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Mi first day in formal obedience training, I have questions

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#1 ·
This morning was mi first day in formal obedience training. This is a basic home obedience training and is not meant for competition training. There 12 dogs in mi class of various breeds, sizes, and ages.

Popi said I did real good, but he said that we need to work on mi concentration on him and not on the other doggies in mi class when working together. The trainer said that I was the most advanced in mi class, especially responding to a clicker (which is not part of this class). The trainer said that she was going to give mi and Popi a little more latitude how we do tings since she knows that I will graduate into an AKC obedience competition class after this class and they do tings a bit different.

Here are mi questions for those of you who are already into obedience competitions (tia Karen?).

- where can I find the rules for AKC novice obedience competition somewhere on-line?
- what is the collar/leash that is permitted in competitions for the novice class? What is the specific one Popi should purchase?
- how many times is allowed for a verbal or hand command during a novice competition?

O.K., time for 10 or 15 minutes of practice before dinner :juggle:,,,,,,,I love going to school!

besos, Ricky Ricardo
 
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#2 ·
Oh man!!! I can't believe this!!! i just wrote you a LONG response, and it crashed on me!!!

I'm going to take your question over into Word, re-write, and then post it!
 
#6 ·
Oh man!!! I can't believe this!!! i just wrote you a LONG response, and it crashed on me!!!
Popi says he wishes he had a peso for every time that has happened to him! And gracias for sticking with it and the MUY helpful information.

There is quite a bit of latitude on leashes in AKC. ......... Almost anything else is OK.
Can you use a harness? I do have a nylon collar that passes through a ring, but I am afraid this might hurt my throat if Popi accidentally gets two vigorous. Anyway to get a picture of the competition collar you use? I'll share mi bully stick with you. :biggrin1:

Remember that Novice isn't the lowest level class. beginner Novice is a much easier entry point than Novice, as there is no off leash heeling nor are there any group stays. pre-Novice is the same as Novice, except there are no group stays in that either.
Xellent information, I dint know that. I'm gonna start at "bigginer novice" level and work mi way up.

How far does one need to progress in obedience before starting agility, usually?
Popi contacted an Agility training facility near us. They told Popi that all doggies must know basic commands - heal, sit, stay, stand, don't poop on course :pound: (jus joking!) - before they will be accepted into their training program, and they will be tested first. They don't care where the basic obedience was learned, you just have to know it. You may find that other facilities have different requirements.

It appears two mi that it is an easier progression to go from obedience comp to rally comp before going into agility. Take a look at some of mi amigo Kodi obedience and rally videos on YouTube, MUY instructional!

buena suerte (good luck) to all mi amigos in competition, Ricky Ricardo
 
#3 ·
OK, trying again:

Here are mi questions for those of you who are already into obedience competitions (tia Karen?).

where can I find the rules for AKC novice obedience competition somewhere on-line?

http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/americankennelclub/Obedience/AKC699_RO2999_1114_WEB.pdf

what is the collar/leash that is permitted in competitions for the novice class? What is the specific one Popi should purchase?

There is quite a bit of latitude on leashes in AKC. Basically, you can't use a prong or pinch collar or an e-collar. Almost anything else is OK. There must be no tags on the collar, however. I prefer a 5' thin, soft, leather lead for obedience with a Havanese, because it is long enough to give you room for the "j" loop you need for a loose lead, but at the same time it's not so long that the dog is tripping over it. People with larger dogs often use a shorter lead.

- how many times is allowed for a verbal or hand command during a novice competition?

This varies depending on the exercise, but there is usually not more than ONE either voice or hand signal for any part of an exercise in a FEW instances (though not at the novice level) you must give a simultaneous hand and voice signal, and of course, at the Utility level, there is an exercise where ONLY hand signals can be used. (Again, the rule book spells this all out) extra cues/commands/signals cost you 3 points each. In some parts of some exercises, a second command is an NQ. (Such as when you call the dog on the recall exercise)

Remember that Novice isn't the lowest level class. beginner Novice is a much easier entry point than Novice, as there is no off leash heeling nor are there any group stays. pre-Novice is the same as Novice, except there are no group stays in that either.

And if you want to be able to talk to you dog more, rally allows as much chatter as you want. AKC rally even allows multiple commands without penalty.
 
#4 ·
Great thread! I did obedience with my first corgi and he LOVED it! All my other dogs didn't seem too enthusiastic. But I'm counting on doing obedience with Baci, with the hope of moving on to agility. I hear Havanese have the right personality for agility and obedience classes are a must. How far does one need to progress in obedience before starting agility, usually?
 
#5 ·
Certainly ALL dogs need a level of basic "pet" obedience. Most of that can be accomplished during the first year, while they are still too young, physically, to be doing agility anyway.

Beyond that, the two really split. You can CERTAINLY do both, but you don't need to have more than normal, good, "pet" type obedience to do agility. You need a good start line (and table) stay, and the dog must have a good recall and be willing to work with you without running off. Beyond that, it gets REALLY different. In obedience, the dog must work, with precision, in a tight heel position on the left side. In agility, they must be willing to regularly work MUCH farther away from you, and on either side, at speed. But there is no need for the same level of precision.

You can certainly do both with many dogs, as long as they have a good working attitude and you are willing to do the (considerable) work necessary to do both sports. There are lots of dogs with the lower titles in both. But most dogs are better at one or the other, partially because of basic aptitude, partialy because few people (and dogs!) have the time it takes to train and compete at a high level in both sports!
 
