In This Chapter
- Putting obedience to the test
- Competing in herding, hunting, and tracking events
- Doing volunteer work together
In this chapter, I give you an
overview of some of the competitions, certifications, and hobbies you and your
dog can check out together. Whether you’re looking to earn titles in
competition, get a little help on a farm or ranch, or do some volunteer work,
you have plenty of options.
Read over the categories in this
chapter, see which one fits your dog’s drive, and then find a group close by
that can mentor and guide you in the learning process. Think of it as another
rung on your training ladder: like taking your dog to college. With the basics
in place, your dog is ready to learn a profession! And remember: No matter how
long it takes for your dog to master a skill, the only things that win brownie
points are a good temperament, mindful behavior, and an upbeat attitude,
whether you’re walking on two legs or four!
Letting other breeds into the mix
It used to be that the American Kennel Club (AKC)
only sponsored breed-specific competitive events for purebred dogs. Those
days are coming to an end even as I write this. In early 2010 there will be
classes for mixed-breed dogs in obedience, agility, and other sporting
events. Check out more at www.akc.org.
The United Kennel Club (UKC) also sponsors
obedience and agility trials, weight pulls, dock jumping, protection sports
(like Schutzhund), hunting programs, and terrier races for dogs of pure or mixed
ancestry, provided that they’re neutered and have applied for a “limited
privilege number.” Visit the UKC at www.ukcdogs.com for more information. The
UKC’s breed classification for mixed dogs: They lump them all under the
heading “AMB” which stands for American mixedbreed dogs.
While both of these clubs (the AKC and UKC) were
founded to organize and track the population and certifications of purebred
dog registrants, there is an organization that heralds
the status of mixed-breed dogs as well. Check it
out — visit the Mixed Breed Dog Club of America (MBDCA) at www.mbdca.org.
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Showing Off in Obedience
Basic obedience training (see
Chapter Encouraging
Self-Control before You Launch into Lessons) is something everyone should do — it’s a lot like teaching ESL
(English as a second language). Teaching your dog the right response to 10–20
words allows you to direct, socialize with, and enjoy your dog throughout her
lifetime. Everyone who gets a dog owes his or her pet this much.
But obedience doesn’t have to end
there. You can enter obedience competitions and show off just how well you and
your dog communicate with each other. In this section, I introduce competitive
obedience and the more lighthearted sport, Rally-O.
Getting serious with competitive obedience
Competitive obedience takes
obedience training to a whole new level. Structured and defined, there are set
exercises, a 200-point ideal, and judges who score each performance.
Competition in the obedience ring
is divided into three levels, each more difficult than the previous one:
- Novice: Companion Dog (CD). For this certification, dogs must compete in walking sequences at their handler’s side, a long “Sit” and “Down–Stay,” “Come” exercises, as well as a few other routines to prove their training and impulse control.
- Open: Companion Dog Excellent (CDX). Here dogs are expected to work off-leash and retrieve in addition to the skills required for the novice title.
- Utility: Utility Dog (UD). At this level dogs are to respond to signals only, locate and retrieve articles, and perform jumping skills.
At each level, a competitor is
working for an obedience title. To receive an obedience title, a dog must earn
three legs in competition. To achieve a leg, a dog must score at least
170 points out of a possible 200 and get more than half the points available
for each exercise.
Having fun with Rally-O
Like the idea of competing, but a
little turned off by the seriousness of it all? Consider rally obedience, or Rally-O
— a virtual “Simon Says” of obedience. This timed activity consists of
doing specific obedience exercises at set stations prearranged by the judges.
Working on a 100-point system,
AKC Rally-O awards certification at three levels — Novice, Advanced, and
Excellent — with each level graduating to more difficult exercises and
off-leash control. Points are deducted if your dog moves outside the assigned
area, doesn’t complete an exercise, or if you have to touch or correct her.
Fast-paced and fun, Rally-O is a whirlwind activity that everyone enjoys. You
can find out more about this activity at www.apdt.com/rally
and www.canismajor.com/dog/rallyo.htm.
