Everyone wants to believe their dog is special. It's natural to brag on your pet, but you may find that neighbors and friends are avoiding you. It's best if we share our enthusiasm with others of similar interests. Dog training is like a big club.
If you plan on breeding your pet, having some blue ribbons shows your dog to be "superior" to the standard run-of-the-mill dog. In the show ring, your dog is your partner. As a hobby, you'll find you spend more time with your pet, and he'll love the extra attention.
Personally, I find obedience trials more fun than dog shows. In dog shows, judging is performed based mainly on looks, while obedience training shows an above-average intelligence, and a degree of skill in both partners. When picking a new pet, look for these qualifications. They are more likely to be intelligent, active, easily trained pets.
Pedigree registration papers aren't needed in obedience trials, but the rules state the dog must look like a recognizable breed. This eliminates many mix breeds, but does give other owners a chance to compete. In my case, Lucky is obviously a Cocker Spaniel, because we rescued him from the pound. He doesn't have registration papers, but could still compete.
Check with local dog clubs. They will usually have notices of events. Attend a couple trials to become better aquatinted with actual competition.
Pick a good trainer, preferably one who shows their own dogs in the trials. I took my English to a local trainer, Bobby Anderson (Eugene OR), because she loved to train this breed. Once in her class, I learned they were geared towards competition training. Although Winston was too wild for competition, I am still considering training another dog for competition. It can be challenging, and lots of fun.
Competition is broken into 3 levels. To pass each level, the entrant attends several competitions, gaining points for each event successfully completed. An certificate is presented for successfully completing each level of competition. Depending on weather, trials are sometimes held indoors. Many owners prefer indoor events because there are fewer distractions.
Unlike most other competitions, you dog is competing against a standard, rather than against other dogs. Locally, Shelties seem to be the favorite dog, but all breeds can be found on the floor. Each breed has their special abilities. If he shows he can successfully perform the required tasks, he is passed. If he doesn't pass, there's always another show in a few days or weeks.
The first level of competition is basic obedience, and all breeds can do equally well. The dog is placed in a sit by his owner's feet, off-leash. The owner steps off, turning right, and walks around the edge of the "ring" until reaching the far side, facing back towards his original position. The dog will follow his lead, staying on the left heel, sitting by his master's leg on the far mat.
The judge signals the owners. The dog is placed on a stay, and the owner walks back to the starting position. It's tense as a minute passes, hoping each pet will remain sitting in his stay position. Laying down or moving from his position can disqualify him from today's competition.
On signal from the judge, the dogs are motioned back to his owner's side, where he again assumes the sit position. All commands are done through motion and hand signals, and not a word is spoken.
It's fun to watch a dozen dogs and owners, all acting as one. Sometimes one dog will move from the sit/stay and it starts a chain reaction, or a distraction might cause several dogs to turn and look. In one case, the judging was repeated when a kid rode his bike through a judging event, just behind the dogs. It's a good thing he was quick on that bike. There were 10 angry owners who wanted to lynch him.
This event is at the level of training claimed by most schools, the ability to control your pet, even off-leash. If your pet can pass this test, he's shown he is capable of performing well, and is usually an extremely trustworthy pet.
These levels require different skills, and some of these skills contradict previously learned behaviors. I'm not familiar with these events, because I concentrated on Level 1 when considering Winston for competition.
Level 2 is a basic obstacle course. Each dog is run through the course by itself, but each entry only requires a short time to complete his task. This competition reminds me of a steeple chase.
The owner runs beside the obstacles, while the dog remains parallel, jumping and climbing through the course. Hurdles are adjusted for the dog's size, but it requires a fairly energetic dog. German Shepherds and various breeds of herding dogs seem to do exceptionally well in this trial. English Cockers also do quite well, but I see no reason a healthy American shouldn't be able to perform these tasks. After all, they are quite capable of jumping up on beds, so a 18" hurdle shouldn't be a problem.
Level 3 is centered around other qualities, including scent. In this event, the ECS is especially well adapted. One event calls for an owner to handle a wooden dumb bell and place it among others in the ring. When the dog returns to the ring, he's expected to pick out the proper scent. I believe this event also calls for other retrieving tricks, but I didn't get a good look at what qualities were involved here.
While level 1 might have 30 applicants on a given day, level 3 might only have 3 or 4. Despite the relatively few participants, this event requires a great deal of time, when compared to the fast paced competitions of level 1 and 2.
Upon completion of each level, a certificate is awarded. As I recall, completion of the final level allows the dog to be registered as a champion and notation is made in his registry. These notations will show as a note beside the dog's name when pulling information from registry offices such as the AKC.