What is so great about a Companion Dog qualification? Excellent or otherwise? Well..............

Companion Dog (CD) is a trial which tests the relationship between the dog and handler. It puts their ability to work together to the test. All of the exercises are carried out among the people, not in a ring. Everything is subject to distractions and the dogs must be able to work in spite of the people and dogs passing by or standing around. The dog and handler must solve their own problem if any of the spectators or other dogs enter the "working space". Heelwork is done among people, weaving around and through surrounding spectators. There are no demarcating barriers to stop anyone from crossing a send-away dog's path. If the dumbbell falls near some spectators, the dog must not hesitate, but go straight to the dumbbell, fetch it and return immediately to its handler. The stay exercise is also done among the people. The dogs are left in a position selected by the judge and people are allowed to walk past and around the dogs as they wish. The dogs have to stay in spite of whatever distraction arises. The judg and steward stay with the dogs to ensure the situation remains safe for the staing dogs.

This trial is very popular among the Border Collie owners, as it is an all-encompassing event. It consists of three arts: The Control; Agility and Nosework.

CONTROL:

The dogs must heel on and off lead, remaining next to the handler and walking in a happy and controlled manner. The exercise takes part among the spectators and often leads past the outdoor (or, if it rains, the indoor) kitchen, the rings where other dogs are working and generally anywhere on the showgrounds that the judge deems necessary. They will do normal, slow and fast pace as well as turns at the halt.

Theire is also a retrieve on the flat, with the dog fetching the handler's dumbbell.

The dog must do a 20m send-away to no marker and recall from the send-away to the handler's front. A seperate recall is also required. The final control exercise is a 10 minute handler out of sight down stay.

AGILITY:

The agility consists of a 160cm A-Frame, a 140cm long jump and a 70 cm clear jump. The dog has to go over each jump and maintain a stationary position on the other side, until the handler joins him. Each jump is done in the handler's own time.

Nosework:

The nosework consists of a search in a 15m square. The judge provides an article approximately the size of a small matchbox, which the handler is allowed to hold for one minute before it is placed in the square in a place which is hidden from both the handler and dog. The handler sends the dog into the square to search for the article and the dog has three minutes in which to find it and bring it to his handler.

In order to qualify the dog must achieve at least 70% in each section, with an overal minimum qualificaton of 80%. A mark of 90% or more is classified "excellent" . Behr achieved 97 1/2 % with his nearest rival getting 86%

Most entries in this discipline are Border Collies, because it can take all day to complete. The entries are usually big and each section is completed by every dog before starting the next section. On the day Behr achieved his remarkable qualification, his friend, Euro (Pyrennean Sheepdog)also competed and also gained a qualifying mark. The remainder of the entries were Border Collies.

There is a lot of spectator participation, as people enjoy watching the dogs working. Behr thrives on this as he is an exhibitionist and loves to show off. If anyone laughs or claps, he is hugely encouraged and his desire to produce that behaviour increases and he puts more effort in to the next exercise, hoping for greater applause than ever. He loves to be the center of attention. Strangely, he is also very shy, but the temptation to elicit encouragenment from his adoring public overrides the desire to rather "be alone"!!!! He enjoyed the show and I am sure will be waiting eagerly to have another go at it!

We hope you enjoy the pictures recording the events of the day. I think the A-frame pretty much depicts his personality as well as any picture ever could. He did not get a good run up, so he struggled a little to get over, but there was no way he was going to quit. He hauled his little brown, Berner Butt over that apex of the A Frame and carefully picked his way down, lying down spontaneously on the other side. Then he looked at me as if to say: "Whew, I think we shoud re-negotiate that diet some time!!!!!!!!!!" But in spite of having to put in the extra effort, he did not give up!