Obedience events demonstrate the dog's training as they perform a
series of
exercises with their handler. There are several levels of
competition, ranging from novice commands such as "stay," "come" and
"heel" to scent discrimination and directed retrieves over jumps. There
are different classes according to the handler's experience
level.
All dogs start their competition with a score of 200, and
points are deducted according to the dog and handler's performance.
Obedience events offer an opportunity for the handler and dog to form a
special bond not found in other events.
Differences between UKC
and AKC obedience
NOVICE Instead
of a group 3 minute down stay,
the UKC has an honoring exercise. The honor dog enters the ring before
the working dog and is placed in a down just before the working dog
begins its exercise of heeling on leash and the figure eight. The judge
has you down your dog, and then leave your dog to stand at the opposite
side of the ring. When the figure eight exercise is finished for the
working dog, the judge will have you return to your dog. The ring
steward assists the judge in keeping an eye on your dog so don’t think
your dog can get away with anything while the judge’s back is turned.
In the UKC group sit stay, the leash is left on and put neatly at the
dog's side The recall is done over a high jump with
two ring stewards standing approximately two feet away from the high
jump standards.
OPEN Again, instead of a 5 minute group down
stay while the handler is out of sight, we have the honor exercise. It
is just like the novice honor exercise except the handler is now out of
sight of his dog. After the dog is sitting in the place for the honor
exercise, the handler removes the armband and leash and places them
behind the dog. And the process works the same as in novice. After the
figure eight exercise, the judge will indicate to the steward for the
handler to return to the dog. The exercise is complete when the judge
says “exercise finished”. When you are heeling your dog off leash
there will be a ring steward who will be walking on the inside part of
the ring going the opposite direction of you and your dog. The drop on recall utilizes the steward
as in the heeling off leash exercise. Once you drop your dog the judge
will have the steward walk past the dog and then have the call your dog
in.
UTILITY On the scent discrimination there is
only a metal set of articles. The handler and dog have their back to
the articles while they are being laid out. On the directed marked retrieve the
whole ring is used. The handler and dog watch the ring steward place
the three gloves. On the directed signal retrieve the
whole ring is used and the handler sends the dog out and stops him in
the middle of the ring facing the handler and then directs the dog to
the proper glove. The consecutive recall tests the dog’s
anticipation. First the dog is called with a drop midway. The next
recall is a straight recall. Both parts are done together with no break
in between.
