Bella's doing her Bronze award test in August, she's doing really well and is able to lay down for over a minute now , we switched it from a sit as half way through she went into a lay / down and they said she would fail if she did that during the test. I know you are not allowed treats during but what about in between ? Any body willing to share their experiences? How many dogs tested and how it works? Are there breaks between exercises? Thanks
Hi there, how exciting. Meg did Bronze and Silver on her 1st birthday. The best thing I did was take her out for a good walk before the test, so she was a bit tired but not whacked ! There were about 8 dogs and we did each exercise in turn. So plenty of time to reassure and treat in between exercises. It was quite chilled and relaxed. You are right about the stay, if they change position its a "not ready" but can do in either sit or down. It went quickly and Meg enjoyed it. Good luck and let us know how you get on Emma and Meg
I will do thanks for that. She was brilliant tonight and the only dog from our class they want to enter next month, very proud of her!
Standards must vary according to who is doing the judging. When Harv did Bronze and Silver we were told that it is staying in one place that is important not whether it is a Sit, a Down, or a combination. Keeping a continuous Sit or Down was 'now' only for obedience competitions (I say 'now' because they said that this used to be the criteria for KCGC too but they changed it). That said, if Bella can do a continuous Down then so much the better I'd also echo Edp's advice. Harv was quite, erm ..., 'enthusiastic' when we were doing Bronze and Silver (and still is!). Taking him for a walk immediately before the tests made a huge difference for us (he could easily do everything that was required if we could just manage his energy levels - the walk 'took the edge off' and made things much easier). Good luck.
