Activities
Agility Conformation Field Hunt Obedience Rally
Therapy Tracking Working Certificate
AGILITY
Dog agility is a sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. Dogs must run off-leash with no food or toys as incentives. The handler can touch neither dog nor obstacles, except accidentally. Consequently, the handler's controls are limited to voice, movement, and various body signals, requiring exceptional training of the animal.
In its simplest form, an agility course consists of a set of standard obstacles, laid out by an agility judge in a design of his own choosing on a roughly 100 by 100 foot (30 by 30 m) area, with numbers indicating the order in which the dog must complete the obstacles.
Courses are complicated enough that a dog could not complete them correctly without human direction. In competition, the handler must assess the course, decide on handling strategies, and direct the dog through the course, with precision and speed equally important. Many strategies exist to compensate for the inherent difference in human and dog speeds and the strengths and weaknesses of the various dogs and handlers.
CONFORMATION
In a conformation show, judges familiar with specific dog breeds evaluate individual dogs for how well they conform to published breed standards. Conformation shows are also referred to as dog shows or breed shows. Conformation shows are typically held under the auspices of a national kennel club. At the highest levels are Championship or all-breed shows, which have separate classes for the majority of breeds. In addition, the show can be breed- or group-specific, usually organized by a breed club and often called a specialty show. The first conformation dog show was held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England in 1859.
Field trial
A field trial is a highly competitive event at which hunting dogs usually compete against one another. Field trials are usually organized by kennel clubs or other gun dog organizations. Field trials are generally considered more competitive than hunt tests in that success at a field trial requires a higher level of training than success at a hunt test requires. For example, in Retriever Field Trials, dogs retrieve over longer distances with a more complex path than a Retriever Hunt Test would generally provide. Field trial dogs must be "finished" in order to enter. Their purpose is also different, as they exist mainly for breeders, while hunting tests are made for users.
Field trials come in various grades including Open, Amateur, Sanctioned and non-sanctioned. An Open field trial permits entry from any handler or trainer while an Amateur trial only permits non-professional handlers/trainers. Sanctioned trials are ones that are held under the control of a national kennel club, while the non-sanctioned can be organized by a local club.
A field trial is a highly competitive event at which hunting dogs usually compete against one another. Field trials are usually
Hunt test
A hunt test is an event at which the ability and training of gun dogs are evaluated against a standard; unlike a field trial in which dogs compete against one another. Hunt tests are organized by the American Kennel Club (AKC), the North American Hunting Retriever Association (NAHRA), and the United Kennel Club (UKC). Generally, hunt tests are considered less competitive than field trials, but more difficult than working dog certification.
AKC hunt tests
The AKC awards the titles of Junior Hunter (JH), Senior Hunter (SH), and Master Hunter (MH) for performance in hunt tests. The standards for the various levels are designed to approximate the situations and conditions encountered when hunting. Dogs are required to prove the ability to retrieve and find birds. The AKC provides different hunt test formats for different types of gun dogs.
OBEDIENCE
Obedience Training usually refers to the training of a dog and the term is most commonly used in that context. Obedience training ranges from very basic training, such as teaching the dog to reliably respond to basic commands such as "sit", "down", "come", and "stay", to high level competition within clubs such as the American Kennel Club and the Canadian Kennel Club, where additional commands, accuracy and performance are scored and judged.
Obedience implies compliance with the direction or command given by the handler. For a dog to be considered obedient rather than simply trained in obedience, it must respond reliably each time the command is given, by what is commonly known as its handler. A dog can go through Obedience training and not be obedient. If a dog is referred to as being Obedience Trained it should comply immediately with every command its handler gives. In the strictest sense an Obedience trained dog is an obedient dog.
Training a dog in obedience can be an ongoing and lengthy process depending on the dog, the methods used, and the skill and understanding of both the trainer and the handler. The level of obedience the handler wishes to achieve with the dog is also a major factor in the time involved, as is the commitment to training by the handler.
Obedience training is often a prerequisite for or component of other training.
The actual training of the dog can be done by anyone, the trainer, owner, or a friend. Typically the individual who is caring for and living with the dog participates and trains the dog, as they will be the one who will be giving the commands. The relationship and trust between the dog and handler are important for success.
Basic or beginner's obedience is typically a short course ranging from six to ten weeks, where it is demonstrated to the handler how to communicate with and train the dog in a few simple commands. With most methods the dog is trained one command at a time. Though there may or may not be a specific word attached to it, walking properly on a leash, or leash control, is often the first training required prior to learning other commands.