Keeping Livestock in Line: Herding Tests and Trials
Many farmers and ranchers
throughout the world still use herding dogs to control their livestock. And
many dogs in the Herding group who are living their lives as cherished pets
rather than working dogs still take their herding genes very seriously. You can
spot them in a minute: They herd their owners from the kitchen, round up the schoolchildren
as they get off the bus, and stare transfixed as the Discovery Channel airs a
special called Sheep of the Scottish Highlands.
Herding dogs come in different
types:
- Headers: These dogs work in front of livestock, usually sheep, and use an intense gaze known as the eye to control their herd. The Border Collie and Bearded Collie are two shepherd breeds.
- Drovers/Heelers: Drovers work behind sheep or cattle herds and drive them forward. They sometimes control the animals by nipping at their heels. Both the Pembroke and Cardigan Welsh Corgi fall into this category, as does the Australian Cattle Dog.
- Livestock guardians: Livestock guardians do just that: They don’t move the flock; they guard it. Bred to work independently, they’re raised with the flock and expected to guard it from wolves, bears, and thieves. Livestock guardians are all big dogs, and include the Kuvasz, Komondor, and Great Pyrenees.
- All-around farm dogs: These dogs are bred to stay around the farm, responding minute-to-minute to any task that comes up including herding and protection. The Collie, Old English Sheepdog, and Australian Shepherd are in this group.
While sponsored herding events do
not test differently for each style of herding, titles are earned based on the
ability of the dog to work with the handler to move livestock towards a
specified goal (into a pen, for example) or around a pre-set course.
Competitions aside, many clubs throughout the world gather to simply engage,
train, and support their dogs’ passions. If you have a dog who clearly has the
bug, check it out at www.herdingontheweb.com
or www.akc.org/events/herding.
Hunting Dogs: Going after Game
Hunting-dog events are held for
dogs who historically have helped man hunt to survive. Though your dog’s skills
are rarely needed, keep the secret to yourself — your dog takes her passions
seriously and, when trained and tested, she will give you her all. Hunting dogs
are divided into Hounds, Gun Dogs, and Terriers.
In this section, I discuss
hunting-related activities, including digging up burrows, retrieving game, and
staying hot on the trail of an animal. You don’t have to be a hunter to
participate; in many cases, the dogs are simply showcasing their skills by
chasing scented lures or finding a critter in a cage.
Earthdog: Digging Terrier trial events
Do you have a Terrier whose
digging instincts are driving you crazy? If so, earthdog trials may be the
perfect outlet for her. Terriers were originally bred to go to ground: to
chase vermin all the way into their underground burrows and bring them back,
dead or alive.
The breeds allowed to compete include all the small terriers in the Terrier group, as well as Dachshunds and Silky Terriers. Most toy breeds are not allowed to compete in official AKC events, although some, such as the Yorkshire Terrier, are certainly
Terriers and may enjoy themselves at a fun match (a non-competitive
gathering).
At the test site, a manmade
underground tunnel is constructed with wood sides. A caged rodent is secured at
the end of the tunnel in an area referred to as the den. The dog enters
the tunnel at one end (see Figure 18-1), finds the rodent at the other, and
barks. (In these tests, the rodent emerges still caged and alive.)
Figure 18-1: Terriers love
going into the ground in an earthdog tunnel.
While it might seem as if the
dogs get back to nature and let their instincts run wild in earthdog tests, in
fact, dogs must be under their handler’s control at all times, even when they’re
underground. Recall and other requirements test the training of even the
toughest Terrier.
Tests are run at four different
levels. In the first trial, called “Introduction to Quarry,” the dog does not
receive any qualifications or titles, but simply gets a taste of what it’s like
to be in a tunnel and scent the prey. After passing this test, dogs advance
gradually through the ranks. Titles are awarded for Junior Earthdog (JE),
Senior Earthdog (SE), and Master Earthdog (ME).
Each test requires a greater
degree of skill in detecting and following a scent, eagerness, and
determination than the previous one. The distances from which a dog must locate
the den and the complexity of the tunnels she must maneuver in the dark become
increasingly more difficult.
