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Dog Obedience Levels at AthleticDogs.com

Obedience Trial Levels & Classes

Competition obedience is conducted at three levels: novice, open, and utility.

Novice

Novice is the entry level of competitive obedience. The exercises to be mastered here are:

• Heel on Leash and Figure Eights
• Heel Free (off-leash)
• Stand for Examination
• Recall (come on command)
• Long Sit (1 minute)
• Long Down (3 Minutes)

Open

Open is the second level of obedience mastery and includes more complicated exercises. A dog must earn the CD title from the novice class before competing at the Open level. The handler commands the dog using both voice and signal. The exercises in Open are:

• Heel Free and Figure Eight (off-leash)
• Drop On Recall (drop into a down on signal from handler during recall)
• Retrieve On Flat (retrieve an object on command)
• Retrieve Over High Jump
• Broad Jump (twice as long as the dog is tall)
• Long Sit (3 minutes)
• Long Down (5 minutes)

Utility

Utility is the third and highest level of obedience competition. Dogs must earn the CDX title from the Open class before competing in the Utility class. The exercises are significantly more difficult, including identifying the handler’s scent from a pile of articles! The exercises include:

• Signal Exercise (no voice commands)
• Scent Discrimination (finding handler’s scent on an article)
• Directed Retrieve
• Moving Stand and Examination
• Directed Jumping (distance handling)

NOTE: Trial classes are typically labeled as A or B, as in Open B or Novice A. The difference between A and B is typically the experience of the handler. The A classes are reserved for new and first-time handlers who have not achieved a championship title with any dog and for dogs who have not earned that level’s title. The B class is reserved for more experienced handlers and dogs, including trial judges showing their own dogs. Once a dog has earned a title at each level, he or she may compete in the B classes indefinitely for that level.

Check out  products for obedience training at the AthleticDogs.com store!