What is competitive obedience for dogs? Find Out Here

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Some of the best obedience competitors in the world will be gathered in Willmington, Ohio, on July 9 and 10 2022, for the 2022 AKC National Obedience Championship. Just in time for this prestigious event, here’s a newcomer’s guide to the basics of watching an obedience competition — including a breakdown of classes and scoring. Even better, after learning more, you might be inspired to try one of our dog companion sports.

Developed in the 1930s, the sport of obedience is all about fostering dogs that are well-behaved at home, in public, and in the presence of other dogs. During an obedience trial, dogs must demonstrate abilities like walking politely, staying, retrieving, and jumping, all while showing they enjoy working with their handler.

For a dog to compete in an AKC Obedience trial, he or she must be at least 6 months old and have an AKC number via AKC Registration, AKC Canine Partners, the Purebred Alternative Listing program, or the Foundation Stock Service for breeds on the road to full AKC recognition.

There are three main levels, or classes, of competition in Obedience: Novice, Open, and Utility. Dogs start in the Novice class and advance to Open, then Utility as they master the increasingly more difficult skills. There are many optional classes to choose from that provide exercises that are half-steps between these classes. Here’s a brief rundown of the core classes:

  • Novice: Dogs in this class need to demonstrate good companion skills such as coming when called, standing for an examination, staying in both a sit and down position with a group of other dogs, and heeling both on and off-leash.
  • Open: Dogs in this class need to perform all of the exercises off-leash. In addition to some of the exercises performed in Novice, retrieving and jumping exercises are included.
  • Utility: Dogs in this class have added challenges including directed jumping (the dog must jump over a specified hurdle) and scent discrimination (the dog must find and pick up from a pile of dumbbells, referred to as articles, the one dumbbell with the handler’s scent). Other exercises must be performed with the handler giving hand signals only.

    • Each handler/dog team starts a trial with a perfect score of 200; then points are deducted for any errors. For example, if the dog is slightly out of position while heeling, that’s a deduction of points. As dogs are animals with minds of their own, and handlers are only human, obtaining a score over 195 is quite an achievement.

    To receive a qualifying score, a dog needs to earn more than 50 percent of the points for each exercise and have a total score of at least 170 points. To earn titles in the sport, such as the Companion Dog Title at the Novice level, dogs need three qualifying “legs” under at least two different judges.

    Training for obedience trials will strengthen your dog’s manners. And having a well-behaved canine family member means you can enjoy your dog’s company almost anywhere. It will also prevent many problem behaviors, like barking or jumping, by teaching your dog alternative ways to behave. Not to mention all the mental stimulation training can provide. Plus, all that teamwork in the ring will build your bond and give you both a fun activity to share. To get started in obedience, contact a local training club.

    “Clicker training is part of who I am as a trainer. It goes so far beyond using a clicker . . . it goes against my nature to use force or aversive in training my dog. I feel very strongly that we should both enjoy this process or we shouldn’t be doing it!” So grab that clicker, start training, and be part of the next generation of positive competition obedience trainers.

    Additionally, old-time trainers who have been in the sport for many, many years point to the lack of advanced obedience titles in the ranks of positive reinforcement trainers as justification for their training methods.

    • Training equipment: Costs will vary widely, but plan on buying things such as scent discrimination articles (a set of metal ones and a set of leather ones), retrieving dumbbells, ring gating, jumps, and a variety of training props (many made from simple PVC pipes).

    Jones notes other human attributes: “Some people in this sport are extremely controlling and a bit on the Type A side – intense and competitive. Others enjoy just having fun with their dogs and spending social time at trials with friends.”

    “The newest buzzword is ‘balanced’ training, in which trainers use both reinforcement and punishment in their methods. Be very, very careful about accepting this as a reasonable compromise. A few cookies do not cancel out the use of force.”

    If youre a secretary, this section has everything you need to know about running a show or a club.

    If youre a judge, or perhaps youre a competitor who feels ready to start judging, these resources are for you.

    Introduction to competitive heeling and competitive obedience heel work