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Suggestions for changes to
Group Exercises
A -- GROUP STAYS – NOVICE AND OPEN
A-1 CRITERIA TO BE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN GROUP STAYS
A-1-1 DOGS THAT FAIL IN
THE INDIVIDUAL EXERCISES SHOULD BE EXCUSED FROM PARTICIPATING IN THE GROUP
EXERCISES AND DOGS THAT FAIL THE FIRST HALF OF THE GROUP EXERCISES SHOULD BE
EXCUSED FROM PARTICIPATING IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE GROUP EXERCISES.
(AB-M-1)
Rationale:
This would still comply with
section 6.4.1 Dogs Must Compete. Many of the dogs that create issues in the
stays have already demonstrated a lack of training and control. Judges need to
maintain a high standard of performance in the individual exercises and dogs
that do not meet this standard should not move into the group exercises.
A-2 STAYS WOULD BE DONE WHEN EIGHT DOGS HAVE QUALIFIED, OR AT THE END OF
THE CLASS, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST.
(AB-M-1)
A-3 LEASHES
A-3-1 THE DOG SHALL BE
ON A SIX FOOT LEASH AT ALL TIMES DURING THE STAY EXERCISES
(AB-M-1)
Description:
The handler shall leave the
ring by walking towards the centre of the ring until the leash is fully
extended. Without stopping, bending or turning, the handler shall drop the
leash on the ground and continue across the ring (Novice) or out of the ring
(Open).
This would result in all of
the dogs having an extended six-foot leash lying on the floor in front of them.
Handlers would return to their dogs by walking up to their leashes, picking them
up and returning to heel position.
A-3-2
IN THE EVENT THAT THE REQUIREMENT TO REMOVE LEASHES FROM THE DOGS REMAINS IN
EFFECT, THEN LEASHES ARE TO BE
ATTACHED TO DOG’S COLLAR IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE SECOND STAY EXERCISE AND
BEFORE DOGS ARE RELEASED FROM STAY.
(AB-M-2)
A-4-1 THE ORDER OF THE
EXERCISES SHALL VARY, AS INDICATED BY THE JUDGE. THE POSITION WILL REVERSE
DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE STAY.
(AB-M-1)
Rationale:
Handlers will not know
whether they are doing the sit or the down first. This should satisfy concerns
regarding the down always following the sit.
A-4-2
REVERSE THE ORDER OF THE STAYS SO THE DOWN STAY IS PERFORMED FIRST FOLLOWED BY
THE SIT STAY.
(AB-C-2)
A-5 NOVICE DOGS
WILL DO TWO-MINUTE STAYS IN EACH POSITION.
(AB-M-1)
Description:
The handler may praise or pet
the dog when the first half of the exercise is finished.
Novice dogs may be moved (at
heel) out of position between exercises as part of the release but must return
promptly to a sit at heel.
A-6-1
OPEN DOGS WILL DO THREE-MINUTE STAYS IN EACH POSITION, HANDLERS OUT OF SIGHT
(AB-M-1)
Description:
Open dogs may be petted or
praised between exercises, but the dog most not move from the stay position
(sit or down). When the judge gives the commands for the second half of
the stay, the dog must move into the other stay position from the one he/she is
already doing (i.e. down from the sit, or sit from the down)
A-6-2
THE TIME FOR THE LONG SIT SHALL BE 2
MINUTES. THE TIME FOR THE LONG DOWN SHALL BE 3 MINUTES.
(CN-1)
A-7 THE OBEDIENCE
RING MUST HAVE THREE RING STEWARDS (A TABLE STEWARD AND TWO FLOOR STEWARDS)
(AB-M-1)
Description:
Each of the stewards left in
the ring shall be responsible for monitoring half of the dogs in the stays,
the numbers or positions to be designated by the judge.
The stewards shall position
themselves approximately twelve feet from the lineup, midway between the group
of four or less dogs that they are monitoring.
The steward shall draw the
judge’s attention to any signs of unsteadiness in the dogs they are watching.
The judge shall not NQ a dog
on this information. It is intended to assist the judge in monitoring all of the
dogs.
