Answers to Everyday Questions : What commands are performed at dog obedience competitions?

What commands are performed at dog obedience competitions?

2 Responses to “What commands are performed at dog obedience competitions?”

1. K9Resqer said :
   October 8th, 2010 at 7:02 am

   recall, down on command, heel, stand for exam, sit, long sit, long down, retrieve, retrieve over jump, direct retrieve an item the handler points to, scent discrimination

   The retrieves and scent discrimination are done with advanced titles. For basic obedience it’s the sits/stays/recalls, etc.
2. Swamp Poodles *Reborn!* said :
   October 8th, 2010 at 7:50 am

   I’m not exactly sure what you’re asking, but I’ll try to answer. An obedience competition consists of different “exercises” depending on the level. They also differ some based on the venue involved, but the basic lay out is:

   Novice:
   1.) heeling on a leash, including left turn, right turn, fast, slow, about turn, and halt. The dog is supposed to stay in heel position during the heeling.
   2.) heeling in a figure 8 pattern around 2 human “posts”–on leash
   3.) Stand for exam- the dog must stand, handler about 6 feet away, while being examined by the judge. (Very light exam)
   4.) heeling off leash–all of #1, without a leash.
   5.) Recall- leave the dog at one end of the ring, walk to the other end, and call the dog.
   6.) sit stay and down stay with dog in a group- with handler in the ring.

   Open:
   1.) heeling- off leash. (Includes all of the elements in #1 above.)
   2.) figure 8 heeling- as in Novice- only off leash
   3.) retrieve on the flat– retrieving a dumb bell tossed
   4.) retrieve over the high jump- like #3, only dog is required to take a jump out to the DB, and take a jump back.
   5.) drop on recall–similar to recall in novice, only when dog is approximately 1/2 way to handler, gets a command to down. Dog must stop, and lie down.
   6.) broad jump—dog must take a jump of several boards laid out on the ground.
   7.) sit stay/down stay with dog in a group with handler out of sight.

   Utility:
   1.) heeling- off leash- similar to above
   2.) hand signals- the heeling includes all hand signals- no verbals- for all of the heeling and also for a stand/stay. From the stand, the handler moves out to a distance, where the dog must then down, sit, and then recall all on hand signals
   3.) articles– the dog must search and find a leather article and/or a metal article that is scented with the handler’s scent.
   4.) directed jumping- the dog is sent away from the handler- then recalled once over a high jump and once over a panel jump.
   5.) directed retrieve- the dog is required to retrieve one glove specified by the handler.

   The actual “commands” are whatever you want them to be. I use sit and down for my dogs, while some will use platz and sets. You could use apple and banana if it makes you happy. There is no required verbal or hand signal that you are required to give.

   Hope this helps.