Obedience Trials

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Obedience training can be the tricks and commands you teach your dog in your home. Obedience trials are a popular sport with dogs competing on the regional and national levels. Obedience training is the building block for all other dog activities and sports. It requires a symbiotic relationship between dog and handler and tests how well the dog understands and responds to the handlers commands. The backbone of obedience training are the basic commands: come, sit, down, stay, and heel. The training continues with long down, long sit, heel on and off leash, figure eight and more.

<b>Obedience Trials</b>

Obedience trials are an organized sport in the U.S. They are overseen by the AKC, UKC and the American Mixes Breed Obedience Registration. The AKC and UKC both offer obedience titles, but dogs must be purebred to participate in obedience trials sponsored by either club. Dogs are judged on their ability to follow commands and their skill in scent discrimination and directed jumping.

The derivative of obedience trials are rally obedience. It is designed to shake up obedience a bit, using a more relaxed judging style and changing obedience courses. It is currently overseen by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), which allows dogs of any breed or breed mix to participate. The AKC also offers rally obedience trials.

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