Dog Obedience

Obedience

Obedience training is useful, satisfying and relationship building. It can range from basic household manners to high level obedience competitions where a team is judged on their performance and scored on responsiveness and precision. I used to consider obedience training a necessary evil. As training has evolved and I’ve evolved in my own methods and philosophies, I've come to realize it does not have to be boring, it can be fun! My attitude plays a big part. While it is important our dogs have skills that will keep them safe, and we want them to be a pleasure to be around for us and others… it’s also true that teaching those skills can be joyful and fun!

Many instructors and training mentors have influenced my growth and helped me throughout the years. I am very grateful to Ellen Hardin, Laurie Bandy, Cindy Brick and Beth Knotts for their guidance, support and encouragement! To get results, I use many different methods and strategies. I favor positive reinforcement, shaping behaviors (with and without a clicker) and playing lots of games. Susan Garrett has also been a huge influence! I've taken her online Recallers©, Puppy Peaks©, and Handling360© courses. I highly recommend her online courses to anyone; whether your goal is a wonderful companion and/or a high level competition dog!

"Your dog is a reflection of your ability as a dog trainer” - Susan Garrett. 

That quote is close to my heart and always at the forefront of my training, it reminds me;
•  it takes two to effectively communicate
•  we all have our good and not-so-good days
•  make time; give energy to what's important and matters most
•  always listen to and learn from my dog
•  be careful what I reinforce~ I'll see more of that behavior

Entlebuchers have been fully recognized as an AKC Herding breed since January 1, 2011. Data earned his AKC Obedience Beginner Novice (BN) title, March 2012. Since 2010, AKC has included optional titling classes for: Beginner, "Pre", and Graduate Obedience. That has been a smart and practical addition to the AKC Obedience program! The optional classes combine skill elements and are a wonderful transition for training and competing. Working your dog in the optional classes helps build the team's next level skills and confidence plus allows for incremental growth steps toward bigger goals. Every good trainer knows that breaking down the behavior criteria into more manageable and more easily understood pieces will lead to greater and often quicker successes. In dog training, it is referred to as: splitting vs lumping. It makes so much sense not only for success but also in keeping sharp and having more fun. When both teammates are less frustrated and experiencing frequent, small victories together the journey is filled with joy!

Data earned his AKC Novice Obedience Companion Dog (CD) title, March 17, 2013 in Madison WI at only 28 months old! We earned a respectable 190 score with a 3rd place. He was a special boy with incredible focus, work ethic, a wonderful attitude and a lot of heart! You can see he was a willing, happy worker! Watch the 3rd leg of our CD title performance.

Data earned his Graduate Novice (GN) title, July 19, 2015 in Rothschild WI. He was competing in "Open A" but unreliable dogs made the, 'out of sight' stay exercise unsafe for him. Data had been stared down menacingly, lunged at, rushed toward and he was even humped at trial during the 'out of sight' exercises. It ruined his sense of safety and our hard work. So we took a break from obedience and enjoyed other sports. As of May 1, 2018 the out-of-sight stays in the AKC Open Obedience class were eliminated (yippee) and replaced with hand signal exercises. We embraced the opportunity to train the new exercises and Data earned his Open Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) title, February 3, 2019 at Camp Bandy during our home club's trial! That also earned him the next level Versatile Companion Dog 2 (VCD2) designation from AKC for achieving higher levels in the 3 sports of Obedience, Agility and Tracking. Data far exceeded my expectations and taught me to dream bigger.

Jaylah earned her Beginner Novice Obedience (BN) title, March 16, 2018 in Louisville, KY with a 3rd place in a large 18 dog class. It was also a large, noisy venue with many distractions and environmental challenges. I was so proud of her performance! She was only 17 months old yet showed with maturity, great focus and an incredible attitude. Jaylah earned her AKC Novice Obedience Companion Dog (CD) title, January 15, 2022 at Camp Bandy during our home club's trial. It is always very special to complete a new title among friends we train with; they have seen our struggles first-hand and helped us work through the challenges with tips, feedback and good humor!

Major growth for me was learning to enjoy obedience, for the sake of obedience. Along my journey I came to the realization, it really IS a matter of attitude and my choice to be positive and make it fun. A resource that helped me discover the joy, fun and enthusiasm in obedience and especially heeling, is Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. I have taken Denise Fenzi's: Precision Heeling, Heeling Games and look forward to others! She has a wonderful, clear way of demonstrating and explaining techniques through her posts and videos. She is a creative, positive based trainer and you can see how much she herself loves obedience, training, and relationship building with her dogs!

Rally Obedience

Rally Obedience is all about teamwork. It's very enjoyable; more relaxed and you can talk to your dog- which makes it more personal and fun for me. Thinking up a strategy and executing the course exercises together is a thrill. Our Entlebuchers enjoy the mental challenge, bonding, special treats and attention they get whether training or competing. The dogs seem to have their favorite "moves." You can see them light up when they get to do a rally sign/command they like.

A great benefit becomes enjoying a well trained dog that is accepted and welcomed more places! Through working together you enjoy each other's company more then you want to take them as many places as possible.

Entlebuchers and Rally

There are many Rally-O titled Entlebuchers. In 2011 NEMDA offered their first AKC sanctioned Rally (and Obedience) trials. It was a special treat to observe just how much fun everyone had while working with their dogs. And the teamwork was impressive too! Kai earned her Rally Advanced (RA) title at the 2011 NEMDA Specialty. Data earned his Rally Advanced (RA) title at the 2012 NEMDA National Specialty.

Bayla was close to earning her AKC Rally Advanced Excellent title. Every time she competed she qualified. Bayla loved to work! We have not gotten around to doing Rally-O with our current entles yet!

Obedience Links

How to Pick a Pet Dog Trainer- Excellent blog article; what to look for in a trainer by Denise Fenzi
Reinforcement Zone for Dog Sports- Susan Garrett
Lumping and Splitting Behavior Criteria- Nice explanation by Donna Hill