Transcript
Page 1: A Look Back at Obedience - DD's Dog Training · A Look Back at Obedience, continued 1997, 1999, 2000 Classic Winner –OTCH Shore - land Rainier Rambo UDX, Andrea Vaughan 1978 AKC

I thought it might be fun to take a look at how well Goldens have done in the obedience ring. It took months of research for me to compile the following information. Iapologize if there is any missing information or mistakes.

The first Obedience trials took place in 1936, with threeclasses offered: Novice, Open and Utility. These classes wereassociated with the following titles: Companion Dog (CD),Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) and Utility Dog (UD). Aperfect score then was a 100 in Novice, 250 in Open and200 in Utility.

The Utility class has had some changes over the years. Itappears that a perfect score was changed to a 200 for allthree classes in 1947. Jumps also have been lowered over theyears from one-and-a-half times the dog’s height, to one-and-a-quarter times the dog’s height, and finally to the currentheight which is equal to the height of the dog at the withers(the actual height of the jump shall be rounded to the nearestmultiple of 2 inches). Note: some breeds only jump three-quarters their actual height at the withers. A dog that jumps22 inches now would have jumped 32 inches in the earlyyears of obedience. In 1977, the Obedience Trial Champion(OTCH) title was introduced and the first dog of any breed toearn that esteemed title was a Golden: Moreland’s GoldenTonka, owned by Russ Klipple. Goldens have earned approxi-mately 905 OTCH titles from 1977 to 2012. We now have thefollowing collection of titles that can be earned: BN, CD, GN,CDX, GO, UD, VER, UDX, OM, OGM and OTCH.

Note: For this article dogs are listed with AKC titles only.

PERFECT 200 SCORES FOR GOLDENS

A perfect score of 200 is the ultimate goal for dog/handlerteams in Obedience and it is very hard to come by. The AKChas tightened up its judging standards since the first obedi-ence trials, with more attention to educating judges and morestringent qualification criteria to be a judge. The AKC judgesare more knowledgeable and schooled than in any other reg-istry. But Goldens seem to be able to earn those perfectscores, despite the bar being set higher and higher for a per-fect performance. The AKC does not keeprecords of those dogs that have earnedscores of 200, but by going through GRCAyearbooks and GRCA member HelenSmith’s statistics, you can find the Goldensthat have earned perfect scores. Most of theGoldens in the list earned one perfect 200score in their lifetime. There are many withmore than two, but only seven with morethan ten perfect 200 scores.

A photo from the GRCA Archives of an early obediencetrial circa 1940-50.

A Look Back at ObedienceThe History of Golden Retrievers in Obedience

by Dee Dee Anderson

[email protected]

The first AKC OTCH of any breed andfour-time Classic winner OTCH Moreland’sGolden Tonka with owner Russ Klipple

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GOLDENS EARNING 10 OR MORE PERFECT SCORES!(Note: Dates given are years the dogs competed in Obedience.)

Numberof PerfectScores Dog and Handler (dates competed)

36 CH Sun Dance’s Rusticana UD, Munneke (1958-1967)25 NOC OTCH DD’s Dreams Do Come True VCD1 UDX18 OGM RE

TDX JH NA NAJ, Anderson (2005- )14 Goldwood Michael UD, Brainard (1945-1949)14 CH Ben’s Major of Sun Dance UD, Lake (1958-1964)14 OTCH Breakwater Ice Skater UDX JH, Gannon (2001-2008)12 CH Duckerbird Atomic UD, Frank (1947-1952)11 NOC OTCH High Times Ris’n Above The Tide, UDX15 OGM RE,

Rasinowich-Platt (2008- )

AKC NATIONAL OBEDIENCE INVITATIONAL

The first AKC National Obedience Invitational (NOI) held in 1995, and thefirst dog to win it was a Golden Retriever. Goldens have won the prestigious NOIcompetition, and earned the National Obedience Champion (NOC) title, 10 outof the 17 times it has been held..

NOI GOLDEN RETRIEVER WINNERS1995 NOC OTCH Meadowpond’s High On Chemo UDX,

Lynn Heidinger, IL.1997 NOC OTCH Sparkle’s Keepin Nice Naughty UDX,

Terri Arnold, MA.1998 NOC OTCH Colabaugh’s Sugar Magnolia, Pierrette Pillone, NJ.1999 NOC OTCH Sunfire’s Toast Of The Town UDX, Lynn Heidinger, IL.2000 NOC OTCH Sunfire’s Toast Of The Town UDX, Lynn Heidinger, IL.2002 NOC OTCH Wynwood New Direction UDX, John Brooks, AR.2005 NOC OTCH First String’s Cubby Bear UDX22 AX NAJ,

Kathleen Rasinowich-Platt, NE.2007 NOC OTCH DD’s Dreams Do Come True VCD1 UDX18 OGM RE TDX JH

NA NAJ, Dee Dee Anderson, CA.2010 NOC OTCH High Times Ris’n Above The Tide UDX13 OGM RE,

Kathleen Rasinowich-Platt, NE. 2011 NOC OTCH Spirit’s Zim Zam Zoom UDX6 OM4,

Ward Falkner, BC Canada.

