Anyone observing an obedience trial can see right away that the difference between competitive dog obedience and pet obedience is enormous. Competitive Obedience is very precise and the dog must demonstrate enjoyment of its tasks by performing its tasks briskly and very willingly. On the other hand, an owner of a pet dog is just happy if his or her dog will even come on command, even if at a walk. In competitive obedience, even a slightly crooked sit will cause a handler-dog team lose at least half a point, starting with 200 points. In each level of competitive obedience, certain responses, like anticipation can result in a non-qualifying score. A dog’s non-action after being given a command, and requiring a second command also results in a non-qualifying score.

In by far the majority of obedience competitions, the highest score achieved during the whole competition for that day’s trial wins an award called High In Trial. It is the competitive obedience version of Best In Show. A second award called High Combined is awarded to the handler-dog team that earns the most points in both Open B and Utility B classes. Often, the same dog that wins High In Trial, also wins High Combined, but not always.

Competitive Dog Obedience is basically broken down into three levels: Novice, Open, and Utility. In Novice, the dog-handler team enters the ring and performs a heeling pattern dictated by the judge, then a go off the leash and stand for exam. After that, the novice dog heels off lead in the same heeling pattern as on the leash. After that, the handler is asked to call his or her dog, an exercise known as the recall. After the recall, the handler-dog team has completed the main part of the exercise. After that, the entire class returns for sit stay and down stay with the handler present.

In Open obedience, the dog is expected to perform all its exercises off the leash including the figure eight around two people or posts. A recall exercise called drop on recall is performed. In the middle of a recall, the dog must drop to a sphinx-type lie down position, then finish the recall on judge’s direction. The dog is next asked to retrieve an object called a dumbbell on the flat and over a board jump. After the retrieve over the high jump, the dog is recalled over a broad jump. After that, the individual portion of the exercises have been completed. After that, the class, or if the entry is high, a portion of the Open class returns to the ring for the out of sight stays. This is a real test of the dog’s real obedience and resolve.

Utility Obedience is by far the most difficult of the levels. It is the only one of the three basic levels of competitive obedience in which there are no stay exercises. In Utility, a dog must be able to sniff out metal and leather objects and return with the one that has its handler’s scent on it. The dog will do this two times, one to return a metal scented article to the handler, the second is to retrieve the leather, or article made of any allowed material. The dog performs a heeling pattern, then a signal exercise on judge’s direction, whereby, the handler gives the dog a signal but no voice command to remain standing in a stay. The handler walks about forty feet away, turns around, and gives the dog a hand and arm signal to lie down, then sit, then come, again, on judges direction. A stand for exam is performed, where the handler, again walks away from the dog and the judge goes over the dog in a physical examination that includes running the hands down the legs. With a signal from the judge, the handler calls the dog back, but the dog is not to finish in front of the handler in the usual way, but must heel to the side or behind the handler to complete the exercise. In the forced retrieve exercise in utility, the ring steward places three gloves across one width of the ring, and the judge designates which glove the dog is to retrieve. The handler gives a brief marking signal to the dog toward the designated glove, and the dog is expected to retrieve the glove and return it to the handler with a perfect, straight sit on finish. The last exercise is called directed jumping, and it is the exercise in which a lot of dogs fail in even if it has made it to that point with a qualifying score.

On the judge’s signal, the dog is commanded to “go out.” This means the dog goes to the opposite side of the ring from the handler then turns around and sits. To the side of the handler, and in front of the dog on each side of the ring is one high jump made of solid wood, and a bar jump both at the appropriate height for the dog set at shoulder height. The judge will then say which jump he or she wants the handler to call the dog over with an arm signal and voice command, and the dog is expected to be paying enough attention to the arm signal to jump the desired jump. This exercise is repeated for whichever jump the judge did not send the dog over during the first time to perform that exercise. After all that is completed, the judge informs the handler whether he or she and his or her dog received a qualifying score or not.

Competitive Obedience is a very demanding, thrilling and disappointing, depending on how your dog does. It requires hours of training and refresher training, especially at the higher levels where the handler would want to have his or her dog performing in a crisp, quick, accurate manner in both Open and Utility. There is a lot of personal prestige in having a dog that is the one to beat, especially on an ongoing basis. Competitive Obedience is dominated by female handlers, with a good 97% of the handlers being women. Even if you only make it to eight to ten obedience trials like I do, it is easy to really rack up the miles on your vehicle. That is true, even if you stay within at least a two-state area.

Most people do not realize the huge difference between the kind of obedience they’ve taught their dog to merely be a good citizen and come when called and not jump up on people and the responses that are expected from a dog trained in competitive dog obedience at all levels.