Important Information

Standard Requirements

• All puppies must wait two weeks after the final vaccination before attending. A copy of your dog's vaccination certificate is required when joining.
• Please remember to wear your membership badge when training.

Training Times

All classes will be on Saturday mornings at 10:30am, except Agility, which commences at 8:30am. Refer to Club Calendar for dates.

Obedience

Wally

This training is about basic behaviors such as sit, stay, drop, and walking to heel.

All new members will be put through the Introductory class on their first day. This shows them basic training methods and teaches them the rules of the club.

Depending on the age of your puppy/dog, they will then move onto either the Puppies class (for puppies under 6 months of age) or the Beginners 1 class (for puppies/dogs 6 months and over).

We have four classes beyond the Beginners class, each being more advanced than the next. If you are just wanting to teach you dogs some basic obedience or you want to continue on to trial in competitive obedience, we can cater to your needs.

You will need to bring your dog, on a lead and some small treats for training if you wish.

You can train your dog on which ever sort of collar you prefer, or a check chain. The club has an assortment of these, as well as leads for sale in the clubrooms.

Graduation Days

The club holds four Graduation Days during the year, which are held in a trial-like situation. These give you the opportunity to pass up into the next class. Refer to Club Calendar or Upcoming Trials/Events for graduation dates.

Agility

This training is essentially about putting your dog through an obstacle course which may include tunnels, weave poles, tyre jumps, seesaws, and pause tables.

You must first join as a member before attending joining in any classes. To join, come down to normal Obedience classes before an Intake Day at around 10am. Although it is not mandatory, it is recommended that you partake in the Obedience first-timer's class. Once you are a financial member, you can come along to an intake Day. Refer to Club Calendar for Intake Days.

Note that dogs must be at least nine months of age before they can jump.

On the beach. Courtesy unsplash.com
(Oscar Sutton)

There are two distinct programs happening:

1. For people who are already trialling and want to hone their skills by practice a handling skill, running a course, etc.
2. For new-comers or people who have been out of the game for a while

For new-comers we will work through a course (usually 6 weeks) which explains how to master each piece of equipment safely. Learning the correct techniques early in how to get your contact (learn targeting), sending your dog on ahead (toys are ideal for this) and having a steady start are the keys to success. For people who don't want to trial and just want to have fun with their dogs, we will tailor the sessions to suit your needs.

There are a few things you and your dog will need to be able to do to really enjoy the lessons and get the most out of them. You need to leave your dog in the stay position and be able to confidently let them work off the lead. If you can't do these two things successfully, work on them before you give agility a go. You can still come and learn all the pieces of equipment but it wont be as enjoyable for you or your dog.

The only other thing you need to bring are the rewards that you will be using in training such as food, toys, a clicker or a combination of these, a happy disposition and a fixed collar (for safety reasons not a check chain).

Rally Obedience (RallyO)

This is a dog sport that contains the elements of obedience training, but in a more informal and relaxed style.

A rally course includes 10 to 20 stations (depending on the level) with instructions for the handler. Scoring is not as rigorous as traditional obedience.

Communication between handler and dog is encouraged (but not touching) and perfect heel position is not required, but there should be a sense of teamwork between the dog and the handler.

Scent Sports and Disciplines

Endurance training

These are activities that put a dog's love of sniffing to the test.

Tracking

This requires your dog to track a tracklayer's scent over set distances and find articles (socks) left on the route. Initially the tracklayer will be known to your dog, but in later tests, the tracklayer will be unknown to them.

Track and Search

This requires your dog to follow a tracklayer's path in suburbia. Initial tests are similar to Tracking, but the articles used come in various forms (e.g. toy, keys, mobile phone). Later  levels do not use articles, but the path must still be followed. At the highest levels tracking takes place at night and the tracklayer can be picked up and driven for up to 300m!

Scent Work

This is similar to working as a sniffer dog, but your dog is required to locate the odours of birch, anise, clove or cypress. Search areas include boxes, indoors, outdoors, and vehicles. In early tests there is one odour per element. At higher levels there will be more odours and dog food may be used as a diversion!