# Training Plan Help for beginner



## luv2bnc (Jun 7, 2010)

Hi all,
I have been wanting to get into obedience trials for some time now, and now that I am no longer working, I can pursue it! I have a 2 1/2 year old golden boy who I would really like to work with, but I don't have a good instructor close enough to do a weekly class with. Is there any type of training plan that you can recommend to me to try and work with him from home? Any advice to get started? Thank you! 

Btw, I go to shows regularly (He's a conformation dog) and have watched the trials and know how they work, I just don't know how to go about actual training. Thank you for any help!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

*Heeling* - on leash and off leash. When you are at dog shows, find time to do a little bit of heeling practice on the side. It's very important to train AWAY FROM HOME. Which you fortunately won't have a problem since he's already a show dog and used to the noise level. The difficulty you will have (based on what I've experienced playing in both areas) is bringing his focus in to you and keeping him in tight heel position. Conformation - they learn to gait separate from you and there is minimal connection with you the handler. 

A big issue which I think a lot of people have is working on their own body language. They are all hands and leash. For heeling on leash, the hand can be in a natural position at the hip, but it has to stay there without any luring. For heeling off leash, your hand has to be down or up over your stomach (for big dogs, best to keep the hand up over your stomach and out of the dogs way). Other thing is the right hand has to be down and relaxed at your side. A lot of people get into the habit of holding both hands in front of themselves - and that's incorrect. 

Other thing is lots of doodle training around the house - teaching instant sits when you stop. Teaching pivots. Teaching scoot sits (you taking a step forward and stopping). Teaching scoot fronts. 

*Stays* - Sits/downs - see if you can do drop in classes from time to time to test him in a line up. Something we did too when we were minus an instructor ages ago was meeting up with friends at tennis courts or places like that to practice figure 8's with people + stays in a line up (four feet between dogs). 

*Fronts* - best way to teach fronts is starting from a short distance and building it up as the dog is successful. Put a treat in your mouth and keep your hands at your sides. When the dog comes in, he should be looking up at your face and tucking into a straight centered sit each time. <- Only time this is a problem is with small dogs who sit further away so they can see their owner's face. 

*Finishes* - break it down to steps with a treat in each hand. Dog is rewarded straight back behind you and rewarded again as he comes up in heel position. As the dog is successful, you wean off the treat behind you and only reward when the dog comes up in heel position.


**** If you can get in touch with obedience people in your area and set up monthly privates - that should help you a ton. There's a lot of handling rules - what you can do or not - which somebody watching you while they put you through a run will be able to pick out.

Good examples- with me my bad habit is twisting my left shoulder all the way back while heeling (it's terrible, I know I do it, but generally it takes my teachers to remind me to fix that shoulder). Other things I do is watching my dog come up in heel position - that turning of the head can be seen as "guiding" and get marked by the judge. And there's little things like the stands - you can't back away, you should only go 6 feet (3 steps) away, and leave heel position and return to heel position. And today too, just found out that the way I left my Bertie in a down stay is not allowed anymore in the obedience ring - the dogs have to be "straight" as opposed to being front or rear in the space of the dog next to him.


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## luv2bnc (Jun 7, 2010)

Thank you so much for the suggestions. Will definitely be working on these! I agree with you that it's going to be a little difficult to get him close to me in heel position. He isn't used to looking at me while walking. That is what I have been trying to work on lately. It seems like he is starting get it a little though. 

A couple other questions...
How often and how long should I be doing formal training? Other than just around the house? 
Should I be practicing one behavior at a time with him, or a few during each session? 

Any suggestions for books or training methods for reference? Thanks a bunch!


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

I would suggest early on reading through the AKC rules for obedience competition akc.org/pdf/rulebooks/RO2999.pdf so you understand exactly what's required in each of the exercises and how they're judged. I was surprised in my competition obedience class that some people had never done this.

While you can do a lot on your own using books, you tube videos, online courses etc., I think you really need some training with other dogs to proof for distractions and practice the group stays.

eta: I like _Competition Obedience, A Balancing Act_ by Byron & Yunck. It's pretty thorough and easy to follow. It will give you suggestions on how to train each exercise.


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## luv2bnc (Jun 7, 2010)

Thank you for the advice. I will go through the rules.  and I will look up that title. I have the book "Beyond Basic Dog Training" which goes through the excercises also. I think this is similar though it might be a different method. Has anyone heard of this book? If so, is it a good resource? 

Also, I was wondering about training collars. I don't like using the choke chain type. They destroy the coat on the neck. Should I be using strictly buckle collar? Or is a prong needed at times?


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

luv2bnc said:


> Also, I was wondering about training collars. I don't like using the choke chain type. They destroy the coat on the neck. Should I be using strictly buckle collar? Or is a prong needed at times?


I use a choke chain when doing obedience training with Bertie... and my Jacks. I don't think it really damages the coat necessarily.... unless heavy use? I haven't seen it with my dogs. I think the chains would have to be on the dogs for prolonged use (people having them on for walks, etc). 

Martingale collars are another option. I've never used one, but seems a lot of people do use them. 

Buckle collars - I trained Bertie with a buckle collar for the first 8-9 months. Upgraded to a choke chain when it became more necessary for control and precision purposes.

Prongs are a good tool if you need them. If your dog is a puller or goes mule-headed out there about distractions, etc.... you may need to train with a prong. You can't use a prong in the ring though. And there may be rules about training a dog with a prong at a show, even if you are not entered in the obedience ring. 

**** I think primarily the dogs need to differentiate between regular walking around, conformation ring, or obedience ring. Different collars that are only used for X purposes help. 