#8 · (Edited)
Here is heeling with a "j" loop in the lead, which is what you need for your loose leash heeling in either obedience or rally. You can see that the lead is only there because it s a requirement of the level, not because I used it to "guide" or "restrain" him in any way.

Oh, and this was the leash I used in the very beginning. (This was rally BTW) as I learned more, I found this leash both too long and too heavy.

ETA: This heeling is fine for rally, but is not tight enough for formal obedience.
 

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#9 · (Edited)
This is was what formal obedience heeling should look like, with and without a leash. Some of these are actually at rally trials, but they are WCRL trials, which are judged stricter, and also, because I do both rally and obedience, I hold us both to the same standard in rally that we need in the obedience ring! You can see he is in the same position, with or without the leash. The leash is really irrelevant. :):
 

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#13 ·
We signed up Saturday. We're starting at our local pet store, but we'll progress to a more specialized trainer after our first round of lessons. When I went to the pet store, the trainer was right there and I asked him some specific questions and it turns out that they have only one other dog signed up for the Saturday classes... A Havanese!
 
#15 ·
You won't get much in the way of socialization done with just one other puppy, especially one of the same breed. Remember that the window of opportunity for socialization starts to close around 16 weeks. It's critically important that your puppy be introduced to as many, friendly, not overwhelming other dogs of as many breeds as possible during that period. That's also true about people… all sizes shapes genders ages and races. Especially large men with deep voices.

Puppy kindergarten should be MOSTLY about socialization and only secondarily about training. You have the rest of the dog's life for training, you only have a few short weeks for critical socialization.
 
#14 ·
Is there a Junior level competition? My oldest has shown a great interest in helping me train Luna for her CGC, and I'm thinking obedience or rally or agility might be good sports to get her involved in as she gets older.
 
#16 ·
They compete along with everyone else, but there are special achievement awards available for Juniors. There are specific forms that need to be filled out by the Junior and show secretary and sent to AKC to receive these awards.

I don't know all that much about it, because I don't have any juniors in my family! :) WCRL has a specific class for junior handlers.
 
#23 ·
I went to mi training class yesterday; Popi and I are getting better! The trainer said, "you guys are real showoffs!"

Our trainer invited our whole class to a "pack walk" this morning. It was in a beautiful wooded park with dirt trails. About 30 doggies of all breeds and sizes showed up - the trainer's friends, students, and graduates. Although this was not meant to be a structured obedience class, it did serve for each doggie to work with their handler and not pay attention to the other doggies, some of who were pretty rowdy. It was not a playgroup, but an "on leash" walk in a pack. The first 10 minutes were very stressful for mi, some of those doggies who towered over mi wanted to sniff every part of mi and dominate mi. But Popi worked with mi gently and encouraged mi and then it got to be all kinds of fun! The walk lasted 45 minutes and the last half hour I really got into mi groove. All the doggies started ignoring the others and just concentrated on the walk.

This was a good experience for mi and Popi. We really needed this work with lots of other doggies and distractions and noise around us. We are both looking forward to the next event.

besos, Ricky Ricardo
 
#26 ·
Mia can start learning this stuff even now… Pixel is even younger than Mia, and she's been is classes since I brought her home! :)
 
#28 ·
Today Popi and I finished half our first obedience training. Tings are going well. The biggest challenge is working with lots of other doggies and distractions around.

What is interesting today, is that our class teacher took us aside and suggested that I should train specifically as a therapy doggie......besides mi potential in rally and obedience. She said that Ricky has the right personality and demeanor to be a star therapy dog. She said that she will be starting a therapy class soon and everyone is welcome but she is always looking for special students. Do you tink she is just trying to promote her classes? I know I love all peoples.

besos, Ricky Ricardo
 
#29 ·
I think LOTS of Havanese make good therapy dogs. I think. It has to do with your goals for the near future. I know Kodi and I just don't have time in our schedule right now for therapy work. It's something we may go back to when he retires from competition. In the mean time, although he isn't "certified" as a therapy dog, he has brought joy to a number of elderly people wher my in laws live, and at the rehab facility where my father soent 6 weeks last summer. Any sweet, friendly, well behaved dog can do that! :)

But it certainly won't HURT Ricky's other training in any way either!
 
#30 ·
I started "official" competition classes at the beginning of October. I am more advanced than the other 11 doggies in the class (I am also the smallest in class). Right now all the exercises are "on lease." In November I will start "off leash" exercises. After I complete those classes, I will then go into either "rally" or "utility" or "agility" training at this facility. I don't know what the difference is yet.

My biggest challenges right now are tight (really tight) heals, sniffing the ground, and looking up and concentrating on Popi. Popi needs to work on competition ring protocol.

I will also be starting therapy dog and service dog training as soon as Popi can schedule it.

I have bookmarked this thread, because tia Karen has pretty much written the Bible on competition training in this thread and it has been invaluable to mi and Popi. A big ARF, ARF for tia Karen and mi amigos Kodi and Pixie Pixel.

besos, Ricky Ricardo
 
#32 · (Edited)
:frown2:Here is a GRRRRRREAT website for those doggies interested in training, weather it bee competition training or good citizen training: training site. Watch all the videos! The videos reinforce the xcellent instructions from tia Karen.

Twonight is mi weekly outdoor training class, ARF! It is raining here twoday (yeah) but I thik my outdoor class will bee cancelled (boo) :frown2:

besos, Ricky Ricardo
 
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