OBEDIENCE IS A DACHSHUND’S WORLD Focus & Fun

Focus and Fun!

by Brenda A. Riemer

This is the 5th article I have written for our magazine. To date we have looked at the NOC/Classic, training puppies for all performance venues, proofing part 1, and proofing part 2 (judge pressure). I asked one of our Facebook groups for topics of interest and received the following: heeling, focus between exercises which would include the dos and don’ts between exercises, and keeping obedience fun. This article is on the topic of focus & fun between exercises, and I promise heeling for the following DCA magazine. Please review some of the proofing items in earlier DCA magazines for teaching focus in practice. A sneak preview: I will explain heeling methods from two of the best heeling gurus that I have come trained with and will have YouTube links to Zelda and me which will demonstrate the heeling concepts.

There is no reason why obedience should not be fun. How you train, and how you act in the ring will go a long way towards making this sport the highlight of your dog’s day. For example, when I open the closet where I keep Zelda’s training items, she comes flying to me. There have been times when I put her bag in the van the night before a show, and I find her sitting at the door waiting to go. I love explaining to her that we must wait a day. So, let’s think about the time from the crate to the ring, and once in the ring, what we can do.

Many times, when I present seminars, when I ask attendees what their routine is from the crate to the ring entrance, I see a lot of blank looks. To have a dog who is upbeat in the ring, the dog must be upbeat leaving the crate. Think about how you get your dog out of a crate. Are you dreading getting into the ring? If you are, why should the dog be upbeat? How can we create a great experience? Before I give the suggestions, one note. Take the dog out to potty 30 minutes or longer before you need to get the dog out of the crate for the ring. Put the dog back in the crate. This way, coming out of the crate to show is specific. Last, learn how much of a warmup your dog needs. You do not want the dog to be bored. For example, if Zelda and I are not first in the ring, in utility I will not get her out of the crate until after articles (scent discrimination) is over, unless it’s the last exercise. In novice, I would wait until the heel free exercise. Learn what your dog needs as many times less is more.

At home and at matches, take your dog out of the crate and engage in play. When I was in Mississippi for Debby Quigley lessons, we drove to a park and practiced getting the dogs out of the crate, playing for 1 minute, then putting the dogs back in the crates. We did this at different locations, and then slowly added heeling, etc. As an aside, once shows opened again as the first wave of the pandemic ebbed, in my area we had to crate in the van and go from the van to inside the building to show. This exercise helped so much! Play can be interacting with you, tugging a toy, a dog butt grab, and more. See what your dog enjoys! A warmup should be fun with turns, spins, and more. No need to warm up with the ring exercises. When we talk about focus, we are interested in if the dog is looking at you when you are not looking at the dog. Practice this at home in front of a mirror. Look at the dog and randomly reward. Then look away from the dog (with an eye to the mirror). When the dog stays focused on your, reward! This is something that you can practice anywhere and pays off in the ring. Next is your ring entrance. I discussed ring entrances a little bit in the first proofing article, but let’s review a few items. First, if there is room, there is no need to stand at the ring entrance. Stand four to five feet back so that you can heel into the ring and add a spin or turn if you’d like. Keep it light and look at

There is no reason why obedience your dog. This is engagement! When you take the leash off, you can hand should not be fun. How you train, it to the steward without looking at the steward. Keep your focus on and how you act in the ring will go a your dog. As you move to the location of the first exercise, you long way towards making this sport can include asking the dog to turn or spin. You can talk or sing to the the highlight of your dog’s day. dog. No whistling! You can even ask for an “up” as you move to the next location. Let’s pretend we are in either novice or open and have just finished heeling and are ready for the figure 8 exercise. Many times, the heeling pattern will end near the cones. As soon as the judge says “exercise finished”, go ahead and verbally praise your dog as you move the very short distance to the start of the figure 8. You can have the dog turn or spin to get into position. You can talk. The dog can do an “up.” All of these are fine. The golden rule: Do not make the judge wait. Do not ask your dog to do something like an up 5 times. If the dog doesn’t do it the first time, move on. In beginning novice and open, many judges will begin an exercise in the same location. In beginning novice you might be in the same location for the sit for exam, sit stay walk around the ring, and the recall. This is when you want to, once the judge says exercise finished, get the dog off the sit, praise, and return to the location. I have seen many dogs not do the recall because after two stays, they believe it’s a proof. In open this happens when the judge has command discrimination and the drop on recall in the same location (or the DOR finish and the retrieve on the flat in the same location). Move the dogs and engage with them for a few seconds. It’s okay! What should you never do in the ring? Whistling is not allowed. Taking your dog