Training for Obedience Dog Shows

[Bantamlover23]

Well after I am done with this semester in college I would like to get back into getting my 3 yr old pembroke welsh corgi back into obedience so in time I can take her to trials. The biggest problem I have now is I cannot train her with food treats because she had to have bladdar stones removed in January and the vet said the only type of food she is allowed to have is her prescribed dog food ($30.00 for a 10lb. bag. GRRR!!!) but she is worth it. The question I have is there anyone on BYC who is training or has trained for obedience competitions and could give me some suggestions. I know I could find a facility in my area but I really do not want to spend the money.

My Corgis has a good sit, down, we are working on stays, no stand for exam, and we are working with the off leash stuff.

Thank you for any advice

 

[warmfuzzies]

Well, i have never trained for competition, but I have a few ideas. Could you ration out her food and then give it to her piece by piece, while you are training so she is still earning food rewards? I do that a lot, they seem to like it just as well as treats/

Also, I have trained without treats at all, I really like the book GunDog, and all the books by him. I dont remember his name.

But, it is hard to get that precision that is required for Obedience without treats.

 

[Bantamlover23]

I have about rationing out her food. But she gets very little (1/4c 2 times day) And she is a corgi and likes her food alot. I also was thinking about using some of fav. small toys as rewards. Here is a picture of "Mini Me" it is not great but I should really be doing homework.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

I learned a ton by going to the sanctioned matches and just watching. I saw in a HURRY how much more perfection was demanded in the ring than what I had been asking for at home. The next thing that helped a ton was having someone tape us as we went through our routine. I saw a bunch of sloppy sits and stays and stops that felt good from my end of the leash until I saw the reality on the screen.

Oh, and I always rewarded with my voice, not food. Food rewards set the dog up to be easily distracted by the people ringside because they often have food and drinks as they watch.

Good luck with this!

Rusty

 

[scrambledmess]

This is my absolute favorite dog forum. There are many professional trainers on this forum who give wonderful advice freely and without judgement. They may have suggestions on treats or can perhaps direct you to something different. I think there are a few there who use clickers or toys for treats.

http://familydog.yuku.com/directory

 

[Skyesrocket]

I had a very good trainer here in Ohio. She was also an AKC obedience judge. In her classes we were never permitted to use food as a treat.
She wanted our dogs to work to please the owners. We gave them lots of praise for good behavior.
I took 2 dogs, different years, through her basic and obedience classes and found she was right about not using treats. The dogs obeyed more consistantly for praise than treats.
One day I was sitting on the potty when I heard my front screen door open when one of the dogs got up on it to look outside. From the bathroom I gave them the down stay command and found both of them in a down stay in front of the open door when I came out. For me, that was worth the time I spent training them.
Good Luck with your dog. Obedience classes can be a lot of fun.

 

[Tala]

Use marker or clicker training. You can use words or a clicker for the reward. Use her special kibbles to train that the marker = treat, then just go with the praise after she catches on.

I know people who like to use a big happy "YES!" instead of a clicker, on the basis that they always have their voice handy. My dog was scared/confused by the clicker, so I use voice too, but other dogs do great with clickers.

If your dog is ball crazy, it's pretty easy to reward with a toss of a ball. My dog thinks balls are boring, so I'm not so lucky. I know of drug dogs that were chosen to begin training because of how much they loved the ball so that they would be easy to reward.

 

[username taken]

I have trained with either a clicker or a ball/squeaky toy. I like the ball/squeaky toy method for hyper dogs - buy a new toy or even several until you find one they go crazy over, let them play with it a day or so, that way they recognise it, and then make sure they ONLY get it as a reward, along with voice praise.

The thing about clicker training that most people dont understand ... you dont have to buy a clicker device. Just make the click noise with your mouth.

 

[greyhorsewoman]

Good luck ~~ definitely a 'cute corgi' there !~~

When I first started training (many moons ago), treats were a big no-no ! ~~ How times have changed. Positive reinforcement with voice praise and petting were all that was required. It still can work.

Short sessions, ending with on a positive note (playing with a favorite toy) can be just as effective as treats.

Check out the rules/regulations for the new Rally titles, it is not so strict as the CD competition and a good place to start.

 

[Bantamlover23]

Thank yu everyone for the replies I really love this corgi and she is way too smart for her own good but the time with is worth it. I have always liked training without treats becasue you do not always have a treat with you. I used to work for a dog boarding/training kennel and treats were what was used and most a lot of the time if you did not have a treat the dogs did not listen.