I saw more German Shepherds today than I've seen over the past year - and that includes going to the International Kennel Club show in Chicago & watching the breed being shown.
Sasha is exhausted, and laying at the foot of the bed, recovering.
Golly, I love obedience!
The German Shepherd Dog Training Dog of Chicago was located in Lombard, IL where I grew up, while I was growing up. It's moved to Hanover Park (which we in Lombard called Hangover Park, of course...). They have a nice facility... but no a/c. The ceiling fans were helpful, but it was warm!
The club offers Agility and Rally classes over the week, but offers traditional obedience based on AKC obedience trials on Sundays and Wednesdays. I know that with the name of the club, it sounds rather segregated, but it's really not. Yeah, most of the dogs were Shepherds, but all breeds are welcome to the classes.
The classes started late this morning with puppy level classes, and an Advanced Novice, but I figured Beginning Novice would be more our level. After Beginning Novice, an Open class began, and the day would end with a Utility class. (An Utility class?)
I learned - though Sasha is thousands of times better at walking on lead than she was a year ago - she really hasn't been in heel position very much. Her leg should be next to my knee... or at rest, her paw should set about at my instep. Usually Sasha's shoulder is just before my leg.
Someone not into Obedience would wonder, "What the heck is the difference?" Well, there really is a difference. For example, in traditional Obedience (Novice level), the dog needs to do a left turn on and off lead, and a figure eight (which is a circle to the left and a circle to the right, basically.)
Ever try to turn left, with a dog forging on your left? It's not easy. Either you have to drag them back with the lead and collar - not generally a happy thing in Obedience, or you have to jump over the dog (probably depends on your dog's height and your Agility), or you're going to fall.
Traditional Obedience recognizes that, and you really can pass handily (or qualify, which is the opposite of Not Qualifying, or NQ'ing) even if you lose points for messy left turns or a messy circle left on the figure 8. But it's easier with the dog in heel position. And Rally has a number of exercises where having the dog in heel (that is: farther back than Sasha is, normally) makes things easier - there are left turns, a "U" turn (or 180 degree turn to the left), a 3/4 turn left (270 degrees), a circle left (360 degrees), plus a couple of moves where you halt (dog sits), and then you turn (pivot) left.
Same thing applies with these that applies with turning left. If the dog is forging, either you have to haul it back, jump over it, or fall over it.
So, we're learning. The cool thing was ... it wasn't cool. It was hot, and muggy. I was dripping sweat. Sasha was panting. (Ok, Sasha ALWAYS pants.) She was less inclined to forge.
Oh yeah, someone loaned me a pinch collar. That helped more!
These people are not click and treat types. They, like me, get the idea of click and treat, and agree that there are some dogs that it works great with. Still, they didn't pull out 2 by 4's and whomp their dogs (though I won't pretend I've never TOLD Sasha I was planning to do that...) They didn't speak loudly to their dogs. They were more like trainers in the mode that I first learned - using lots of praise (and occasionally treats) when the dog was doing what it should, and work hard to get the dog to do what it should - and correction when they didn't do the right thing, and praise when it's corrected.
As an example, the teacher discussed getting a dog to sit at the end of the heel. He praised everyone, because everyone's dogs did sit - but then discussed getting the sit straight (and what precisely that meant...) and fast.
He pointed out that putting a slight tension on the lead when giving the command and then releasing that tension at the sit would speed the sit - the dog will quickly learn that the faster they sit, the faster the collar loosens. It makes sense, though it's tough to stay consistent. Still, it's that consistency that makes it all worth while. When one being in a small group knows what is expected of him or her, and the benefits given when expectations are met vs. what's lost when the expectations are not met, the beings become one, become a team.
Becoming a team with your dog in Obedience is like learning how to dance with your significant other. There's footwork, there's thinking alike, there's a common goal.
Anyway - while I grew up a few blocks from where the German Shepherd Dog Training Club of Chicago used to be located, I had never been there, and wasn't really even aware it existed. I did a search online and learned about it on Thursday or Friday, and learned that each class is treated as a 'drop in' (that is: I don't have to sign up for 4, 6, 8 weeks), and costs $6.
If I were a member, it would be free. But even at $6 it's about 1/2 the price of a class at most private schools around here, which would require me to sign up for a couple of months of classes. The lesson here: If you are looking into dog obedience, be sure to look into breed clubs and dog obedience clubs in your area... you will run into people who really know their dogs, and you may find an incredible bargain as well.