The judge shall
immediately excuse any dog he/she perceives to be exhibiting unsteadiness.
The handler (Novice) or the
Steward (Open) shall calmly pick up the leash and remove the dog from the ring.
Open handlers should be
easily accessible in the event a dog is excused.
The handler will be required
to return and tend to the excused dog, as the steward must return to the ring.
Rationale:
This
would guarantee that there would are two stewards and a judge in the ring during
any stay exercise.
A-8
CLEARLY NUMBERED TRAFFIC CONES OR HOCKEY PYLONS SHOULD BE USED TO MARK
STAY POSITIONS (#1-#8) (AB-M-1)
Description:
Qualifying
dogs would enter the ring one at a time as designated by the ring steward, who
would indicate the exhibitor’s number and their position (i.e. dog #963 to
position #1). The handler and dog would proceed to the appropriate pylon. The
dog would be positioned two feet in front of the pylon, armbands to be placed
behind the handler, to the right of the pylon.
When the
stay is finished, exhibitors would leave the ring in the order in which they
came in, to be designated by a ring steward who should ensure that there is no
congestion at the ring entrance.
Rationale:
This would
avoid re-positioning and shuffling about that often takes place as we line up
for stays.
Traffic
cones or hockey pylons are inexpensive and available from a safety supply
store or Canadian Tire.
A-9 AN HONOUR DOWN STAY AS IS CURRENTLY USED IN NOVICE INTERMEDIATE WOULD
BE SUITABLE IN PLACE OF THE GROUP DOWN STAY.
(AB-D-1)
A-10
THE SELECTION OF THE GROUP STAY EXERCISE IS UP TO THE JUDGE WHO SHALL
CHOOSE ONE OF THE
TWO EXERCISES TO BE PERFORMED AT ANY GIVEN TRIAL
(CN-1)
A-11 THE OPEN GROUP
STAYS ARE TO BE PERFORMED IN THE SAME MANNER WITH THE EXCEPTION THAT AFTER
LEAVING HEIR DOGS, THE HANDLERS SHALL MOVE TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE RING
WHERE THEY SHALL REMAIN STANDING WITH THEIR BACKS TO THE DOGS UNTIL THE REQUIRED
TIME HAS EXPIRED AND THEY
ARE INSTRUCTED BY THE JUDGE TO
RETURN TO THEIR DOGS.
(CN-1)
A-12
MOVING SIT
Description:
The
handler walks forward on the judge’s order, with the dog in heel position, until
ordered by the Judge to sit the dog whereupon the handler, without stopping or
hesitating, signals the dog to sit. The dog shall immediately sit in response
to the handler’s signal and shall remain in the sitting position until the
handler has proceeded at least 40 feet from the dog and has completed at least
one turn in response to the judge’s order, following which, and on order from
the judge, the handler shall signal the dog to return to correct heel position;
the dog to resume heeling at the handler’s side while the handler continues to
walk at a normal pace without pause.
A-12
RECALL OUT OF MOVING SIT FOLLOWED BY STATIONARY DOWN
Description:
Recall out
of Moving Sit
The
Handler commands/signals the dog to heel and walks straight forward
approximately 15’ until ordered by the judge to sit the dog, whereupon the
handler, without stopping of hesitating, signals/commands the dog to sit. The
dog sits in response to the handler’s signal/command and the handler continues
to walk to a point approximately 40’ from the dog, stops and half turns so that
the handler’s left side is facing the dog. Then, on order from the judge, the
handler recalls the dog to front position.
Stationary
Down
Then, on
order from the judge, the handler pivots to heel position and downs the dog. On
further order by the judge, the handler commands or signals the dog to stay and
proceeds without the dog to a point approximately 40’ from the dog where the
handler stops and half turns so that the handler’s right side is facing the
dog. Then, on order from the judge, the handler recalls the dog to front
position. (AB-C-2)
A-13 HANDLER
ASSISTS STEWARD/DOG PERFORMS SIT STAY
Description:
The
dog finishes the broad jump in open. The judge designates a spot in an open
area of the ring for the dog to be left on and sit stay where it can see both
jumps without turning. Judge tells the handler to leave the dog, and the
handler goes to the centre of the ring to greet the steward who is coming out to
set jumps for the next dog. The steward tells the HANDLER the height to set the
high jump. Without looking at the dog, the handler walks to the high jump, sets
it at the new height, then walks over to the broad jump and waits for the
steward to finish setting it.
