Training formal obedience yourself?

T

~Tucker&Me~

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So I have a really wonky schedule because of uni classes, and I can't seem to sign up and commit to a training class because my schedule is constantly changing :rolleyes:

I really miss training Spy though, and it makes me feel bummed out that I haven't pursued sports as much as I wanted to because I hate shelling out lots of money for classes (I often don't feel like I get a lot out of them, and the ones where I DO get a lot out of them are expensive) and I don't have a stable enough schedule.

How realistic is it for a person to train for CKC obedience events on their own? I do have the TIME to train things (most weeks) but just cannot commit to a class schedule. Also, are there resources available to help out with training these things? I mean I am good with a clicker, but I don't know the rules and regulations of how these events work, or what commands are expected and how they are supposed to be performed, etc.

Tbh I am more interested in other sports like agility, flyball and dockdogs, but for the reasons mentioned above plus a lack of equipment, I think they are more unrealistic for me right now. That, and they seem to have less events which are farther away :(

Thanks guys :)
 
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On second thought, after looking into rally-o, I have found quite a few more resources about what kind of things to train for. Maybe I will pursue that :)
 
Fran101

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Youtube is an incredible resource.. for both Rally-O and Comp. Obedience, both how-to and just example videos of runs/competitions are widely available

I think it is perfectly do-able!

You might want to arm yourself with a tri-pod and a camera though, so maybe you can see (from another perspective) what you might be doing wrong and seek advice.
and if you have access to a local park, try doing some training there to mimik the class environment/working under distractions (other dogs/people etc..)
 
T

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I hadn't thought of youtube, but after watching a few videos I am even more motivated to get started :D Thank you! Video-ing is a great idea too. I could work on the stuff by myself and possibly just post a few here for feedback. Awesome :D
 
Maxy24

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I definitely think you can train most things at home, both for obedience and rally-o. The only things where it will be difficult is for stand for exam (which is in obedience and maybe upper level rally), because a stranger would be doing it so if Spy is either shy or over excitable with strangers then having someone Spy's used to might not mimic it well enough, though you can still teach a solid stand command. Also the distraction of other dogs/people. There are others outside of the ring and they also have people and a dog inside of the ring (in rally o at least) to serve as a distraction (the dog just sits/lies there...unless he messes up, it's usually another dog in the competition. The owner is with him and then there are often people who the dog might have to do a figure 8 around or something like that).


You can find lists of commands/behaviors required, are you going to do AKC? (I assume there are others but I don't really know)

Here are the signs for rally, the top right hand corner tells you at what level the signs could be found at...so N for novice, A for Advanced, X for excellent. So focus on the novice ones for now:
http://www.akc.org/pdfs/events/rally/signs_2012.pdf

On page 165 of this thing you can see the descriptions of the signs (and you should probably read some of the other stuff too at some point):
http://www.akc.org/pdfs/events/rally/Rally_Insert_020612.pdf


You may want to read up on the rules for the more advanced levels because the type/amount of encouragement allowed changes along the way so it may be easier to train for that from the start. it could be hard to change your own behavior and it might confuse the dog too.

I agree, looking on youtube is good, though you'll want to be sure they are doing it right, so watch a few videos of the same signs being performed so you know they are right and make sure they match the description from the handbook.


I know much less about obedience other than they don't allow encouragement like in rally. There are no signs, a person tell you what to do as you go. These things are good for some, not good for others, you'll have to think about what you'd prefer.
 
MericoX

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I am in the same boat! I hate shelling out money for classes, but I think I will have to do a beginners rally one and then just train the other 4 dogs myself. LOL. I have a book Click Your Way to Rally Obedience, but have only skimmed through it myself.
 
Finkie_Mom

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I think it's pretty doable! I trained Kimma on my own for Rally, just using the sign guide to help me out and watching some random Youtube videos. I never even printed out signs - just did the exercises and would string them together randomly haha.

That being said, I think I want to enter her in to an obedience class of some kind anyway (she's only had puppy obedience and agility classes), just because I want her to be more comfortable working in that type of environment. But I may keep going in at least Rally without a class - not sure yet :p
 
T

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Maxy24 said:
I definitely think you can train most things at home, both for obedience and rally-o. The only things where it will be difficult is for stand for exam (which is in obedience and maybe upper level rally), because a stranger would be doing it so if Spy is either shy or over excitable with strangers then having someone Spy's used to might not mimic it well enough, though you can still teach a solid stand command. Also the distraction of other dogs/people. There are others outside of the ring and they also have people and a dog inside of the ring (in rally o at least) to serve as a distraction (the dog just sits/lies there...unless he messes up, it's usually another dog in the competition. The owner is with him and then there are often people who the dog might have to do a figure 8 around or something like that).


You can find lists of commands/behaviors required, are you going to do AKC? (I assume there are others but I don't really know)

Here are the signs for rally, the top right hand corner tells you at what level the signs could be found at...so N for novice, A for Advanced, X for excellent. So focus on the novice ones for now:
http://www.akc.org/pdfs/events/rally/signs_2012.pdf

On page 165 of this thing you can see the descriptions of the signs (and you should probably read some of the other stuff too at some point):
http://www.akc.org/pdfs/events/rally/Rally_Insert_020612.pdf


You may want to read up on the rules for the more advanced levels because the type/amount of encouragement allowed changes along the way so it may be easier to train for that from the start. it could be hard to change your own behavior and it might confuse the dog too.

I agree, looking on youtube is good, though you'll want to be sure they are doing it right, so watch a few videos of the same signs being performed so you know they are right and make sure they match the description from the handbook.


I know much less about obedience other than they don't allow encouragement like in rally. There are no signs, a person tell you what to do as you go. These things are good for some, not good for others, you'll have to think about what you'd prefer.
Click to expand...
Thanks for all the info! Spy will probably try to sit for the exam lol. He doesn't really like being touched by strangers but will tolerate it, if that makes sense. Do they dock points if it's obvious the dog would rather NOT be touched, even if he isn't shying away or acting aggressive?

MericoX said:
I am in the same boat! I hate shelling out money for classes, but I think I will have to do a beginners rally one and then just train the other 4 dogs myself. LOL. I have a book Click Your Way to Rally Obedience, but have only skimmed through it myself.
Click to expand...
I totally feel your pain :lol-sign: We should train it all together and share ideas! lol.

Finkie_Mom said:
I think it's pretty doable! I trained Kimma on my own for Rally, just using the sign guide to help me out and watching some random Youtube videos. I never even printed out signs - just did the exercises and would string them together randomly haha.

That being said, I think I want to enter her in to an obedience class of some kind anyway (she's only had puppy obedience and agility classes), just because I want her to be more comfortable working in that type of environment. But I may keep going in at least Rally without a class - not sure yet :p
Click to expand...
That is the one thing I think would be a negative for Spy. He had a bad experience in an obedience class a long time ago (ugh, it still makes me so mad...) so sometimes he can get anxious when working in close proximity with other dogs in a class type environment. If it's like agility though and only has one dog in the ring at a time, we should be ok. It will definitely be something that will be hard to work on outside of a class though...

Thanks for all the responses guys!
 
T

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Ok new question... To compete in a CKC event (specifically, rally-o), do I have to be registered with the CKC? As far as I know, they don't register border collies...

*feels stupid*
 
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