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KEEPING THOSE PRECIOUS OBEDIENCE POINTS If you are one of those average obedience exhibitors who does not always get the 199 score, this article is for you! Please read on. Keeping points in the obedience ring is the name of the game. Now that the AKC requires judges to only deduct points from the total score of 200, keeping points is what you want to do. Let’s explore how to only let the dog loose points, not the handler! First, sort your training techniques from your show techniques. For instance, as a judge, I see many people tapping the top of their dogs head in the obedience ring as a start of heeling. I recognize it as a method of calling their dog’s attention, but this is a training technique, not a show technique. As I smile at them while announcing the start of the heeling exercise, I am deducting 1 point for each tap on the head. This is a correction, a handler error, and goes under the miscellaneous section of points off. While we are at that section, this is the area that you loose points on in-between exercises. Things like using the collar to pull up on a dog to get them to sit. Things like walking out of the open ring with your hand on the dog’s collar. It just kills me to see people loosing points this way, when the only thing they need to do is keep their hands off the dog! But, I am bound by the AKC rules to take the deduction, and so I do. Other common errors that loose precious points are looking down at the dog to have them sit, moving your head and shoulders to call the dog on a recall, and keeping your hand rested on the dog’s shoulders when telling it to stay on the stand. All of these type of handler errors will cost you 3 points. Gosh, that is a hard way to mess up what could be a half-way decent score! While we are discussing hands, the rules say that your hands must hang naturally at your side when the dog comes in on the recall. This is another common error that a nervous handler makes by grabbing their pant legs for dear life when the dog is coming in! And nerves!!! Well, I am here with the best of you when showing a new dog, but it is something that we have to control, as it makes us do weird things that just mess up our dogs performance. We walk slower, our voice is not the same tone as in training, and the poor dog is saying, eeekkkk! I am getting away from Mom, there is something drastically wrong with her! So the dog lags, sniffs, and does anything it can to avoid you. For great reading on this subject try Fear No More: Competing with Confidence by Barbara Cecil and Gerianne Darnell, which can be obtained through www.dogwise.com It is wonderful reading on how to conquer those show nerves. Good Luck with keeping those points! And, as always, comments and suggestions are welcome! |
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