OB330 Obedience Games
Designed for dogs with all of the skills expected of a dog trained through Utility obedience with Obility movement skills from earlier obility classes. Emphasis on balancing speed with control. Sequences in this class will be a longer and more complex and will emphasize a much thinner reinforcement schedule. Short stretches of formal obedience work will also be incorporated.
Course Details
If you like to think of training as a game, then this is the class for you! If you have a busy schedule and are always on the go and finding your obedience training taking a back seat - come play and see how it's possible to fit in little pockets of obedience game training into your day!
This is not a skills class but designed to present many short, fun, and fast paced games for all levels of competition obedience training.
This course will cover games for retrieves, go-outs, pivots, setups, recalls, signals, impulse control and more! Time to throw out the predictability and build a love for the game of obedience! Some games will be "tried and true" and we'll also see what you can come up with too! We’ll lose the formality and build enthusiasm by mixing things up and keeping everybody on their toes and paws! By adding “game training” and less predictability, we build relationship and transfer reinforcement to the act of playing!
With enjoyment comes speed and snappy responses! We will work on building speed going away and coming back - a really pretty picture to see in the ring! The faster your dog wants to come back the quicker their response/retrieve will be. First, we build energy and attitude for the game, and then precision is developed over time. We will work on never showing disappointment and learn to think about what could unintentionally squash momentum or speed. The idea is to not jeopardize speed and enjoyment for accuracy.
By approaching sessions in this manner, you will find it's easier to work on reducing your classic reward schedule. The games and movement refocus both trainer and dog to enjoy the activities and not so much the giving or taking of treats! Dogs may start to prefer engagement or toys over treats with these fast paced games. Your sessions will end with your dog wanting more!!
Teaching Approach
Syllabus
Week 1: Daily Games (chase and race, can you take it, focused food drops, signaling success, glove toss/hold, come on down!)
Week 2: Retrieves, Recalls and Fronts
Week 3: Stimulus Control Games, Stand Games
Week 4: Jumping Games
Week 5: Signal (distance) Games, Mix & Match
Week 6: Go Out Games
Prerequisites & Supplies
Prerequisites: The class will be most beneficial for teams preparing for Novice obedience competition or higher with a willingness to think outside the box and try new things! Most games will have a "beginner" and advanced level.
Concepts from Ob-ility helpful, but not required.
Equipment: Basic set of obedience equipment (minimum 2 jumps, broad jump (can improvise)), some ring gating, cone/pool noodle upright for teaching wraps, small food bowl, retrieve items (toys, dumbbell, gloves (more than 3 ideal)), coffee filters (optional), agility tunnel (optional), mat, large platform or pvc box where dog has room to do tricks/position changes. I use a 3'x3' pvc box for my belgians.
Sample Lecture
For my sample lecture I'm sharing the Game of Fronts lecture! With fronts being a precision behavior, this will show some fun ways to make it more exciting while maintaining clear criteria!
When you are feeling good about your speedy recalls and retrieves, you will want to work on positions for fronts. Some fronts are pretty straight forward in the ring ... Novice recall, Drop on recall. Signal recall and even Directed Jumping as we can pivot as they come in. More challenges on the retrieve exercises as now the dog is multi-tasking with having to hold glove/DB/articles. The broad jump is tricky due to the tight turn, but it helps that we are turning to setup the front position. Another challenging front position is the Retrieve over High Jump exercise as they have to do many things at once, hold, jump, collect and front. I include a video below on how I setup to maximize success on the ROH.
Here are some various tried and true techniques on fronts. These ideas focus on speed, a focal point when getting close, and that center line on your body.
- Moving in place and running backward as your dog comes in.
- Tapping legs on recall - either moving backwards or stationary.
- Food drops in front - quick release of food for up and down your center line.
- Use of your eyes to draw dog in. As I set up, I position my head so that I can see my feet. I then move my gaze up to my dog and do a recall. No head movement please :). I keep eye contact initially and then drop my gaze to my feet as she gets closer. I teach my dogs to meet that gaze.
For the Retrieve over High Jump, set your dog up as far back as you think they need. The line indicated to setup at is only the minimum distance, and you are allowed to setup farther back. I line MYSELF up to be centered with the jump, since dogs tend to jump more centered and this will support a better front position on the return for the dog.
Here's another game I play to help with that center position of my body. I first do lots of reward with my dog in a "squish" position, between my legs facing the same way I am. I did this with Savvy since she was a puppy. It is often her default response when she needs some reassurance or to feel safe. She really likes that position. I then do many thrus towards me and then back the other way. Here is some raw training footage of both Savvy who's pretty seasoned with this and the first time playing with Drac on this.
Instructor
Julie Symons
Faculty
Julie Symons (she/her) has been involved in dog sports for over 30 years. Starting with her mix, Dreyfus, in flyball, she went on to train and compete in conformation, agility, obedience, herding and tracking with her first Belgian tervuren, Rival. Rival was the first CH OTCH MACH Belgian...