that
special relationship enjoyed by so few; that, in a world of disposable
creatures, this dog with a title was greatly loved, and loved greatly in
return.
And when that dear, short life is over, the title
remains as a memorial of the finest kind, the best you can give to a
deserving friend, volumes of praise in one small set of initials after
the name.
An obedience title is nothing less that love and
respect, given and received and permanently recorded.
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