I would like some good sites on what skills a puppy needs to learn and in what order so he can eventually compete in obedience. So far he know sit and down and is learning heel.
Websites that show how to teach a young pup needed skills will be useful. One I find hard is scent discrimination (so I want to start very early) And I also find difficult the velcro heel. I am used to big dogs and the one I am training is very small....4 1/2 months and about 8kg. I find my self bending over to try and get an idea into him and I know this is the wrong way to teach.
He also tends to hip sit so I am trying to reward him for straight sits...DO they require straight downs as well...since he tends to down on his side automatically.
is there a UK site that shows what is expected at each level of obedience....kind of like the one they give for the Bronze , Silver and Gold awards for the KC good citizens awards....

Thanks for the help

Sloooooow down.  :)

Firstly to do competitive obedience you need to find a club or a training group to train with.  If you have never done it before it can't be taught by reading a website.  Try http://www.obedienceuk.com/ and look at Club Profiles, you should find a club near to you.

To start you off.....Hip Sits - You are baiting to low.  Bring the tit bit up above him so he has to reach to sit, he should sit square then.  Straight downs are only required for Distance Control, not for stays.

Scent is not something you should teach yourself as in a competition type of scent, you need someone with a different scent to yours to place articles out.  But, when out on a walk have a small toy, or I use a hair scrunchy and scent it in your hand and drop it just behind you, make a game of it with your dog and say 'find', reward when he does.  You can gradually increase the distance or throw into long grass as he gets the hang of it.

That should keep you going for a bit, I have never heard of the velcro heel though.

When I say velcro heel I mean where the dog is attached to the leg (or near enough)
Not as in a heel when out on a fun walk.

Cheers

ROFLMAO @ the velcro heelwork position

Depending on the breed of dog it is impossible for some dogs to work as closely as bigger dogs & as long as the heelwork position falls within the KC guideness in the G regs(the KC rules & regs for obedience that you can buy for £1.50 from the KC site)it is correct. I've judged all sorts of breeds from Newfoundlands to Mini LC Dachshunds & they can all do good heelwork

What is required more than the closeness is that the dog keeps a straigh position without crabbing(ie head & bum in line)

I've got a smooth BC puppy who I am training very very carefully as you cannot hide or get away with even the slightly crabbing or moving off line

Your baby is very young I teach the positions separately from heelwork & as sandra saying to get my puppy straight you need to get the treat in the right position to draw the head up. Luckily for my my puppy does sit straight

As for scent you really need a good retrieve before attempting the actually exercise but there's nothing to stop you teaching your puppy to use it's nose to find things. I chuck my puppies toys into long grass so he can't see where it actually lands & has to use his nose, but your puppy needs a retrieve of some sort before you do this

Let your puppy be a puppy & take things slowly. Jenny Miller's Kash was 14 months old before he stepped into a ring & less than 6 months later he was C only(LOL I gave him his 9th & last B win)He's now qualified for ticket classes & won his first CD stake at his first WT ! He's a X breed BTW

My pup is a X breed as well.....from all reports his mother is Corgi x Jack Russell and his father a farm collie.
He was found on the motorway.
He was very ill at 8 weeks and spent 7days on a drip and then another 7days before he would eat again. 2 litter mates died from parvo although he did not have it.
It took less than 15 minutes to teach him to give paw and he had the sit and down very quick as well. I was only meant to foster him but he is so bright I did not want him rehomed to someone who was getting a dog for the kids to play with. I wanted a working home for him. Some people asked to see him but never showed up so I decided to keep him...

Here is a link to his sickie pics...when he was in the vets.
http://photobucket.com/albums/v168/al8dan/OrphanCollie/Freeway/

And here are some of him recovered...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v168/al8dan/Freeway%20Jack/FreewayEars2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v168/al8dan/Freeway%20Jack/FreewayEars1.jpg

Both his ears are now up I am happy to report.

Anyway...back on track....thanks for the info...I know to take things slow and steady...I just like to know what to be expecting and to read up on it before I need to try and teach it. I have 4 other adults I can try it on to see if it works or not..:rolleyes:
So any information imparted onto me now shall be placed upon the heads of others long before the wee'un needs it...( BTW his name is Freeway )

Heck I may end up with 5 dogs with titles in obedience by the end of it all..(lol)

Cheers
Julie

Moonmaiden,

Just wondering how you teach the dog to keep straight when doing heelwork..? I don't do obedience level or anything but when I do training sessions at home/out on walks with my Dobe he does tend to crab when I get him to do a close heel. He can do it at such a speed I wondered if him and I should take up dancing

Lots & lots of left & right handed circles with no turns Anyone watching me must think I am mad :D Then I train straight very short stretches at club using the rubber mats as a guide & if his bum skew we go back to circles LOL I train in between the classes as I'm the only person at the club to be active in obedience(as a judge/ring steward & a show chief steward only at present)The others aren't bothered about correct position om heelwork

He's very sweet BTW

Getting dizzy just thinking about it :D Will have to give these circles a go. Would they be small circles, or big circles? :D

LOL Big ones ;)

Hehe, thanks for the advice ;)

Also, if you're using a food lure (or if you're just holding the reward in your hand), be careful it's in your left hand - if you hold it in your right hand, the dog will crab over towards that one.

It is much harder to train a small dog for competition obedience than a larger one, as it is much more difficult to judge their position relative to you and to use the correct body language etc.  HAving said that there are small dogs that do extremely well in Obedience and I judged a WHWT in a CD stake in Working Trials Last year who only missed out on a CoM because of the jumps.

Clicker training is a great way to train any dog but particularly the smaller ones to adopt the correct position as the dog will put itself in the right position and maintain it for its reward without the necessity for constant luring or modelling etc.

Scent discrimination needs to be introduced with great thought and planning in order to ensure that you know exactly what part of the exercise you are training, a successful competitor and trainer would be very helpful.

Cantilevered downs are necessary for distance control and positions on the move but not obviously for the down stays, you can train the difference by getting the behaviours and then putting them on different cues.

If your dog is ball mad then a good way of teaching heelwork is the ball in the armpit technique, as soon as the dog is in the correct position, click and drop.

Good luck,