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Dog Training – Part 3

Written by Margaret Walker

This article was taken from 'French Letters' Issue No.5 Dec 1999

The exercises performed in this test are the foundation exercises for all obedience competitions. The Special Beginners test contains, in the following order, a heel course performed with the lead on, a heel course

with the lead off, a straight line recall, a 1 minute sit stay and a 2 minute down stay.

The heel course, both on lead and off lead starts with the dog sitting on the left hand side of the handler, and contains left turns, right turns, about turns and halts. Usually the on and off lead course will be the same. This part of the test is referred to as ‘heelwork’. The dog is trained to ‘heel’ on the left hand side of the handler, against the left leg, with its head turned slightly round and looking up at the handler. Any deviation from this position will be penalized with the loss of 0.5 or more of a point, according to the degree of deviation. The dog should maintain that same tight position through all the turns and at the halt.

For the recall (straightline) the dog is positioned in either a sit or a down, (handler’s choice) the handler tells the dog to stay and walks away from the dog in a straight line until told to halt, (at least 10 paces). The handler is then told to about turn and then told ‘call your dog’. The dog is required to trot to the handler and sit in front (between the handlers feet) and stay there until commanded to ‘finish’ which requires the dog to move smartly round the back of the handler to the handler’s left hand side and sit in the heel position.

The stay exercises in all tests are the only ones where all the dogs are in the ring at the same time. Dog and handlers are all lined up along one side of the ring with about a metre between each dog. For the stays (1 minute sitting and 2 minutes lying down) the handler places the dog in the required position, tells the dog to stay and then walks away until told to halt, about turn and face your dog. The handler must remain there for the required time, then when told, return to the dog and release the dog from that position when the exercise is finished. The dog should stay without changing position until the handler returnsand releases it. The handler is not allowed to talk to the dog from the time they start to walk away until they have returned and the exercise is complete.

All handlers in Special Beginners may talk to their dogs during the heelwork, plenty of praise and encouragement helps not only the new nervous dog but also helps relieve tension and nerves for the new handler. In this test all competitors start with a total of 75 points and the judge deducts points according to the degree of the fault. Minimum deduction is 0.5 of a point.

Points allocated for each exercise are

Heel on lead 15
Heel free 20
Recall 10
Sit stay 10
Down stay 20
Total 75

The exercises in this class are basically the same as in Special Beginners with the addition of the ‘Dumbell Retrieve’. The order of the exercises is: heel on lead, heel off lead, recall, retrieve, sit and down stay.

The heel work course may be slightly longer than in Special Beginners, and the various turns could follow closer together. The recall is the same, and is followed by the retrieve.

For this retrieve, the dog is placed in a sit in the heel position (left hand side of handler) and given the wait/stay command. The handler is then instructed to throw the dumbell to a roughly defined area. On command the dog must trot out and pick up the dumbell, return to the handler with it, and sit in front of the handler as in the recall, holding the dumbell until the handler is instructed to ‘take it’. The dog is then required to ‘finish’ the exercise, same as for the recall. The sit and down stay are for 1 minute and 2 minutes respectively, but the handler must remain facing away from the dog for the required time. Talking and encouragement to the dog is allowed in this test also, although it tends to be used less as the dog/handler become more confident. Each competitor starts with a total of 100 points in the Novice test, the allocation is as for Special Beginners with when your dog will use the bark to tell you of its need. Take some time to listen to the different sounds your dog makes to get your attention, you will quickly recognize what each sound means, and you will be able to react that much quicker to your dog’s needs.