NEW GOAL! With the Dog Sport Trial in St. John (see Lies’s post) just a few short months away lets see how many of us can get our dogs ready to enter into the “Family Obedience” class. It really involves nothing more then you would expect from a well trained family dog. It is also good practice toward obtaining the schutzhund BH title. I did not find an age limit, so I would assume you can enter your dog at anytime past 6 months of age. Here is a summary of what you need to complete to earn the “FO” title:
The test is made up of two parts: Basic Obedience and Practical Obedience.
Basic Obedience Exercises:
Report to the Judge. 5 points
Two dog-handler teams approach the judge, dogs must be heeling and sit in heel position when the handlers stop to get the judges instruction. Dogs must maintain sit during the judges instruction.
Honor Exercise
Down Stay. One of the teams will do a long-down stay while the other team performs their obedience exercises. The dog doing the long-down stay is on leash and the handler will remain next to their dog.
Heeling on Leash
- Straight 40 – 50 paces
- Make an about-turn (either a left or right u-turn)
- 10 – 15 paces at normal speed
- 10 – 15 paces at fast speed
- 10 – 15 paces at slow speed
- 10 – 15 paces at normal speed
- make a right hand turn
- 10 – 15 paces at normal speed
- make a 2nd right hand turn
- 20 paces at normal speed
- Halt and acknowledge the judge
- Heel straight another 10 – 15 paces
- Make a left-hand turn
- Heel straight into a group of people
- Perform a left and right hand turn through the crowd
- Halt amongst the group, handler to acknowledge the judge
- Heel back to starting point
- Halt and acknowledge judge
Sit Out of Motion
Heel for 10 paces, while in motion cue dog to sit, dog remains stationary, handler continues another 10 paces then turns and faces their dog. The judge will cue the handler to return back to the dog into heel position.
Down with Recall
- From starting position heel 10 paces and halt
- Handler will then remove the leash and cue the dog to down-stay
- Handler walks straight ahead 30 paces, turns and faces their dog
- Judge will cue handler to call dog, dog must return to front position, either sitting or standing is acceptable, handler to re-attach leash
- Handler cues dog back to Heel position
Practical Obedience Exercises:
Gate Exercise
- Heel dog toward a gate
- Put dog in a sit stay, drop leash, leave dog and open the gate
- Return to your dog, pick up leash and heel through gate
- Leave dog in sit stay, close gate, and return to your dog
Enter and Exit Vehicle
- Heel toward vehicle
- Leave dog in sit stay and open a door on the vehicle
- Return to dog, pick up leash, and cue dog to enter vehicle
- After the dog enters the vehicle the handler cues the dog to sit or down
- Handler acknowledges the judge and waits for the judge to give the cue to release dog from the vehicle
- Handler cues dog back to heel position, gives sit-stay, drops lead, and closes vehicle door, and returns to heel position
Food Preparation Exercise
- Heel to within 5 feet of a container of dog food
- Put dog in sit-stay, drop leash, walk to container and scoop out a bowl of dog food
- Handler places food blow on ground next to the food container
- Handler returns to dog and picks up leash
For the full rules for the Family Obedience title click here.
The next level of Dog Sport starts protection work, however, the judge told me I can do the FO again and earn the OB1 title, which is the obedience part of the next level, since Chopper does not do protection. The OB1 can be done on-leash for an automatic point deduction, or off leash. Otherwise it is the same routine.
A few notes on the heeling pattern (I’ve watched them ad nauseum, lol)
* UNlike how a lot of us train for CGC, rally, etc, the heeling needs to be done with a singal voice command. No cheering along, slapping thighs, using your hands and body for lures or body cues. This is the HARD part for Chopper and I!
* When you “halt and acknowledge the judge”, that means you stop and your dog sits without a command, you look over to the judge and wait for his/her cue to continue with the pattern.
* You are allowed to give another Fuss/Heel verbal command with each change of pace.
More info on what is allowed or penalized:
The minimum age to compete for this title is 9 months.