Obedience classes
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Obedience classes Rally classes: Obedience Run Thrus: |
BKC offers a variety of obedience classes for new and experienced dogs and handlers. Courses are designed to help you condition reliable behavior from your dog and work together as a team. BKC also offers several courses designed to help handler/dog teams successfully participate in AKC obedience events. Courses offered include:
- Fundamentals for Obedience and Rally
- Obedience 1
- Obedience 2
- Rally Obedience
- Novice ready for ring
- Open and Utility obedience
Obedience run throughs are also offered as extra practice for people interested in participating in AKC obedience events.
Fundamentals for Obedience and Rally (FOR)
Fundamentals for Obedience and Rally is an 8-week companion dog class for adolescent or adult dogs and their handlers who have completed puppy level classes or who have little formal training. The dogs must be 7 months or older. The handlers may be any age permitted by BKC Policy and Procedure. The dog must have a manageable disposition to enter this class. On completing this class the dog-handler team should be capable of fulfilling the entry expectations for Obedience 1 or Rally 1 training classes and should be able to use positive motivational methods in training their dog At the completion of Fundamentals for Obedience and Rally the dog should be able to:- Give Attention (focus) to the handler on cue (command)
- Walk on loose leash on the handler’s left side and know the basic heeling movements left and right turn, about turn, U-turn, circle left and right, normal, fast, slow change of pace and halt. Specific Novice Rally heeling movements will also be introduced and practiced.
- Heel with the dog on loose leash in a Figure 8 pattern, and to perform some Rally Novice exercises such as spiral left, spiral right, circle right, circle left.
- Maintain a Sit/Stay, Down/Stay and Stand/Stay off leash for a specified time.
- Come when called off-leash with some degree of distraction from a distance greater than 20 ft.
Obedience 1
Obedience 1 is a basic 8 week class for adult and adolescent dogs and their handlers that have had the Fundamentals for Obedience and Rally, or a similar basic class (from another training facility) or the Canine Good Citizenship (CGC) class. The dogs must be 7 months or older. The handlers may be any age permitted by BKC Policy and Procedure. The purpose of the class is for the human/dog team to learn basic dog handling skills. To enter Obedience 1 the human/dog team should be able to reliably accomplish the skills from the Fundamentals for Obedience and Rally Class (above).
At the completion of Obedience 1 the handler should be able to:
- Heel with the dog on a loose leash
- Simulate off-leash or free heeling with the dog using umbilical cord, leash-over-shoulder or lure techniques
- Maintain Sit/Stay and Down/Stay on command for 30 seconds
- Maintain Stand/Stay for 10 seconds
- Come when called on cue off-leash with some degree of distraction from a distance of 20 feet.
Obedience 2
Obedience 2 is an intermediate to advanced obedience class for dogs and their handlers who have completed Obedience 1 or equivalent, and for those handlers who wish to improve their companion dog handling and the dog-handler association using positive reinforcement. It is also for those handlers and their dogs that have an interest in entering the Obedience sport and want preparation before taking the Novice Ready for Ring class and Obedience Run-Thrus. To enter the Obedience 2 class, the human/dog team should be able to accomplish all of the final tasks of the Obedience 1 Class (listed above).
At the completion of Obedience 2 class the human/dog team should be able to:
- Heel with the dog on loose leash and off-leash, do about turns, left and right turns, move at a normal, slow and fast pace.
- Heel with the dog on loose leash and off-leash, Heel in a Figure 8 pattern on leash, and to perform some Rally exercises such as spiral left, spiral right, circle right, circle left on and off leash.
- Maintain a Sit/Stay, Down/Stay and Stand/Stay off leash for a specified time.
- Come when called off-leash with some degree of distraction from a distance greater than 20 ft.
Courses geared towards participation in AKC obedience events
For information about competing in AKC obedience, see the AKC Getting Started Series: Getting Started in Obedience and Tracking.
For answers to frequently asked questions about obedience trials, visit Cindy Tittle Moore's Obedience Trials FAQ.
Novice Ready for Ring
Ready for Ring Novice is an 8-week class for dogs and their handlers who have completed Obedience 2 or equivalent training with approval of the instructor. This training class is preparation for AKC Obedience trials. It is for handlers with their dogs who intend to compete in the Novice Obedience class and earn a Companion Dog (CD) title. It also provides opportunity for experienced handlers to work in the Trial Obedience ring environment. Class participants will work individually with an instructor on on-leash and off-leash exercises and in small groups with an instructor for Figure 8, Recall and stationary (stand, sit, down) exercises. Novice Ready for Ring is offered the second (Spring) session every year and/or on demand thereafter if a group of 8 or 10 teams can be formed.
To enter the Ready for Ring class the handler should have an established Attention technique and be able to:
- Heel with the dog on loose leash and off-leash, do about turns, left and right turns, move at a normal, slow and fast pace. While heeling and given the command to Halt, the dog will do an automatic sit in the heel position.
- Heel with the dog on loose leash through the Figure 8 exercise.
- Have the dog maintain a Stand/Stay off-leash, handler a specified distance from the dog and have an instructor, assistant instructor or a class participant examine the dog.
- Have the dog come when called off-leash with some degree of distraction from a distance of 30-40 ft.
- Have the dog maintain a Sit-Stay and Down-Stay off leash with a group of dogs in line for a specified time.
- The exit expectation for Novice Ready for Ring is the completion of a qualifying AKC Novice routine and know the ring procedure for the AKC® Novice Obedience class.
Open & Utility Obedience
Open / Utility class is structured for dog and handler teams preparing for the upper levels of AKC (or comparable) obedience competition. Teams will be working at different levels on many exercises. Class content will vary according to the individual needs of each dog and handler.
Obedience Run-Thrus
Do you and your companion dog(s) need practice for competition in the Obedience ring? Obedience run-thrus are intended as a training aid for handlers and their dogs in AKC® Novice, Open, or Utility classes. No scoring will be done; however, the practice judge will make helpful suggestions on your performance if you wish.
Run-thrus are held the 4th Thursday of the month, excluding July, November and December. Registration starts at 6:00 pm; enter any class you wish.
Last modified:
August 8, 2010
Badger Kennel Club, Inc. 24-hour InfoLine: 608-242-8824
Badger Kennel Club Training Center - 5925 Haase Road, DeForest
WI 53532 (at Hwy. 51 and I-90 intersection)
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