The A.K.C. dog obedience trials started in 1936. This sport is designed to demonstrate a dog's usefulness as a companion to humankind. The sport involves all the usual rules and regulations common with dog shows. Judges determine how closely the dog matches a perfect execution of commands and exercises for points and prizes.
Below is a brief listing of the more common obedience titles.
Unlike Conformation Shows, dogs which may not have desireable breeding traits or not considered to be "Show Dogs" can still compete. Dogs must be registered with the A.K.C. to be eligible.
There are begginer, intermediate and advanced obedience titles you and your dog can earn.
Novice Class CD Title
The CD (Companion Dog) title is the first title in dog obedience your dog can obtain.
Novice Class exercises include: Heeling on a leash and a Fiqure 8, Stand for Exam., Heel Free (off-leash), Recall and Group Exercises.
CDX Open Class Title
The second obedience title is a CDX (Companion Dog Excellent).
In addition to the Novice Class above Open Class exercises include: Drop on Recall, Retrieve on Flat, Retrieve over High Jump, Broad Jump and Group Exercises.
UD Title
The third obedience title is a UD (Utility Dog). Competitors do not enter this class until they have their CDX title in the "Open Class".
Much more difficult exercises your team must complete include: Signal Exercises, Scent Discrimination (buried handler's articles), Directed Retrieve, Moving Stand (handler moves away from dog) and Directed Jumps (go outs).
UDX Title
To obtain a UDX (Utility Dog Excellent) title, you and your dog must acquire a total of 170 out of 200 points from both the Open B and Utility B Class at a single trial. In addition they must do this a total of 10 times.
Obedience Trial Champion (OTCh) Title
The A.K.C. awards the "Obedience Trial Champion" title to the dog/handler team that defeats a large number of other teams in competition. In addition the team must have won 3 1st place awards in Open Class B and Utility Class B.
Additional Requirements
All the Titles above require a certain number of points that must be earned in order to move to the next level. Dogs that reach the CD and CDX titles alone are to be highly commended.
If you ever get the chance to go to a local Dog Show in your area (which is normally free), make sure you get over to one of the obedience rings to watch these dogs in action firsthand.