Obedience

For dog handlers in the South East of England the open obedience season has come to an end unless you want to travel that is. From now on it's just Limit shows (indoor shows that are limited to a certain number of entries). Any wins at these shows do not count against your dogs ranking. These shows are a way of keeping in practise through the winter months but as they are indoors, usually in community halls on slippery floors, rather than outside on grass, the dogs perform very differently. Brac, pictured here at Crufts, slips all over the place on slippery floors where as some dogs cope very well. He also thinks that working in a community hall is his excuse to mess around and not take anything too seriously. For this reason I am not entering any Limit shows this year.
So how has he been doing during the open season? Not bad but could do better! He is a very stylish dog but not particularly accurate. Very keen but tends to be slightly ahead of the action which causes him to make mistakes. I mustn't forget the he did make it to Crufts as a 'Special Per-beginner' and came joint 7th out of 35 dogs. He did win16 rosettes this year but only one first place in a pre-beginners round at the beginning of the season. He needs to win twice in Beginners to graduate up to Novice. Hopefully he will get that next year.

If you are interested in Obedience Dog Handling visit the Obedience web site at www.obedienceuk.com