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Friends in my non-dog life keep asking me what it is I'm so worked up about these days. Utility Dog? What the heck is that?
Well.
AKC obedience titles are based on three sets of exercises, Novice, Open and Utility, Utility being the most difficult. In a nutshell, at the April shows at Cal Expo, Spur and I will enter the ring, and in about ten minutes we'll go through five exercises. If we complete them successfully on three different days, we'll have a new title. Utility Dog!
But the exercises are difficult. At the A level - dogs who don't already hold a UD, Utility Dog, title - it's routine to see only one or two dogs pass in a class of 20 or more. Uh oh!
What's so tough? Here are the five exercises:
1. Signals. Spur will heel with me on hand signals only, sitting any time the judge tells me to stop. Until I'm instructed to give him a hand signal to stand. Then I'll walk to the other side...
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