Someone give me the good the bad and the ugly! I want to get into something with Gemma (hubby already said no way for IPO
) and conformation is out- shes working lines and (so I've heard) sable GSDs aren't "accepted" very well since there's really no specific coloring/markings. Anyway, obedience has really been intriguing me, and curious what all I could expect! At what age should we start formal classes for it?
I'll start out with the ugly - read the rule book! You can very easily NQ or DQ without realizing it. Also if you know the rule book, you can sometimes salvage a Q when disaster appears imminent. Don't be intimidated because judges really do want you to Q.
The good is you develop a relationship with your dog like no other. You get great war stories. You have memories that pop up in weird moments that make you smile. The time Anna was the last dog standing in an Obedience trial and was all alone for the group exercises. I was in the blind and heard the stewards laughing and saying how cute her ears are and she looks like Yoda. The time a bad dumbbell throw went way off to the side, Cooper retrieved it and realized he had to make a big dogleg to return and the judge said "It's nice to have a dog that thinks." The time a flock of sheep split in two and Sabrina just put her head down and brought the renegades back without a command from me. These memories are priceless.
The bad isn't really bad - it's when you don't Q. Diva would always do something in the ring to NQ us. Once we were doing the Heel Free along the backstretch and she stayed in heel position, but decided to buck like a bronco the length of the backstretch. Then there was a time we were at the end of the individual exercises. She came to Front in the Recall. I was already counting points and I figured we were in the low 190s. The judge told me to call her to Heel. Instead of going to Heel, she grabbed mouthfuls of grass, threw them up in the air and leaped after them, all while staying close to me. The judge said if he ever wanted a movie of a happy dog playing, that was it, but we were excused from the group exercises. There's no way I would trade those experiences for a green ribbon.
If you live in eastern PA, I can name some clubs.
If you're just starting out, attention is what I'd focus on. I put treats in my mouth and call the dog's name. When he looks at my face, I spit the treat at him. I teach a young puppy to stay on my left side but not heeling when I take a walk. When they naturally stay on my left side, that's when I start teaching heeling. While doing this, I work attention by spitting food at them when they look at me after I call their name.
There's a sport called Rally you can enter before entering Obedience trials. Rally was founded to teach and compete with individual Obedience manoeuvers in a laid out course in which you can praise your dog anytime. It has titles and classes similar to Obedience.
I consider Obedience to be the requisite foundation for doing other sports. I also do Herding and Barn Hunt and having a pre-trained dog that listens to me made a big difference when the dogs begin them. A friend who does only Agility started doing Obedience and she now has a better handle on her dog.
I don't think I even scratched the surface of what you want to know. Please ask question and I as well as the other forum members will try to help.
Happy training and good luck!