This is part one of a 4 part series looking at "what is" something that you'll see mentioned in further posts. These four in particular will be "What Is Obedience?", "What Is Showmanship and Skillathon?", "What Is Drill Team?" and "What Is Agility?". There will most likely be more on other subjects, but for now we'll tackle these four. :-)
So what is "obedience"? Well, it's basically the showing of how obedient your dog is. Simple, right? Wrong. Unless you got blessed with a dog that does virtually nothing wrong, you've got some work to do. Who doesn't want a dog that walks beside you, not pulling or dragging behind? Or one that will let people pet them? Or one that really just listens to you? I know, that's a dream dog, right? For many people, yes. But, you can have this dog. Without settling for an online pooch.
Obedience training in 4-H varies in club to club, but they all carry a common theme: To make the dog more obedient and the handler more confident in their ability to handle their dog.
Obedience showing consists of preforming several different commands at the judges request. Heeling, long sits and downs, recalls, figure 8's, and stand for exams are all part of Sub-Novice.(sub-novice is beginners) Heeling is walking around the ring , making sure your dog stays with you at all times, going faster when the judge calls "fast", going slower when the judge calls "slow", stopping and your dog should sit when you stop without being told, and doing "about turns"(when you turn around with the dog staying on the outside) and "u-turns" (when you turn around and the dog stays in the inside), and also doing "circle lefts" and "circle rights", which are precisely what they sound like, you do either a complete circle left or right depending on the direction called.
Long sits are when you sit your dog, which is giving the command to sit, then leaving your dog, which is saying "STAY" once, then walking to the end of your leash. You will stay there for 1 min. and your dog cannot move at all. Nor can you give any extra commands in any of these events. Long downs are when you "down" your dog, making sure that they're laying down, then you leave your dog for 3 minutes.
Recalls are where you sit your dog, leave them, then at the judges command, call them back to you. Your dog should sit directly in front of you. Then you "finish", a process where you give the command for them to either make a loop to your left and sit by your left side (called "swing"), or where they will go behind you and sit by your left side(most commonly called "around").
A figure 8 is when you have two "posts", either real posts, cones, or people, and you go around them in a figure 8 pattern. This is to see how well your dog stays with you on your turns.
And, last but most certainly not least, the stand for exam. Stand for exams are probably the hardest thing for people to master. You have to stand your dog, then leave them. Then the judge will come over and feel the dog. Your biggest hope is that your dog will not move or growl/bite the judge. :-)
And you people thought showing dogs was easy! Obviously not. There's a lot of hard work put into it, but the results are so lasting and rewarding that every bit is worth it. By the way....this was only the Sub-Novice basic routine at shows. Sub-Novice is the very beginners...they add more things to do the higher up you get. And there's many little things that are watched...you're posture, you're actions, even how you walk! But, the results are a much more well behaved dog, and a wonderful relationship between you and your dog. Plus, you really do have fun out there in the show ring!
So what is "obedience"? Well, it's basically the showing of how obedient your dog is. Simple, right? Wrong. Unless you got blessed with a dog that does virtually nothing wrong, you've got some work to do. Who doesn't want a dog that walks beside you, not pulling or dragging behind? Or one that will let people pet them? Or one that really just listens to you? I know, that's a dream dog, right? For many people, yes. But, you can have this dog. Without settling for an online pooch.
Obedience training in 4-H varies in club to club, but they all carry a common theme: To make the dog more obedient and the handler more confident in their ability to handle their dog.
Obedience showing consists of preforming several different commands at the judges request. Heeling, long sits and downs, recalls, figure 8's, and stand for exams are all part of Sub-Novice.(sub-novice is beginners) Heeling is walking around the ring , making sure your dog stays with you at all times, going faster when the judge calls "fast", going slower when the judge calls "slow", stopping and your dog should sit when you stop without being told, and doing "about turns"(when you turn around with the dog staying on the outside) and "u-turns" (when you turn around and the dog stays in the inside), and also doing "circle lefts" and "circle rights", which are precisely what they sound like, you do either a complete circle left or right depending on the direction called.
Long sits are when you sit your dog, which is giving the command to sit, then leaving your dog, which is saying "STAY" once, then walking to the end of your leash. You will stay there for 1 min. and your dog cannot move at all. Nor can you give any extra commands in any of these events. Long downs are when you "down" your dog, making sure that they're laying down, then you leave your dog for 3 minutes.
Recalls are where you sit your dog, leave them, then at the judges command, call them back to you. Your dog should sit directly in front of you. Then you "finish", a process where you give the command for them to either make a loop to your left and sit by your left side (called "swing"), or where they will go behind you and sit by your left side(most commonly called "around").
A figure 8 is when you have two "posts", either real posts, cones, or people, and you go around them in a figure 8 pattern. This is to see how well your dog stays with you on your turns.
And, last but most certainly not least, the stand for exam. Stand for exams are probably the hardest thing for people to master. You have to stand your dog, then leave them. Then the judge will come over and feel the dog. Your biggest hope is that your dog will not move or growl/bite the judge. :-)
And you people thought showing dogs was easy! Obviously not. There's a lot of hard work put into it, but the results are so lasting and rewarding that every bit is worth it. By the way....this was only the Sub-Novice basic routine at shows. Sub-Novice is the very beginners...they add more things to do the higher up you get. And there's many little things that are watched...you're posture, you're actions, even how you walk! But, the results are a much more well behaved dog, and a wonderful relationship between you and your dog. Plus, you really do have fun out there in the show ring!
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