"This is not a situation for a child of Harry Howard, though she kneltin the presence, and before the throne, of her sovereign. Behold, mydear Cecilia, the natural consequences of this rebellion! It scattersdiscord in their ranks; and, by its damnable leveling principles,destroys all distinction of rank among themselves; even these rash boysknow not where obedience is due!"
"Ha!" exclaimed Borroughcliffe, grasping a pistol, with an air ofgreat resolution, "the work thickens--I had not included this man inmy estimate of their numbers. Is he a Samson, that his single arm canchange the face of things so suddenly! Down with your own weapon, youmasquerader! or, at the report of this pistol, your body shall be made atarget for twenty bullets."
In the twentieth century, formalized dog training originated in military and police applications, and the methods used largely reflected the military approach to training humans. In the middle and late part of the century, however, more research into operant conditioning and positive reinforcement occurred as wild animal shows became more popular. Aquatic mammal trainers used clickers (a small box that makes a loud click when pushed on) to "mark" desired behavior, giving food as a reward. The change in training methods spread gradually into the world of dog training. Today many dog trainers rely heavily on positive reinforcement to teach new behaviors.
Competitive Obedience is a sport, and has been such since the early fifties. People probably get involved in Obedience in the first place through Dog Training Clubs. Not all people who go to DTC’s are there to train their dogs for competition (in fact only a small proportion go on to this), the majority only going to give their dogs basic obedience and ‘socialisation’ with other dogs.
Anybody who is involved in the care of your dog is encouraged to come along to class, including children. Please bear in mind that your coaches will be talking to the class on a group level to teach you valuable key messages about behaviour, so it is important that anybody attending is able to listen quietly (if young children are attending it could be a good idea to bring something to keep them occupied with at these times). Let your coach know if you have any special requirements or will have more than 3 people attending with your dog, so that they can prepare and make sure there is enough space. To make sure you can concentrate on training your puppy, we would ask that you leave any other pets (including other dogs) at home.
Luckily I didn't get any of the products that I was offered but subscribed anyways. I only unsubscribed today because I got two creepy emails. The first one was: Is your dog's life worth a $1 to you? This was because I wasn't clicking on any links I was sent and didn't buy any products. But the last one is what really shook me. It said; Hunter, is your dog dying a slow death? I'm glad I found this site and the reviews.
Those that stay long enough at the club may first go on to attend and ‘compete’ in those Exemption Shows that have Obedience Classes. For the majority of Exemption Shows you just ‘show up’ and enter a Class on the day, for which you pay a nominal entrance fee, which generally goes to charity or the clubs funds (note that most DTCs are non-profit making).