For details on these digging
events, visit the AKC’s Web site at www.akc.org/events/earthdog
or the Web site of the American Working Terrier Association (AWTA) at www.dirt-dog.com. Gun Dogs: Passing field
and retrieval tests Gun Dogs hunt and retrieve small game for their handler,
who carries a gun to kill his target. These dogs are further categorized into
four classes that specify their genetic predispositions in the field:
- Pointing Dogs were originally bred to search fields far ahead of their owners and stop and point if they found a bird. Trials are often run with the hunter on horseback following the hunting dog. A dog on point is a beautiful thing to see.
- Retrievers retrieve shot game. In these trials a hunter may shoot one or several birds, and the dog is required to retrieve them from the water or land.
- Setters are both excellent pointers, indicating where birds can be found, and flushers, who will rush the bird upon the hunter’s command. Ready–set–go!
- Spaniels were bred to hunt close to man and flush out birds within gunshot range. They’re also expected to retrieve the game once it is shot.
Each class is trained according
to a specific standard, yet trials are run in a variety of ways depending on
the kennel club or association holding the events. In each, the dog is judged
on its stability during the hunt (barking is an immediate disqualification),
its steadiness when coursing the field (looking for the game), and its
retrieval, including the determination to enter or move through rough
terrain/water and tender hold of the game.
In hunt tests, dogs are evaluated
against a written standard for following game, alerting the handler, and/or
retrieving it. Events are organized by the American Kennel Club (AKC), the North
American Hunting Retriever Association (NAHRA), and the United Kennel Club
(UKC) under the auspices of the Hunting Retriever Club (HRC).
Each dog that meets this standard
earns a pass. This is unlike a field trial in which dog/handler teams compete
against one another with only one dog being declared the winner.
Hounds: Following prey
If you’re a hunting enthusiast
and you have a dog who likes to tag along, these events might be for you. There
are almost as many kinds of hunting as there are dogs, and the AKC is only one
of many organizations that sponsor hunting events. But all have one thing in
common: They put hunter and dog back together at a task the dog was originally
bred to do. Hounds are divided by the primary sense they use to hunt — vision
or smell.
Lure coursing
Sighthounds, who participate in
the sport of lure coursing, use their vision to acknowledge and then chase
their prey. The goal of this sport is to “preserve and further develop the
natural beauty, grace, speed, and coursing skill of the Sighthound.”
Lure coursing events don’t use
live bait anymore. Instead, an artificial lure is pulled along a 1,000- to
1,500-yard course that zigs and zags to test the dog’s speed, agility, skill,
enthusiasm, and endurance. One of the key players in a lure coursing event is
the lure operator. His job is to keep the lure 10 to 30 yards in front of the
lead dog, make sure it never gets tangled, and stop it within 20 yards of the
lure machine.
All the Sighthounds may take part
in lure coursing events, including Afghan Hounds, Basenjis, Borzoi, Greyhounds,
Ibizan Hounds, Irish Wolfhounds, Pharaoh Hounds, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Salukis,
Scottish Deerhounds, and Whippets. These dogs have one thing in common: They
love to run after game very fast! As anyone who has witnessed a competition can
tell you, Sighthounds respond to a lure on pure instinct. They do what they
were bred for, which is to chase a moving object.
Sighthounds aren’t the only
breeds that love to run, of course, and many clubs hold fun matches where
any breed can enter. If your dog loves to chase, this may be the best way to
redirect her energies.
For more information on this
sport, visit the American Sighthound Field Association at www.asfa.org or the
AKC at www.akc.org/events/lure_coursing.
Scenthounds
Scenthounds use a scented trail
to follow their prey and thus don’t have to be as fast-moving as sighthounds,
who literally hunt to kill. While following a trail is definitely an endurance
sport, these dogs are architecturally designed: Their ears are long and flappy
to waft scents up to their noses, their lips are soft and subtle to capture and
hold scent particles, and their noses are a maze of sensory cells like we could
never imagine.
Scenthounds have a signature bay
that signals their location to the hunters, who follow either on foot or
horseback. Modern suburbanization has urged their silence, but these dogs
rarely comply. Happiest following a scent, they like to bellow and share their
delight when something smells good.
