Hi All

Having decided that at the moment I won't breed my 3 year old sheltie (as was my plan) I have stepped up her obedience traning (only because she loves it!).  I've been taking her to obedience classes for a while now but only started at this new class earlier this year after we moved house.  Before that she had done nothing for a year. It was always plain that she had some ability and lots of enthusiasm so during the last month or two I have been doing a few minutes training every day, sometimes twice.  For instance I could never get her to do a nice straight sit - her bottom always stuck out.  Now having set ourselves  some targets and sticking to them, we are making progress and the sits and heelwork are a whole lot better.  Her recalls and stays have always been spot on and now she is even retrieving her dumb-bell   (that took me weeks to achieve).

At the training class this week she was placed second out of 12 dogs in quite a hard test and afterwards the trainer said that if I was interested I could take the obedience further and enter some obedience shows as she felt she had lots of potential.  I have never been to an obedience show (other that watching at Crufts) and wonder if any of you are interested in obedience.  Any info would be useful.  Have had very little success at showing so thought obedience with a keen dog would be fun (and maybe more predictable than showing??)

Thanks

Snowflake

Have had very little success at showing so thought obedience with a keen dog would be fun (and maybe more predictable than showing??)

Well it is still down to another person's opinion. I used to do it but years ago so I don't think I would be of any help, it is still done with the steward walking with you and giving you instructions but the judging is down to the judge who may or may not see all 'sits' as equal or may decide that one was slower or an inch further away than another.

I am glad that dog showing is unpredictable because if it were not there would be no point in it at all.

Go for it, you can start off by going to some fun pre-beginners shows and a lot of clubs take part in the KC pre-beginners stakes where you can even qualify for the finals at Crufts. These are all over for this year but you could do that next year and try and qualify for Crufts 2013 :-)   You are right in that obedience shows are predictable, anyone can see from the ringside when a dog makes a mistake but of course dogs are not predictable so it is still lots of fun and full of surprises :-)

The obedience you will have watched on tv is the very top class, the championship C class, it usually takes people many years and several dogs to reach that point, but I do know of some who have shot through the classes with their very first dog, from pre-beginners to champ in a couple of years :-)

Your club will be able to advise you on fun shows and competitions to start off in, unfortunately most of these are held in the summer, but that gives you all winter to practice :-)

> Well it is still down to another person's opinion.

Yes, but to a far lesser extent than showing. You are correct in that some judges prefer dogs to work closer than others, some forgive smaller dogs for staying slightly further out as long as they are consistent and some like all dogs to work like a collie... but that is still far more predictable than a conformation judge who can simply not place your dog because they don't like his type.

So if you are consistently beaten by another dog you know you always will be unless you can adjust the way your dog works, must say it was not like that in my day, glad I took up the showring you always hope you may have a chance providing you have a good dog of course.

Why not - I used to enjoy doing formal obedience with Ellie, she was only ever placed well against other toy dogs at the 2 shows which schedule toy only obedience, but we had fun nonetheless. And we used to travel quite long distance to do a companion show which had obedience too. Of course, there's always rally obedience, you could come along to Risby village hall this Sunday and do some stewarding and see what fun it is! :-D

Try a few shows for fun first.  If you really take to it then it´s wise to choose shows where the judge is know to have in interest in small breeds.  (They won´t be expecting a little dog to have the wrap-around effect of a collie.)

> So if you are consistently beaten by another dog you know you always will be

In obedience you are really competing against yourself, it's your own mistakes that will hold you back. No dog wins all the time because no dog (or handler) gives their very best work all the time so that scenario really would not happen :-) If you do a perfect round it's unlikely someone else has too, more likely there are several of you with a couple of you with the same score and you have a run off.

Congratulations Snowflake that's a lovely result

Does your trainer enter obedience shows/trials (what are they called)?  Could you pop along for a look-see with him/her first?  They have dedicated forums too I think so you could have a look online to find details of events

My trainer asked me if I'd like to enter one of mine in Obedience but I was always too busy with showing.  I wish I'd had a go though, if only for the experience of trying it.  I might yet...!

