Hoping to Title in Obedience

[Maxxx]

I hope I'm posting this in the right section. I think I just need some reassurance from those who have titled their rotties

Max is almost 7 months old and we are coming to the end of our competitive puppy 2 class and will soon enter the novice attention 1 class. I work full-time so I can only work with Max in the morning and after work. My hubby is home most of the time I'm gone, but I don't want him to do the advanced commands since he's never been to a class to observe and I'm afraid he'll undo all that I've managed to accomplish with Max. So he goes over the basic stuff (sit, settle, come) and tricks I've taught.

There are a couple of people (and their dogs) in the class who are way ahead of me, either because they don't work F/T or have done this before (I haven't) that I sometimes get discouraged. I know the path I've chosen wouldn't be easy, it would take a lot of work and dedication, and I guess I just wanted to hear some stories of people who managed to title their rotties while working F/T.

Max is amazing and is very tolerant of my newbie mistakes. Sometimes he doesn't feel like working, but I'm always trying to find ways to make it fun and motivating for him. He definitely keeps me on my toes! We are a bit behind, but I'm working daily to get us up to snuff for graduation. I am deterined to title him, and I guess I'm just in a low point right now. All my positiveness is used up in training I guess!

Any stories you can share would be greatly appreciated!

[brunie's mom]

I think the most important thing you must do right now is train him to be a good puppy. Don't worry about other people, their dogs often burn out and they lose their fizzle quickly.
Make sure your puppy is having fun and learning...he still has alot of maturing to do.
Do a google search on Canine Good Neighbor and print out the different exercises on there. That's always a good Obedience level to work towards and you can have fun trying. He will probably be ready by summer...and the test is offered all over Ontario. After that you can work towards your CD or Rally Novice.
Always work at your own pace and the dog's.
Many people work full time and get obedience titles on their dogs...you just have to be creative to find the time to practice. Most dogs are fine with 20 minutes a day of training...and maybe a bit more before a trial. If you attend a class every week and do some homework every day...you should be fine.

Gina

[targonrotts]

great advice from gina!
it can be done!
just keep it fun and simple. remember, quality not quantity.
i work full time, raised a kid, am divorced, have lots of bills, and anywhere from 4-9 dogs at a time. i found the time to put CD's on most my dogs, rally titles, agility titles and a few champions too. i do at least 3 hours a month in therapy dog work, attend dog training at least 2 times a week, and practice fun stuff.
i do flyball too.
just enjoy your pup, train in a fun and short way, and you will get there.
practice in different places. do a minute of healing-release and play.
good luck and you can do it too!

[ArmaniMink]

I'm curious as to what at home training I can provide my puppy after work daily during the days the puppy training isn't available. I just started teaching her the "no" and "wait" commands when walking her on aleash, and so far she has caught on to those really quickly and understands each fully. Outside of that I really wanna work on her comming when I call her when she's not on the leash outside. She still kinda sits and watches when I call her but doesn't move. Any advice???

[Maxxx]

Thanks Gina and Targon

Our breeder requires a CGN on Max as part of our contract and I had originally decided to go the non-competitive puppy class route since the puppy 3 class offered an intro to the CGN, get the CGN, then hop over and do the competitive puppy stream. But when I spoke to our trainer, she said it was better to do the competitive route right away since it covered all the non-competitive puppy commands as well as finishes and that would avoid us having to repeat anything. Plus the CGN was a small component to the regular puppy 3 class anyway.

So here I am, having never competed in obedience before, having never owned a puppy before, it's been feeling lately like I've bit off a bit more than I can chew. I guess I just needed the reassurance that I could do it and it can be done.

Slow and stready wins the race right? And as long as we're both having fun and building our relationship together, what more could I ask for.

[dmoniz]

Logan was my first competitive dog. I didn't know he was going to be until I started having so much fun! I too work full time and at the time a 2 hour roundtrip commute. See all of his titles? It can be done, just don't burn you or your dog out, have fun! Now I have Cain who I got to do schutzhund with. We officially train 4 nights a week, the rest of the time I work him on my own. This is exhausting, but I can't help it, I am so totally addicted!

[Mick Trainer]

Like others have said it is about quality not quantity of practice aslo I must add it is about setting a good foundation not about how fast you move up. I usually find the people who advance ahead too quickly only achieve 90odd% accuracy which soon winds back and also means they are always trying to find cures for their problems where the real problem exists in that their foundation work is poor. Get the commands right, never give a command you are not able to have the dog perfrom instantly, never let it break a command until released. If you do these things and thus set yourself a good foundation then the rest is easy but mess this up even a little and it becomes so much harder with usually the best solution being to go back to step one and start again.

Mick.

[Ayoka]

Don't worry, every dog learns at their own pace and the dog that seems to pick things up in class may be the dog that does poorly in the ring because he can't handle new situations...every dog/handler tream has their training challenges - no dog is perfect. The important thing is to take the time to train a good foundation rather than be preoccupied with comparisons.

The CGN is a great step towards conpetition and here in Canada you ahve the option of doing the Pre Novice title (PCD) @ CKC obedience trials all exerceises are on leash and the requirements aren't SOOOO strict, it's pass or fail only, no winner, no placing. We did ours last summer here in New Brunswick and it was fairly easy, and in my opinion an great way to get into the scene without getting wrapped up in the competitiveness.

