Page5

Getting Started In
OBEDIENCE COMPETITIONS
In the UK

Jane Ellen

The Beginner Class

This is the lowest class allowed at Championship Shows. There is no difference between Open and Championship Shows so far as the exercises in this class are concerned.

Sometimes this class is not included at Championship Shows, but there are only two or three that don’t hold a Beginner class. If this is the lowest class in the schedule, you enter it as your lowest class regardless of whether or not you have won a Pre-Beginner class.

You can talk to your dog as much as you like to encourage him in this class. It is the first class with the retrieve, but you can use your own article if you prefer. Using a ball is not a good idea as the dog may think you are playing and it can roll into the next ring and really upset the apple cart for any dog working there. The ring next to yours could be a much higher class where the handler is not allowed to talk to their dog while under test. Most dogs love balls, even the best trained ones. So if your ball should roll into this other ring, the handler will lose marks if he has to tell his dog to leave it! He or she won’t be amused.

Beginners

Exercises	Points	*Notes*
Heel on lead	15	The same as in the Pre-Beginner Class.
Heel Free	20	Again, the same.
Recall with a Finish	10	The usual Novice Recall, the same as in Pre-Beginners. Don’t forget you can leave your dog in either a sit or a down and command your dog as much as you like.
Retrieve	25	You will have learnt how to do this at the club. You can use your own article, but it’s a good idea to use a dumbbell when competing in this class.
Sit Stay	10	This is also for one minute, the same as in the Pre-Beginner class.
Down Stay	20	A two-minute down as in the previous class.
Total:	100

Don’t forget you can talk to your dog as much as you like except in the stays.

The two classes above will consist of several newcomers to obedience shows. You will find quite a variety of different breeds and handlers of all ages, ranging from young children to people over 80. Obedience is a fun sport to all of them as I hope it becomes to you. The more shows you go to, the more familiar the faces become ... and the more friends you make.

It all depends on you and your dog and whether you put the work in to gain a win to start moving up the classes. There are many people who are happy to get the odd rosette and just enjoy their day out.

There is nothing wrong in trying to win; in fact I would hope that the ‘bug bites’ and you learn to love working your dog. But I would remind you that our dogs are all, first and foremost, our pets, and their welfare and enjoyment of our chosen sport should be uppermost in our minds.

The Novice Class

When you win out of Pre-Beginners and Beginners, Novice is the lowest class you can enter. It is also the lowest class that experienced handlers, who have won through the classes with their previous dogs, can enter. However inexperienced their new dogs may be, they and you can never enter Pre-Beginners or Beginners again. So you will find the standard of work varies considerably between the dogs working Beginners and Novice, and those that are working Novice and Class ‘A’.

You can give as much encouragement as you like in this class.

Novice

Exercises	Points	*Notes*
Temperament Test	10	This is done on lead with your dog standing beside you. The Judge just gives your dog a quick, quiet stroke to check his temperament. He doesn’t go over the dog as he would in a breed ring.
Heel on lead	15	The same as in the Pre-Beginner and the Beginner classes.
Heel Free	20	The same as in the Pre-Beginner and the Beginner classes.
Novice Recall with a Finish	10	The same as the last two classes, it is generally referred to as a Novice recall. You turn and face your dog and call him to your front, where he should sit till told to finish and go to heel.
Retrieve	15	You will have learnt how to do this at the club. You have to use a dumbbell in this class.
Sit Stay	10	Again, this is for one minute. You will be asked to stand in the middle of the ring, behind the Stay Stewards. It is pretty certain that you will have to have your back to your dog, with absolutely no peeping.
Down Stay	20	This is for two minutes, as were the two previous classes. You will do this exercise as you did in the sit stay. Back to your dog, unless told otherwise.
Total:	100

Don’t forget you can talk to your dog in all the exercises except the stays.