Good luck :)

If you are going to enter shows, make sure you and your dog are both ready. Sounds obvious but you see so many people who rush into competing way before they/the dog are ready and then they handle badly/the dogs are switched off or don't know what the handler really wants. They allow the dog to go wrong in the ring (because they aren't prepared to train when things don't go right or are too competitive to do so) and the dog then repeats this week after week in the ring, because he has been allowed to. Often the handlers get frustrated/disenchanted and either get tougher with the dog or give up altogether. Would suggest joining the Obed forums, subscribing to Dog Training Weekly and going on courses run by the top handlers so they can see you, spot your weaknesses and help you address them. You really need someone who competes/used to compete to train you, that's the way to improve. The average dog club would not know what the KC Obedience exercises are let alone know how to help you train for them with style and accuracy. A good trainer would also give you advice on show etiquette, what to expect, what to do on the day, how to prepare your dog for the ring etc. When I am training a young dog, I wouldn't put him in the ring for at least two years because I like to make sure his training is thorough and he has a good chance of giving me in the ring what he does in training. I spend lots of time teaching the heelwork position statically before I even move off the spot, so the dog has a good understanding of where he should be before I ask him to keep that position on the move, through turns etc.

I don't think it's easier to predict the outcome of an Obedience class (as compared to Breed). Yes, dogs make mistakes when they're working BUT 1) the judge doesn't always see them (or want to lol) and 2) the judge will decided how hard he will mark that mistake. So, for example, a slow bored dog will generally lose more under a judge who likes a dog to enjoy his work than a dog who makes mistakes through keeness, not indifference. It's very rewarding to me, as a trainer, to get that buzz when the dog loves what he is doing and is brimming with confidence and wanting to do it. If the judge doesn't appreciate that, I just tell myself that were a dozen other people watching outside the ring who did like what he did and might be judging him in the future lol.  

Hello Lucy

Nice to hear from you.  I would like to pop along to Risby on Sunday to see what goes on. What time does it start?  Should I  bring dog(s) or not?

Regards

Judith

Thank you very much all of you for your  positive responses.

As I  said I would have liked to show but my sheltie was not of sufficient quality to get anywhere.  The breed classes were large.  My girl while very pretty and with a lovely coat never got anywhere as her eyes are too round.  However she is quick and intelligent and has a temperament to die for (she is a PAT  dog and we go to visit an old folks' home every fortnight which is really fulfilling).  I feel  myself she has lots of potential (although can be a bit exuberant and excitable!!) so I feel it is worth persevering with her obedience training which she adores.  Your comments were very positive and I intend to carry on with her training and will keep you all posted.

Thanks again

Snowflake                     

Have you thought about agility?  That´s fun although maybe you´ll find you don´t have a club close enough for you to want to give it a go.

There's alot of shelties that compete in obedience. 
I would suggest going and watching a show, just to see what the standard is like and find out what you have to do.  So when you do enter you won't be worrying about it all being strange.  Then maybe enter a couple of shows and go in the ring and do a training round, this will get you and your dog used to the ring situation and following the stewards commands without the stress/worry of competing.  Just go in the ring and do a little bit of heelwork, maybe just a circle, and play with your dog, make it a fun place to be.  Don't ever nag your dog in the ring, you want your dog to love competing. If it all goes wrong (as it often does!) just turn it into training or thank the judge and leave the ring.
The perfect class for those starting out is the special pre-beginner stakes, heelwork is often just a circle and you can play with your dog between exercises.  Me and Tilly have qualified for the semi-finals again this year, which is taking place at discover dogs.  It will be the last time as we have qualified out of pre-beginner this year.

Aw, sorry I didn't pick this up in time - we could have done with a little extra help! There'll be more trials next year though and I'll keep you posted - you can log on to the Talking Dogs Rally website to get her registered and find out about training in the area, and we're on Facebook too. :-)