[Luvs]

Originally Posted by Maxxx

Our breeder requires a CGN on Max as part of our contract

That was my original goal for Akasha. I just wanted to get her CGC, but once we started doing obedience and were having such a great time, I decided to try for her CD, then her CDX, then rally titles, and the list goes on Akasha has far exceeded ALL of my expectations!!!! She has done everything I have asked and then some.

We have had to take a little break with the addition of all the babies, but I am hoping this year to start trialing for her UD

btw, I too work full time and it hasn't been an issue in our training. In fact, we were training 5-6 days a week between schutzhund and our regular obedience classes, but after the babies arrived something had to give and unfortunately right now it is the training. We are slowly but surely getting back into it now

[Maxxx]

It never occured to me about setting a good foundation. That's an amazing piece of advice! I will definitely keep that in mind as we're training. I'm such a newbie

Ayoka - I will definitely look into the PCD. I didn't know that was available. I think it would benefit both of us to try that first, me espeically since it'll give me an idea of what I'm up against!

I know I shouldn't compare Max to the other dogs in the class, but it's so hard to do sometimes. We did so well in Puppy K class that I think I'm putting too much pressure on both of us in this class. I'm going to take a step back, take a deep breath and let things happen. I'll repeat the class if needed. I guess I'm just a bit shell-shocked because the puppy k class was so easy and relaxing and the competitive puppy 2 class is so not!

Thanks again for all the advice and support. I really needed it!

[AngelBunny]

Originally Posted by Maxxx

It never occured to me about setting a good foundation. That's an amazing piece of advice! I will definitely keep that in mind as we're training.

Think of obed in terms of building a house.

If you skimp on the foundation you can't expect your first floor to be sound, it's a stretch to expect the second floor to be safe, and the attic? forget about it. If you don't have a strong foundation you'll find advanced obed frustrating and it'll be much more work than it needs to be.

[brunie's mom]

Originally Posted by Maxxx

It never occured to me about setting a good foundation. That's an amazing piece of advice! I will definitely keep that in mind as we're training. I'm such a newbie

Ayoka - I will definitely look into the PCD. I didn't know that was available. I think it would benefit both of us to try that first, me espeically since it'll give me an idea of what I'm up against!

I know I shouldn't compare Max to the other dogs in the class, but it's so hard to do sometimes. We did so well in Puppy K class that I think I'm putting too much pressure on both of us in this class. I'm going to take a step back, take a deep breath and let things happen. I'll repeat the class if needed. I guess I'm just a bit shell-shocked because the puppy k class was so easy and relaxing and the competitive puppy 2 class is so not!

Thanks again for all the advice and support. I really needed it!

Competitive Puppy Class??? I've never heard of that. I thought puppies should be learning the basics...building a good foundation...not worrying about competing.

I would also bet that the Competitive Puppy class is full of Golden Retrievers?
Now there's a breed that can do an exercise over and over again...and seemingly never get bored. This breed seems to always excel in competitive
obedience.
Give me a Rottweiler any day to train..they will at least use their brains and tell you when they've had enough or are bored...you have to be creative to train a rottie.

Gina

[Ayoka]

Originally Posted by brunie's mom

Competitive Puppy Class??? I've never heard of that. I thought puppies should be learning the basics...building a good foundation...not worrying about competing.

I have heard of a few classes offered for people with younger dogs that they are hoping to train in sport and these classes were about learning focus & self control - something that MANY dogs at trial (and I'm thinking agility) lack because - well they went straight to the obstacle and exercise training without working on the foundations. I'm not sure how "hard" these classes are on puppies but I believe they DO focus on the basics that every dog (especially one that will be at trials) should know. I should add that the classes like this that I have heard of are clicker classes - so I don't think they are about drilling dogs and corrections as much as they are capitalising on a dog's willingness to work...

At least around here, the puppy K is about socialising youg dogs and starting to learn basic commands and that's not going to help a person who's looking for a constructive environment with exercises that are designed to be Fun and help a younger dog learn the focus, self control and confidence that will make it a wonderful attentive companion and a great working partner.

[moondog]

Originally Posted by brunie's mom

Competitive Puppy Class??? I've never heard of that. I thought puppies should be learning the basics...building a good foundation...not worrying about competing.

I'm currently auditing a Performance Puppy 101 class and it is completely about teaching a correct and strong foundation - through FUN and REWARDS. Drilling and perfection don't exist in this class, nor does any kind of a push to compete. It's all about foundation training.....motivation, teamwork, attention, and teaching behaviors CORRECTLY from the start with a distant eye on higher levels of competition obedience (such as folding back into the down rather than teaching a "crawl" down where the dog brings front legs forward into the down - just one example of MANY). Teaching with competition in "mind" (not in action) really helps prevent the need to re-teach basic positions later on when they become problematic if not learned correctly to begin with.

Originally Posted by brunie's mom

I would also bet that the Competitive Puppy class is full of Golden Retrievers? Now there's a breed that can do an exercise over and over again...and seemingly never get bored. This breed seems to always excel in competitive obedience.

While there is one Golden in this class (and he IS a quick study), there is ONLY one. The rest are: Great Dane, Corgi, Aussie (s), Border Collie(s), Scottie, Dobie, GSD, and a couple other little dogs whose breed is a mystery to me, LOL. And they are all having such fun with learning. There is even a young girl in this class, along with all the adults, who is having a great time learning how to teach her puppy the basics while ensuring that if she ever decides she'd like to compete at some future time, it will be a very smooth transition.

If all Performance Puppy 101 Classes are anything like this one, I am all for it, 100%. There's just no down side.