In trials, gatherings, or
competitions, Scenthounds are used to hunt foxes, raccoons, and rabbits either
hunting in large groups, smaller packs, or solo. Leggy hounds generally require
their hunter to be on horseback to keep up, while some breeds, like American
Foxhounds or Coonhounds, have their hunters wait to find them until their
baying signals that the game has been run up a tree.
The AKC holds events and judges
dogs based on how well they work together and follow a trail. Beagles and
Basset Hounds work in packs; Dachshunds work in pairs (called braces)
and are judged on their ability to run a rabbit into the ground; and Coonhound
trials are held to test the hunting skills of several Coonhound breeds,
including the Bluetick and Redboned Coonhound.
Similar events are sponsored by
other breed groups and clubs as well. If you have a Hound and love the idea of
hunting together, research your breed and find out what clubs exist to help you
get started.
Tracking: Finding What’s Hidden or Lost
Dogs’ noses are analogous to our
eyes. For dogs, tracking is like what looking around is to us. However, to
train your dog to follow a specific trail is no simple feat. Tracking, teaching
dogs to find missing persons or to detect drugs or bombs, is advanced work and
requires a lot of encouragement and patient repetition.
Not only is tracking a great
sport, but it can serve other purposes as well: You can train your dog to help
with actual search-and-rescue missions. You may even want to teach basic
tracking for personal convenience — having a helper to round up the troops for
dinner or find a child who’s wandered off can be a tremendous asset!
Treating tracking as a sport
You can use tracking as a
recreational sport, teaching your dog to find various people or objects in your
family, or you can use it as a competitive sport, earning tracking titles.
Training must start with good
communication. Positive retrieves, where the leather articles (wallet, glove)
are within sight, are the best beginning. As a dog’s ability and enthusiasm
increase, articles can be hidden from sight in tall grass or around corners.
Tip
Exposing a dog to different weather conditions and locations is important in creating a reliable tracking dog. A tracking dog will set to task, and the handler will follow wherever the track leads her.
The AKC offers two kinds of
tracking competitions: field and variable surface. Variable surface tracking
goes across roads, parking lots, and other urban areas, while field tracking is
strictly in the wild. Titles for field tracking are Tracking Dog (TD) and
Tracking Dog Excellent (TDX), whereas titles for variable surface tracking are
Variable Surface Tracker (VST) and Champion Tracker (CT).
To find out more about teaching
your dog to track or entering competitive events, check out www.mytrackingdog.com or www.akc.org/events/tracking.
Signing up for search and rescue
Tracking skills also can be used
to start dogs with a search-and-rescue group. Search and rescue is not a
competition. It’s real life — dogs working with their owners to find missing
people. These dogs must learn to air scent, following a trail created by
the natural shedding of microscopic particles from a human’s skin.
Search-and-rescue dogs are
trained to work in adverse conditions, in inclement weather, day or night, to
trail the sometimes tragic repercussions of disasters, both natural
(hurricanes, tornados, floods, avalanches, and so on) and manmade, such as
bombings or transportation accidents. To find out more about this activity,
visit www.nasar.org.
Schutzhund: Offering Protection
Schutzhund is a German
word that means protection. The training was developed in the early
1900s to determine whether German Shepherds would make adequate police dogs (as
well as good breeding stock), though these days the training isn’t limited to
that breed of dog. Intense training and certification happens at three levels:
- Tracking: Here the dog is set to track a scent, as well as dropped articles, over rough terrain. The trial is run regardless of the weather.
- Obedience: These exercises are similar to those held in competitive obedience; however, rather than involving a gated flooring or yard, they involve football-field-length distances and more elaborate obstacles, such as a wall or high jump.
- Protection: In this section of the test, the dog is expected to be under the complete control of the handler. Control is tested under stress and the dog must not attack until and unless instructed to or when under a direct attack. While this section of the evaluation has come under a lot of scrutiny (no one should be subjected to an out-of-control attack dog), the trained and padded “criminals” (shown in Figure 18-2) symbolize real-life events. A well-trained Schutzhund dog performs with synchronized precision to the direct commands of her handler.
