Obedience
Come, Sit, Stay & More
by Stephanie Capkovic

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"Obedience." Just utter this word in the presence of dog owners and you get very mixed responses. Say this word around Westie owners and you hear stories of how their dogs were naughty (but very cute) in a training class. Other typical responses are that Westies are "terriers" and teaching them Obedience exercises will "break their spirit" or Obedience will have a negative impact on the dog's ability to win in the Conformation arena.

Thankfully, Obedience training no longer requires the rigid regime in which the dog must respond in a certain way or be corrected. Dogs are now taught through positive reinforcement techniques that strengthen the human/ canine relationship. So throw away the choke chain, get out the treats and have FUN with your Westie! Remember, the time you spend working together develops a strong foundation for all life and dog activities.

To begin, locate an instructor who trains with positive reinforcement methods (clicker, toy & food motivators). Choose an instructor who has had experience with training smaller dogs—if that includes terriers, it is a real plus! Finally, if you intend to compete in Obedience, you want to train with an instructor who has shown dogs in the Obedience ring and has earned titles.

In Obedience trials sanctioned by the American Kennel Club, the three progressive levels of competition are Novice, Open and Utility. At each level, the team performs a set of exercises to demonstrate a working relationship. Each time the team successfully completes all of the exercises a leg is earned. Three legs are required to earn a title.

All teams begin in Novice competition, which includes four individual and two group exercises. The first exercise is on-lead heeling in which the dog and handler demonstrate their ability to turn, halt (dog sits at the handler's side) and change to a slow and fast pace. In the stand-for-exam exercise, the dog is required to remain standing with the handler standing six feet away while the judge examines the dog by touching it on the head, shoulder and rear areas. The heeling pattern is then repeated with the dog being off lead. This tends to be the hardest exercise for Westies and all other dogs since success depends on the dog's paying close attention to the handler. The final individual exercise is the recall. For this exercise the dog must sit and stay while the handler walks to the opposite side of the ring (approximately thirty feet), turns, and looks at the dog. On the judge's signal, the handler calls the dog and the dog is required to come and sit in front of the handler. The judge then instructs the handler to "finish your dog" and the dog must get up and move into a sit position at the handler's left side. The final two exercises require the Westie to remain in a sit (for one minute) and a down (for three minutes) while the handler walks to the opposite side of the ring at the same time other dogs and handlers are doing the exercise.

The more advanced classes of Open and Utility build upon the Novice level skills and add retrieving, jumping, and scent discrimination exercises. All exercises are performed off lead, and in the Utility Class verbal cues are replaced with hand signals.

In reality, your Westie's Obedience training has already begun! All Westies have learned that a certain response to specific stimulus (a specific command or just an action) results in a reward. Just begin to prepare their dinners and they will run into their crates in anticipation of being fed. Pick up their leads, and they are waiting at the door to go out. Westies learn quickly, enjoy interacting with people and can be very successful in Obedience. I encourage all of you to take the challenge to teach your Westies the new and different skills that are required to compete in Obedience.

LINK TO OBEDIENCE ANNUAL AWARDS

Other Performance Events:

• Agility
• Earthdog Tests
• Rally
• Tracking

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