The handler shakes the hand of the steward and returns to heel position
as the steward is exiting the ring.
Exercise
finished.
A small
change to this suggestion would be:
The
handler shakes hands with the steward and while the steward is exiting the ring,
calls the dog to come to front or to heel. The judge can observe this
from a corner of the ring.
Rationale:
We as
handlers/trainers, have often left our dogs sitting or in a down while we go and
move jumps, pick up articles, or do whatever we need to do when out training.
This scenario is based on the consideration that, for years, we have been told
that obedience exercises should be practical and be based on 'real life'
situations - things that could happen in a regular day while out with ones dog.
A more realistic stay exercise would be better than what exists now. Leaving
the dog to walk out and greet someone and keeping your back to the dog during
some activity would be much more realistic than leaving the dog in a group of
dogs while you disappear.
(AB-C-3)
A-14 OUT OF SIGHT INDIVIDUAL DOWN STAY – 1
Description:
My
suggestion would add an individual exercise for a down-stay with the handler
leaving the ring for 1 minute:
-
The dog would be
told to "Down" (preferred location would be near the centre of the ring rather
than along the ring barrier)
-
The dog would be
told to "Stay" and the handler would leave the ring with one steward, going out
of sight for 1 minute
-
The handler would
return to the dog as is currently done
Exercise
finished
Rationale:
The time
it would take to do the individual Down-Stay - Right now, to judge 8 dogs on
Stays, the following is required:
-
Take jumps down
-
Call
handlers/dogs to ringside
-
Bring the
handlers/dogs in and line up
-
Confirm all dogs
are there with their correct numbers
-
Explain the
exercise and ask "Are you ready?"
-
"Sit/Down your
dogs" "Leave your dogs'
-
Depending on the
distance handlers have to go, the sit can take 4-5 minutes, the down can take 6-7
minutes
-
Once the
exercises are completed, inform exhibitors if they have passed
-
Enter scores in
Judge's Book & Set up jumps to continue the class
I estimate
it takes 15-20 minutes to do a set of Open Stays now (that's 1.8-2.5 minutes per
dog if there are 8 dogs). To do the individual Down-Stay, I estimate it would
take about 1-1/2 minutes per dog. That would allow for another exercise (like
the moving Sit) and the time per individual dog would be basically unchanged,
the exercises would not be a lot more difficult than they are now - and we would
have eliminated the Group Stay Exercises - whoopee!
This
exercise would still test the dog's ability to behave when left alone without a
handler present. However, it would remove the 'hazards' of leaving the dog in
the presence of other unleashed and potentially uncontrolled dogs. Who among us
would willingly leave our dogs in such a situation except where it is required
in the obedience ring!
From AB-C-4
Most of the ideas seem to be for new
exercises in open and we really need some for Novice too if we are proposing to
remove group exercises altogether.
Both of these could be done as part of the individual exercises, hence - no
group exercise.
1. Dog is left on a down-stay in one corner of the ring 'kitty-corner' to the
judges table. The handler would leave and walk along that side of the ring to
the next corner where she would stand with her back to the dog. A steward would
walk quickly over to the handler, calling out to the handler cheerfully (shake
hands?) and have a conversation. The time away from the dog would be 1 minute.
Handler returns around the dog to heel position. Exercise finished.
2. Dog is left on a sit-stay in the corner of the ring opposite the ring exit.
The handler leaves the dog and walks over to the judge's table to receive the
leash from a ring steward. Handler returns and stops in front of the dog to snap
the leash on, then walks around the dog to heel position. Exercise finished.
Practical
enough? Hopefully these would impress spectators who might decide to teach
their own dogs to be better behaved when someone comes visiting or while they
put the leash on.
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the above suggestions!
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