Figure 18-2: Protection dogs
must prove their courage when interrupted by a surprise attack.
Certification for Schutzhund dogs
comes at three levels: I, II, and III, with each representing greater
challenges to the dog. The finest certification is Schutzhund III: as they say,
quite literally: “One in a thousand!”
Warning!
While I’ve never trained a dog in the sport, I have worked with trainers and participated as an assistant in classes where such training was done and done well. I’ve heard, however, that there are some trainers who border on being abusive. Be careful. If the trainer won’t let you observe a few classes, go elsewhere. Meet the dogs who are being trained. Are they stable? Are they under control? A good instructor will evaluate every dog and person as well: Be very wary of a trainer who accepts everyone. This is a tough sport suited to a select few.
Earning breed-specific working titles
Believe it or not, there are many other
activities you and your dog can do together. Many national breed clubs have
designated individual working titles to test for the abilities their breed was
first developed to possess.
- The Newfoundland Club of America sponsors clinics and competitions where dogs can earn Water Dog (WD) and Water Rescue Dog (WRD) titles. They also award the drafting titles Draft Dog (DD) and Team Draft Dog (TDD). - The Dalmatian Club of America offers road titles. - The Alaskan Malamute Club of America offers titles for weight pulls.
And there are lots more. To discover what your breed
club has to offer, write your national club (you can get a list of national
breed clubs from the AKC).
Sometimes the best way to deal with your dog’s
natural instincts is to engage her in healthy competition. Earning a title is
only a small piece of the pie. Working with your dog should be your
number-one incentive, whether or not you’re ever recognized. The best way to get
involved in organized activities is to seek out a club of like-minded
enthusiasts in your area. Unfortunately, advanced training can’t be learned
from a book. Although reading helps, it can’t replace experience.
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Getting Certified for Pet Therapy
No dogs on the couch, please;
this section isn’t about doggie psychiatrists. Pet therapy is the
involvement of well-trained dogs who just love to socialize and get attention.
Once certified, these dogs play a therapeutic role in such environments as
nursing homes, children’s centers, prisons, and other long-term care
facilities. I’ve been doing it for years, and I never cease to be amazed by how
the unconditional love of a dog can light up a person’s life and ease her
interactions with the world around her.
Before you call up and offer your
services, you need to find out how pet therapy works. I remember my first pet-therapy
class, which I took in New York City with my beloved dog Kyia. Together we were
exposed to many of the unfamiliar situations that we would eventually encounter
on our therapy visits.
I’ve turned from student into
teacher — I now run a class to socialize dogs to the rigors of these
environments. The dogs are exposed to wheelchairs, walkers, metal objects, a
variety of handling techniques, speech patterns, and people of all ages.
Is your canine a good citizen?
The Canine Good Citizen test — CGC for short — is
a noncompetitive test developed to recognize and certify dogs and their
owners as responsible citizens. Although the test was developed and is
promoted by the AKC, it’s not limited to purebred dogs. Mixed breeds are encouraged
to become certified as well.
The CGC measures a dog’s social skills and public
manners, and is not a competition. The goal of the CGC test is not to
eliminate participants, but to encourage pet owners to learn the skills
necessary to train their dogs to be safe, well-mannered members of society.
To pass the test, your dog must know the commands
“Heel,” “Sit,” “Down,” “Come,” and “Stay.” The test is composed of ten
evaluations. For more information on how to get your CGC certification, visit
www.akc.org.
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Remember
Not everyone is a dog lover. If you’re out visiting and someone says they don’t want to meet your dog, don’t push it. Often, people in care facilities don’t get to make many choices. Respect this one.
If you have a dog who is social
and loving, yet calm and well-mannered, you may find therapy work very
rewarding. Check out the book Wanted! Animal Volunteers, by Mary R.
Burch, PhD (Howell), or visit www.tdi-dog.org and www.deltasociety.org for more information
on how you and your dog can get involved!
by Sarah Hodgson
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