Novice Obedience Trials – Barbados

Sandra Manning and her German Shepherd, Topaz

Sue Blanford was the judge for The B’dos. Dog Training Club trials.  Rosemary Coghlan was also in the ring assisting.

There were 8 contestants in the CD trials.

Scoring high (first) in the class was Sandra Manning and her German Shepherd Dog, Topaz.  I am so pleased for Sandra.  They now go on to leg C.  Also high in trials and in 2nd place was the Bouvier Des Flandres, Rita who got 185.5/200. Rita will also go on to leg C.

The only dog there that evening achieving the CD title was the Bouvier Des Flandres, Rhapsody, who passed leg C with a score of 178/200.  Rhapsody  passed both legs A and B when we sat trials last year. Each leg is supposed to be marked harder and I am very pleased with both Bouviers.

A Flat Coated Retriever passed something but I’ m not sure whether it was leg A or B.

Hopefully, the other participants will work with their dogs and return to trials later in the year  to achieve legs A, B, or the CD title  (when they pass leg C)

It is not easy coming from basic training,  for dogs to pass the Novice A on the first attempt as the dog has exercises to do like heeling off leash with various speeds and turns.   So new comers should not be too disappointed.

I have only had one Bouvier pass on the first try and that is Dena who passed legs A and B on the first attempt and then also leg C on the first attempt.  Dena (out of Ch. Kanix Oscar of Calliope and Ch. Calliope Tina, CD) and an imported Bouvier “Jovi”  (Ch. Farleycross So Far So Good at Calliope) are around the same age and “Jovi” was mainly in the show ring and Dena was doing obedience and agility.

Rita reminds me of her mother “Jovi”  in her attitude to obedience. Rhapsody (her litter sister) comes in full speed for a recall. Rita appears to think about whether she should come at all, and likes to look around before coming in but she does do a good  sit and finish.  I talk on line to a lot of Bouvier people, and Bouvier trainers overseas have helped me a lot as a trainer.

Absence from classes for the year seemed to be good for the Bouviers who on the night seemed extremely happy and playful and came into the ring wagging their butts and bouncing about.

They did attend the mock trails and the trainer for the class, Jeff Evelyn, invited me to a little fun training at his home the following Sunday.   I think that also helped them as they enjoyed themselves.  Towards the time coming up to the trials, I would take them to Waterford.  It is, however, more challenging  to train 2 dogs at the same time but I would do their stands, sits and downs together and work separately on the other areas.

L-r are Calliope Rita, Ch. Calliope Rhapsody and Jeff Evelyn.

I believe this is the first time Jeff has trained for The B’dos. Dog Training Club.  Jeff has achieved a CD title with a Boxer as well as a Great Dane.

In my opinion, some breeds are easier to train in obedience  than others  and I regard it more challenging to achieve CD or CDX titles with some of the breeds in the Working Group as opposed to some of the less dominant breeds coming from other groups, like the Gundog group.  What might work for training a Golden Retriever might not work for a Bouvier and tactics used with Jeff’s Boxer, Great Dane, or my Bouviers might not work with the “softer” breeds.

A good trainer needs to understand each dog and what motivates them to work and then assist their handlers in understanding the best methods and the steps for achieving the required results.

Tags: Dog training in Barbados