Apr 5

Saturday Run-Throughs
Paloma Park in Atascadero
Obedience @ 9 am
Flyball @ 10:30 am
Agility + Rally concurrent to Obedience and Flyball

Apr 12

Therapy Dog visit

FYI, if you're looking for information about SLODOG's 2007 UKC-sanctioned Obedience Trial, see our Events page.

Obedience exercises are meant to foster the usefulness of dogs as human companions. Such includes being well-mannered in the home, in public places, as well as in the presence of other dogs and goes far beyond the simple "sit" and "stay."

SLODOG members gather every other Saturday (see Calendar at right for dates and locations) to school their dogs in the various levels of canine obedience (see below). Like our Saturday Flyball sessions, our Obedience sessions are not formal instruction programs. Rather, they're a gathering of like-minded individuals willing to help each other toward the common goal of mastery. Some members go on to obedience competitions, some use obedience as a foundation for agility and other interactive canine sports, while others simply want to develop and maintain a comfortable, mutually appreciative dialogue with their dogs concerning just who is to take cues from whom and what cues should elicit what responses. See our Events page for more about SLODOG Saturday Run-Throughs.

SLODOG sponsors one or more formal obedience competitions each year. This year's events include a UKC-sanctioned competition on September 30 on the grounds at Elks Lodge in Santa Maria, California. Visit our Events page for more information.

Obedience Training Levels
There are several levels of obedience: Novice (CD), Open (CDX) and Utility (UD) are the standard classes. Recently, higher levels of competition -- Utility Excellent (UDX) and Obedience Trial Champion (OTCH) -- were sanctioned. An Obedience Trial Champion is named each year at the AKC National Obedience Invitational; the winner is considered the top obedience dog in America for the year and crowned the National Obedience Champion (NOC).

Below are the obedience exercises associated with Novice, Open and Utility classes; information about Utility Excellent and Obedience Trial Champion classes is forthcoming. (FYI, "heel position" means sitting face-forward next to the handler's left foot.)

Novice (CD) Training Level
Novice exercises are the building blocks for countless applications. Novice exercises include...
• Heel on Leash (path must include a figure eight)
• Stand for Examination
• Heel Free (off leash)
• Recall (a sit-stay-come-sit-return to heel position exercise)
• Long Sit (a sit-stay for one minute-come-sit-return to heel position exercise)
• Long Down (a down-stay for three minutes while the handler walks around-then sit upon the handler's return to the heel position).

Open (CDX) Training Level
Open Class dogs are expected to...
• Heel Free (including an off-leash figure eight)
• Drop on Recall (down on command when called from a sit-stay, then, on command, finish the come-sit-return to heel position)
• Retrieve on Flat (retrieve a dumbbell on command and return with it to the handler, again finishing up with the sit facing handler-return to heel position)
• Retrieve Over High Jump (same as previous but retrieving involves jumping an obstacle going and coming)
• Broad Jump (stay-jump hurdles-return to handler)
• Long Sit (like the Novice Long Sit except the stay portion is lengthier and during it the handler walks out of sight)
• Long Down (like the Novice Long Down except the stay portion is lengthier -- two minutes longer -- and during it the handler walks out of sight)

Utility (UD) Training Level
Utility class dogs are expected to...
• Signal Perform (heel, stand, stay, drop, sit and come on cue)
• Scent Discriminate (select handler's article from among other articles by scent alone, then promptly return it to the handler; exercise is done twice, once with a metal article and once with a leather one)
• Directed Retrieve (on command, retrieve only the item the handler directs)
• Moving Stand and Examination (heel-stand-stay on command to be examined by the judge, then return to heel position on command)
• Directed Jumping (go away in the direction indicated by the handler, stop, jump as directed, and return as in Recall)

Write to us at obedience@slodog.org if you'd like more information about the discipline of canine obedience. You might also want to visit the websites from the following organizations, each of which sanctions obedience trials: the AKC (American Kennel Club), UKC (United Kennel Club), and COAST (California Obedience Agility Stockdog Trials). Obedience has been a competitive sport in the U.S. since 1933, so there's lots of information out there!

Apr 14

General Meeting
PETCO in San Luis Obispo; see the SLODOG pg for more info

Apr 20

EVENT: DOG DAYS 2008
see the Events page for information

May 3

Saturday Run-Throughs
Santa Rosa Park in SLO
Obedience @ 9 am
Flyball @ 10:30 am
Agility + Rally concurrent to Obedience and Flyball

May 10

Therapy Dog visit

May 17

Saturday Run-Throughs
Strother Park in Arroyo
Grande
Obedience @ 9 am
Flyball @ 10:30 am
Agility + Rally concurrent to Obedience and Flyball

May 24-26

C.O.A.S.T. Agility + Stockdog Trials
See the coastasc.org web site for more info

note....

No May Member Meeting
We'll pick back up in June