RALLY
Rally obedience (also known as Rally or Rally-O) is a dog sport based on obedience. It was originally devised by Charles L. "Bud" Kramer from the obedience practice of "doodling" - doing a variety of interesting warmup and freestyle exercises.
Unlike regular obedience, instead of waiting for the judge's orders, the competitors proceed around a course of designated stations with the dog in heel position. The course consists of 10 to 20 signs that instruct the team what to do. Unlike traditional obedience, handlers are allowed to encourage their dogs during the course.
There are currently three sanctioning bodies for Rally-O in the United States: the American Kennel Club (AKC); the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT); and the newly formed Canine Work and Games (C-Wags) .
In AKC Rally, which is only open to AKC breeds, the team starts with 100 points, and the judge deducts points for mistakes, after qualifying three times at each level, the dog earns a title, which appears after the dog's registered name.
There are three levels in AKC Rally:
- Novice, the easiest class. The dog is on leash and there are 10 to 15 stations, the title is RN.
- Advanced, for dogs who have completed their novice title. Dogs are judged off leash, and the title is RA.
- Excellent, the highest class, for dogs who have earned their advanced title. 15 to 20 stations, including 2 jumps, are used in this class and the title is RE.
THERAPY DOGS
Therapy Dogs: Therapy "Visiting Pets" "Therapy Dogs" "Therapy Pets" are just some of the names given to describe programs in which animals help people just by visiting with them. In other programs dogs help in physical rehabilitation in hospital settings. The benefits of interaction with pets are many. Medical studies suggest that blood pressure may be lowered and hospital stays shortened when patients have access to pets. In school settings, pets have been used to help reluctant readers become motivated readers merely by reading to nonjudgmental dogs. There are a number of organizations that offer therapy dog training and volunteer programs. One of these groups, Therapy Dogs International, provides tests and certification of therapy dogs.
TRACKING
A Tracking trial is an event to encourage dogs to make use of their strongest facility by emulating the finding of a lost person or article in a situation where the performance of the dog can be fairly assessed. Because of this, the tracks laid are not the wanderings which may characterize a lost person, nor do they include deliberate attempts by the tracklayer to deceive the following dog.
Trial Basics
Although different organizations specify somewhat different rules, the basics of a tracking trial are similar for each. The objective of the trial is for the dog to find the deliberately lost tracklayer and any articles they may have dropped along the track.
Generally, tracks are laid, marked and mapped on the day previous to the Tracking trial by the trial judge or steward such that the judge or steward will be able to know where the track is located, and articles are to be placed, even after the marks, ribbons or flags have been removed. The length of the track and the number of corners and the number of articles left on the track will depend on the level of difficulty of the track and the rules of the organization under which the trial is being run
On the day of the trial, a tracklayer will then follow the marked track and remove any marks which have been placed on the track and leave articles of clothing on the track as specified by the steward or judge. They will then hide or leave an article as directed at the end of the track. After a specified time depending on the difficulty of the track and the requirements of the rules of the organization, the dog and handler will then be directed to the track and find the tracklayer and articles as required. The dog is usually worked on a 10 metre or 30 foot lead, but the length of lead actually used will depend on the terrain.
In general, a dog must work continually as if genuinely looking for a lost person without assisance from the handler, and find the required number of lost articles and the tracklayer at the end of the track, for the dog to be awarded a pass. This pass can also be graded on the quality of the work. After the required passes have been awarded, the dog may apply for a tracking title according to the rules of the organization the trials have been run under.
WORKING CERTIFICATE
Working Certificate: Working Certificate (WC) and Working Certificate Excellent (WCX) are titles are offered by the Golden Retriever Club of America. Their goal is to encourage owners of Golden Retrievers to use and maintain the natural hunting and retrieving abilities central to the breed.
Not all Golden Retrievers will compete in field trials and therefore the GRCA devised simple land and water tests using ducks, game birds, or pigeons. These tests are designed to demonstrate the natural abilities of a retriever such as accurate marking and memory of falls, intelligence, attention, style, good nose, perseverance, desire and trainability.
The purpose of the Working Certificate Excellent test is to encourage the development of the Golden Retriever's natural hunting and retrieving abilities through additional training. The WCX is designed to demonstrate the development of marking ability, memory, intelligence, perseverance and retrieving desire through training.