We had an obedience test this morning at our dog club to see if we could advance from our current level to the next. Obi did very well and got first place (flrst place is a blue ribbon in Australia) The class we have just been in is Primary Companion, which is a parallel stream to the trialling obedience classes (it's equivalent to a level that's a bit higher than Novice but is a bit more 'fun' and includes tricks as well as formal obedience work). All the test was off lead and we had to do: - heeling at slow, medium and fast paces, with left and right turns, left and right about turns, automatic sits and stands and drops on the move - 'Stand for Exam' where the dog must stand still to be touched all over by the judge while the handler is at a distance - Choice of recall over a jump, or a retrieve or a 'send away' where the dog goes about 10 metres away to stand in a designated spot (we normally do a retrieve but the judge got us to do the recall over the jump instead) - Position changes at a distance (sit, drop, stand) followed by a recall - 5 minute sit or down stay (we did a down stay) with handlers at about 10 metres and all dogs in a row You are not allowed to take any food into the ring, so the whole thing is done with pats and praise only at the end of each exercise. No talking is allowed (other than cues) during exercises. As I wasn't paying up Obi went over to the judge to ask for a treat during the heeling : :-[ ;D ;D ;D but other than that he was great and I was very pleased. Good boy, Obi! The level we are going into is Secondary Companion, which is a mix of the Open and Utility exercises done in formal obedience trialling (but, again, a bit more fun as you can use toys for your scent work and retrieves instead of bits of wood). None of this is 'official' trialling (i.e. it doesn't count towards any title) but we might have a go at an obedience title one day when Obi is a bit older. It is a different kettle of fish to do this off your home turf and in the vicinity of completely strange dogs (some of the other dogs doing the test today were in our class, which would not be the case in a trial). Your dog needs to be very, very steady and we are not quite there yet. One day
Re: Obi's obedient morning A brilliant result Obi and Rachael; I'm very impressed he managed without rewards along the way. I hope you both have a treat to celebrate. Alice
Re: Obi's obedient morning Wow! What a clever boy!! (And all credit to you, of course, Rachael!) So cute with the ribbon
Re: Obi's obedient morning Well done you guys. Could only dream of this ourselves. Loads of hard work pays off! xx
Re: Obi's obedient morning Excellent job, both of you. 8) PS: I think I have training envy (if there is such a thing)! [Resolves to do more training with Harvey ]
Re: Obi's obedient morning Congratulations you fabulous 2!well done with all the practice and hard work paying off!Obi's ribbon matches the rest of his day wear x
Re: Obi's obedient morning Thank you very much! Obi says I forgot to mention that he had to do two tricks as well so he did 'speak' and a spin. He would also like to add that he was asked by an official to demonstrate to an overweight Labrador (the human attendants of, that is) what a non-overweight Labrador should look like (even though, truth be told, Obi himself lose half a kilo). The other Labrador's humans had been taking seriously the feeding guide on the packet and also thought that Labradors were 'meant to look like that'. They now have a better idea and were grateful for it as they seemed to genuinely not realise that their dog was terribly overweight.
Re: Obi's obedient morning Well done obi, you look very proud of yourself me and puzzle have 2 obedience classes in shows set up over the following weekends, very basic stuff just to get her used to it, but still scary. Some of the classes are so basic grumpy guts could do them if he felt like it but puzzle will work for praise and a toy instead of having a treat constantly on her nose
Re: Obi's obedient morning Thanks a lot, guys Annabelle, it's great that you're going in an obedience event soon. I always find it stressful also, but I'm also always glad that I gave it a try
Re: Obi's obedient morning Finally got to connect with the sketchy wi-fi here where we are on holidays and see this! How wonderful and what an inspiration/encouragement to the rest of us! Well done Rachel and Obi!
Re: Obi's obedient morning Obi, you are a star. And a shining example to others of your breed. Although I do think Rachael deserves to hold the other end of that ribbon. Clare
