Dog days of training

EAST COUNTY — When Barb Davis’s poodle Ringo was young, she wondered if he’d ever settle down.

“We couldn’t contain him as a pup,” she said. “He’d climb over, under, around or through things. He could open his crate. He climbed the fence.”

If he escaped, she’d have to get in her car and open the door to lure him inside; he’d just run away if she pursued him on foot.

But Davis persisted, and Ringo’s training paid off.

“Once he learned, we could let him loose and he’d come back,” she said.

Now, Ringo, who at 14 is going blind because of cataracts, is kept safe largely because he knows and obeys his owner’s commands.

“You can enjoy them more,” Barb Davis says of having a well-trained dog. “They’re a better family member. It’s like having a child that’s out of control. They have to learn. Training creates a bond. The more you do it, the stronger the bond. It gives you both confidence.”

November 22 is the American Kennel Club-sponsored Responsible Dog Ownership Day. Locally, the Sarasota Obedience Training Club will host an event that will feature training and other demonstrations (see sidebar).

“There’s so many things you can do with dogs,” said Davis, who took her other poodle, Cheers, to classes at SOTC and now uses her as a therapy dog once a week at Oak Park School, in Sarasota.

Trouchen Oran, vice president of SOTC, says the AKC event serves to educate owners about the impacts of dog training. Some dogs become great. Others become beloved family members, even if a few behavioral issues remain.

“Most dogs are given up on because people are having trouble training them — potty training, digging, walking on a leash,” Oran said. “We try to educate individuals on how training a dog can prevent you from giving up on a dog. This would keep dogs out of shelters if you would learn to work with your dog so you feel like you’re successful and you and your dog become a team.”

She herself has learned the value of training over the last 40-plus years.

She had a dog, Champ, she thought she’d have to give up because of his aggression toward other dogs and because of his unique skill set: “He was Houdini,” she said. “He could open doors, unlock doors, open and unlock gates. We had to put up 8-foot high fencing and put chicken wire on the windows to keep him from getting out.”

But Oran took him to training at the SOTC, and although Champ, a rescue, wasn’t a perfect dog, he became a good one.

“We knew his limitations,” she said. “You learn your dog’s limits. Some problems you can’t fix, but you can manage.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

TRAINING TRIALS
Obedience
Obedience is a dog sport where accuracy and precision are essential. The owner and her dog execute a series of specific exercises designed to show the dog as a great companion. Owner and dog, working as a team, can compete in novice, open and utility competitions. The obedience trials (competitions) have rules, regulations, judges, placements and prizes.

Rally Obedience
Rally is a sport in which the dog and handler complete a course that includes 10 to 20 stations. The team moves at its own pace and communication is encouraged. A perfect heel position is not required, but there should be a sense of teamwork between the dog and handler. The main objective of rally is to produce dogs that have been trained to behave in the home, in public places, and in the presence of other dogs.

Flyball
Flyball is a team sport in which dogs race the clock and each other to complete the course. A team of four dogs lines up in its own lane facing a course of 51 feet. Each lane has four jumps and a spring-loaded box at the end that ejects the tennis ball. Each dog must cover all the jumps, trigger the box and return to its handler with the tennis ball before the next dog can go, all while another team races beside them. The first team to have all four dogs complete the course successfully wins.

Agility
Agility is a competitive sport in which handlers direct their dogs over a timed obstacle course. Dogs race against the clock as they jump over hurdles and through tires, climb and descend ramps, dart through tunnels, maneuver across see-saws and weave through a line of poles. The goal is to complete the obstacle course in the shortest possible time without any errors.

If you go
Responsible Dog Ownership Day
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 22

Where: Sarasota Obedience Training Club, 7505 County Road 675, Myakka

Details: Dog owners can learn about dog training, including obedience, agility, flyball and rally obedience through demonstrations performed by club members and their dogs.

“We’re going to have beginner dogs doing some of the demonstrations; they aren’t going to be perfect,” SOTC Vice President Trouchen Oran said. “I hope that (encourages people). They’ll think they can do it.”
The AKC Canine Good Citizen test will be available for owners wishing to find out if their dogs are canine good citizens; the cost is $10. Guests also can have their dog’s picture taken with Santa or visit vendor booths.

Cost: Free

Information: SOTCdogtraining.com.