@Training times - I train when I have time every day of the week. I have classes 3 days a week so that helps, but when there isn't classes - I generally do something in the evening with both dogs. Doesn't have to be long, doesn't have to be everything. 10-20 minutes is normal if just training on my own + the dogs do stays before their dinner every evening.

You can browse on Youtube - lots of people post videos that help a ton if you are looking for ideas as far as what your dog can do, what you want to see from your dog, as well as getting an idea as far as patterns to practice with heeling (with or without your dog), etc... 

* Totally second Adele's books, and not just because I take classes from her....


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I love online training courses - you submit video and the instructors critique and offer all kinds of advise  and praise ! They have the ability to review each video several times as needed before responding to best help you attain your goals.

I use flat collars for all training and usually do not have a leash attached unless I am in public working for distraction training. Prongs can be very useful for tweaking heeling if you want to use them - there are also 'fur saving' correction collars that I used back in the 80's for my golden - I think they are still sold - they have long rectangular links rather than the more standard chain links and do a nice job of protecting the fur.

I think you need to decide on how much correction you are willing to use, how much reward based training you are comfortable with and if you will be using a combination (and in what type of ratio). The instructors and facilities that you will gravitate towards will be a better fit if you know ahead of time how you'd like to train.

I train in short bursts during the work week and use more extended times during the weekend. If your dog is comfortable at show sites that would be an excellent place to work him a time or 2 a month, some hardware store and Pet Store let dogs inside, grocery stores, malls, movie theaters, parks, schools etc are all helpful for working outside, downtowns, airports - even outside of dog parks can be a wonderful training area for evening and weekend sessions. I have a skateboard park and a Truck Stop within easy commuting distance and these are great places for noise, running kids, enticing smells etc Even moving to a different section of your yard can be a new experience for your dog - they do not generalize well.

I should note that while I used to train for perfection I had only 1 dog then in 1 sport  Now I like scores in the 190s (don't always get there) and do multiple sports with 4 dogs, so perfection is no longer a priority - if you want/need perfection find a trainer within say 3 hours of you who you can work with and whose style you admire. There is at least one member on this forum who travels pretty impressive distances for one-on-one training sessions.

ETA: There is a section here with Competition Training logs that some of us record what we are working on, where we went, how long we took, problems and successes. This section represents a wide variety in training styles and goals and could be an interesting starting point for you 

ETA : Fur Saver collars are still available - here is a link http://www.kvsupply.com/fur-saver-choke-heavy-4.0-mm-link/&gclid=CIW6ufby57wCFTBk7AodHAQAtA


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## KeaColorado (Jan 2, 2013)

Check out Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - Home 

Highly recommended by our current private trainer, who is fantastic. Her opinion holds a lot of weight for me. 

I'm also curious to hear of other online resources for training. We do private lessons, but they get expensive, so I can't afford to do them as much as I'd like.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

A few of my favorites:

Agility-U.com (Home - agility-u.com) is agility & puppy basics with some really wonderful foundation classes

Fenzi Dog Sports Academy (Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - Home) has great foundation, obedience, rally, IPO, tracking, nosework, behavioral course

Susan Garrett's Say Yes (pricey but the classes can be extended) has very good shaping, theory, competitive planning & mental management plus puppy, agility and foundation. There are several links to the various schools but here is a blog link say yes dog training | Susan Garrett's Dog Training Blog

DaisyPeel focuses on agility, mental management and physical fitness for both human and canine http://classroom.daisypeel.com/

The above classes use Positive Training techniques

I have tried a few other classes but they tend to start at the competition level so I will not list them.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

duplicate post ....


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## timberdoodle (Mar 6, 2013)

TheZ's said:


> I would suggest early on reading through the AKC rules for obedience competition akc.org/pdf/rulebooks/RO2999.pdf so you understand exactly what's required in each of the exercises and how they're judged. .


Thank you for this. Excellent advice. Looks like I have some reading material for the next couple evenings


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## luv2bnc (Jun 7, 2010)

Sunrise said:


> ETA : Fur Saver collars are still available - here is a link Fur Saver Choke - Heavy (4.0 mm link) | KV Supply



Thank you! I will have to try one of these. I know that the regular chain isn't supposed to pull hair out, but I am a little paranoid about it because my mom's golden wore one and he got a big hole on the side of his neck where the chain was breaking the hair. He wasn't a show dog, but my boy now is, and I don't want any holes in his coat


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

I wouldn't mess with the fur saver collars. They are big and clunky and don't really deliver an effective "correction" so why bother. I train with either a buckle or a pinch collar. 
Go to any obedience trial in your area, watch and see who you like in the ring, and ask them where they train.


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## luv2bnc (Jun 7, 2010)

KeaColorado said:


> Check out Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - Home
> 
> What a great site! I might save up and try to complete a few of their courses there! Have you taken a course personally from there?


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Denise Fenzi is an ideal resource. She has an online school, and a series of books emerging.

Denise Fenzi | a professional dog trainer specializing in relationship-building in competitive dog sport teams

Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - Home

Edited: I answered just the OP, and I am so excited to see all the pro Fenzi advice. I love her philosophy- training with affection and respect. She is able to compete at high levels reward-based, kind methods.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I have taken many courses and hope to continue  I have dropped to the auditing level (bronze??) since they are normally $65 for 6 weeks of course work and I think 6 months of availability to lectures - extendable by continuing to take classes and/or I think she has a campus style option as well 



luv2bnc said:


> KeaColorado said:
> 
> 
> > Check out Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - Home
> ...


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