You need to practice all of those little pieces of your performance so that you and the dog can perform them in the ring. For example, in Novice, when the handler and dog move from the stand- for-exam exercise to the off-leash heel- ing, how they make the transition will affect how the dog performs on the exercise. If the handler allows the dog to just meander to the set-up point for the heeling, how likely is it that the dog will reconnect for the heeling? Practic- ing and executing a happy, connected transition from the stand-for-exam will greatly improve the dog’s chances of success in the off-leash heeling. As the exercises get more complicated in Open and Utility, and the dog is re- quired to do them in different orders, transitions are more important than ever. In addition, many exercises can be done in the same location in the ring, so it is imperative that the dog knows which exercise we are about to do. For example, in Open, the com- mand discrimination and drop on re- call can be done in the same spot. If the dog doesn’t know which exercise we are doing, he may break position on the command exercise or fail to come on the recall. To help solve this problem, an additional piece of handling that we
teach is to name each exercise for the dog. We tell the dog each time which exercise we will be doing on the way to the exercise and/or at the set-up point. For example, if the broad jump is the first exercise to be performed in Open, we tell the dog as we enter the ring that we are going to do the broad jump. This only helps if you are consistent in do- ing it all the time in training so that it is familiar to the dog when you do it in the ring. Another very specific example of how transitions affect our performance is how we enter the ring with the dog. To help bridge the gap between outside the ring, when the dog and handler are more comfortable, and inside the ring, we must train the ring entrance. By perfecting this sequence in training, we can maintain the dog’s attention and motivation from outside the ring and bring it into the ring where it counts. If you struggle to get your dog into the ring and set up for the first exercise, you are already setting yourself up to fail. Not only is your dog not in the best po- sition to perform successfully, but your confidence is probably not very high either. Take the time to train this piece and you’ll feel much more confident stepping into the ring.
The more thoroughly you train every aspect of what happens in the ring, paying careful attention to each detail, the more success- ful you will be. When all you have to do in the ring is to execute your handling just as you do it every time in training, then you can fo- cus on yourself and allow your dog to show how well you have trained him. The best compliment that your dog can give you is to perform exactly the same way in the ring as he does in training. Then you know that you’ve done YOUR job.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS: For almost 40 years, Top Dog Obedience School has been providing “top-level” training to serious Obedience, Rally, and Agility competitors in the Tri-State NJ/NY/PA area. Founded in 1991 by Betsy Scapicchio, co-Trainer Linda Brennan joined to make the “Dream Team” complete. Betsy and Linda are not only passionate exhibitors–never been out of the show ring in over 35 years–but are also very committed to training fellow competitors to the highest levels of Obedience and other venues. They are also expert puppy trainers who can get any budding Performance hopeful off to a perfect start! Their combined achievements and those of their students speak for themselves.
Betsy’s dogs have earned nine Obedience Trial Championships and placed at national competitions, including the Regional and Classic tournaments and the National Obedience Championship, with top ten finishes at five recent NOCs. She and her dogs, including her UD Chihuahua, also placed at Rally Nationals. Betsy and her dogs have earned 40 perfect 200 scores, over 250 High in Trials, and over 5,000 OTCH points to date! Linda Brennan is the master of versatility. In Obedience, her wins include back-to-back firsts in the Masters Class at the AKC Classic, and, with her partner Heart, she won the first five Westminster Master Obedience Championships retiring the trophy. Linda’s Border Collie Spy earned over 1,000 OTCH points, while she and Heart earned over 1,900 points. Linda also competes regularly in agility, rally, hunting, herding, conformation, scent work, and other dog events where she has earned many titles, including OTCH, MACH, and Champion. Their students consistently win HIT/HC and have achieved their dreams of OTCH and 200 scores year after year. In addition to classes offered at their facility in Flanders, NJ, Betsy & Linda write a popular Obedience Training Blog, offer video-based training via Barking Dog Videos, and develop comprehensive workshop programs for training schools nationwide. CREDITS: Train the Top Dog Way Originally Published on this Blog: https://www.tumblr.com/trainthetopdogway FOR MORE INFORMATION/TRAINING: http://www.topdogobedience.com/ https://www.barkingdogvideo.com/
42 • T op N otch T oys , N ovember 2022
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