Congratulations to Sarah Hamilton and her two Rhodesian Ridgebacks who passed the open, CDX, at trials held through The Barbados Dog Training Club this week.
In the pix. are Ch. Crownridge Red Regent (AI) C.D., C.D.X. and Ch. Broani Chiku at Crownridge, C.D., C.D.X. with their obedience trophies.
Rhodesian Ridgebacks achieving CDX titles in Barbados
The above photo was provided by Sarah Hamilton.
The CDX consists of off leash exercises such as heeling, the figure of eight, drop on recall, retrieval of dumb bell on flat, and also over high jump and broad jump. The sits and stays are for 3 minutes with the handler out of sight and the down stay is for 5 minutes with the handler out of sight. The dog must complete these tasks with the handler using either a voice command or a hand signal.
Passing the final leg C and now achieving the Novice title are Jean Ray’s Golden Retriever, Heidi along with my Tibetan Terrier Tibby.
Congrats to Jean and Heidi and to Tibby.
Tibby, Ch. Araki Miss Conduct at Calliope, achieved a score of 185.5 out of 200. The passmark is 170. So we did improve on the scores for the other legs, A and B and we got a perfect score on the recall and the stand, sit, and down stays. This Tibetan has always done a super fast “come” on a recall. I trained her to improve on her finish in my kitchen with little treats.
We lost our points on the heeling exercises which I must perfect more. It is so important to keep the dog in the ring and focused that I prefer to lose points, especially in the off leash heeling, rather than lose the dog. This is a very fun loving Tibetan Terrier.
Ch. Araki Miss Conduct at Calliope, C.D.
The CD, Novice, has a heel on leash, as well as off leash, with the figure of eight being done on leash. The other exercises are done off leash.
Passing various legs of the Novice trials on June 19, 2013, were Sarah Hamilton with yet another Rhodesian Ridgeback, Amanda Corbin with a Flat Coated Retriever, Jenni Wilson with a Dachshund, Linda Pearson with a German Shepherd dog, Jutta Moore with an Irish Setter, and Sue Blandford with a Papillon.
A very successful evening for participants and the trainer Rosemary Coghlan.
I believe the special beginners would have also had a trial, without scores, at the end of their classes but the puppies/dogs would all be kept on leash.
It seemed like a very nice large class of 13 puppies, all kinds of breeds including mixed breeds, with Jenny Fields doing the basic training, assisted by Jenni Wilson and Lynda Husbands replacing Jenny Fields when Jenny was off the island.
Once the CDX title is achieved, plans can be made to go on and try to achieve the utility title which includes areas such as scent discrimination.
I believe Sarah Hamilton will now work towards the utility title with her Rhodesian Ridgebacks.
There is so much useful dog training information available on the ‘net, through group forums, and other social media forms as well as dvds, and e-books, that a person who understands how to train their dogs and works at it can pass, once they know how to motivate their dog(s) and they understand how to teach the required steps. Of course, it is a lot of work and a challenge at these levels.
These is no formal dog obedience utility training in Barbados that I am aware of but experienced trainers in Barbados, once they pass the C.D.X., can work towards this level.
Utility involves a lot of directional work, and the use of hand signals. This is the final and highest level of obedience titles to achieve.
Tags: B'dos. Dog Training Club, CD (novice) obedience titles, CDX (open) Obedience titles, dog and puppy training in Barbados, Dog training in Barbados