A Look Back at Obedience, continued

1995 NOC OTCH Meadowpond’s High OnChemo UDX, Lynn Heidinger, IL.

1997 NOC OTCH Sparkle’s Keepin Nice NaughtyUDX, Terri Arnold, MA.

1999 & 2000 NOC OTCH Sunfire’s Toast Of TheTown UDX, Lynn Heidinger, IL.

2002 NOC OTCH Wynwood New Direc-tion UDX, John Brooks, AR.

2005 NOC OTCH First String’s Cubby BearUDX22 AX NAJ, Kathleen Rasinowich-Platt, NE.

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THE CLASSICS

Before the AKC National Obedience Invitational there was the “Illini Classic”later called the “Gaines Classic,” then “Cycle Classic“ then the “Pup-Peroni Clas-sic.” This was the only competition event that brought the top Obedience dogs inthe country together. There were also regional events and all events had Novice,Open and Super Dog (Open and Utility) classes. The Classics were not spon-sored by the AKC. To win the silver dumbbell and be crowned Super dog for theyear was the win to shoot for! It was the Super Bowl of dog obedience and if youwon, you were called the best behaved K9 in the country.

The first Gaines competition was held in 1975. It was Jack Godsil who said,“Any dog can get hot and win once in awhile, but it’s that consistent dog that’s inthe ribbons time after time, who is really the best dog!” Sounds like a GoldenRetriever’s kind of competition. The first winner of the Classic would be a GoldenRetriever, and Goldens would go on to win 20 out of 26 times!

Golden Retriever Classic Winners1975 Moreland’s Golden Tonka, Russ Klipple1977 Moreland’s Golden Tonka, Russ Klipple1978 OTCH Meadow Pond Happy Valentine, Ron Roberts1979 OTCH Moreland’s Golden Tonka, Russ Klipple1980 OTCH Moreland’s Golden Tonka, Russ Klipple1981 OTCH Meadowpond Fem De Fortune, Diane Bauman1983 OTCH Meadowpond Fem De Fortune, Diane Bauman1985 OTCH Splashdown Tess Of Culynwood, Dee Dee Anderson1986 OTCH Meadowpond Stardust Reggie, Alfred Einhorn1987 OTCH Meadowpond Stardust Reggie, Alfred Einhorn1988 OTCH Stardust Ruby Slippers, Laurie Rubenfeld1989 OTCH Stardust Ruby Slippers, Laurie Rubenfeld1990 OTCH Meadowpond Stardust Reggie, Alfred Einhorn1991 OTCH Meadowpond Keepin In Stride, Terri Arnold1992 OTCH Stardust Rainier Rocky, Andrea Vaughn1996 OTCH Sparklin’s Instant Recall UDX, Marilyn Donlon-Higgins1997 OTCH Shoreland Rainier Rambo UDX, Andrea Vaughan1998 OTCH Sparklin’s Instant Recall UDX, Marilyn Donlon-Higgins1999 OTCH Shoreland Rainier Rambo UDX, Andrea Vaughan2000 OTCH Shoreland Rainier Rambo UDX, Andrea Vaughan

A Look Back at Obedience, continued

2007 NOC OTCH DD’s Dreams Do Come TrueVCD1 UDX18 OGM RE TDX JH NA NAJ, Dee DeeAnderson, CA.

2010 NOC OTCH High Times Ris’n Above TheTide UDX13 OGM RE, Kathleen Rasinowich-Platt, NE.

1985 Classic Winner – OTCH Splashdown Tessof Culynwood, Dee Dee Anderson

1991 Classic Winner – OTCH Meadow-pond Keepin In Stride, Terri Arnold

1992 Classic Winner – OTCH StardustRainier Rocky, Andrea Vaughn

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AKC OBEDIENCE DOG OF THE YEAR

The AKC gives out a top Obedience Dog of the Year award (once called theKen-L Ration Dog of the Year award in Obedience). This award goes to the topdog earning the most OTCH points within a calendar year. You can only earnOTCH points in the Open B and Utility B classes. Goldens have won this award17 out of 30 times.

Golden Retriever AKC Obedience Dog of the Year Winners1977 OTCH Moreland’s Golden Tonka, Klipple1978 CH OTCH Sunstreak of Culynwood TD, Bluford1979, 1980, 1981 CH OTCH Meadowpond Dust Commander, Brown1982, 1983 OTCH Topbrass Ric O Shay Barty, Long1986,1987, 1988 OTCH Glorybee Amber Arthur’s Honor, D. Platt1989 OTCH Shoreland’s Big Harry Deal**, Mayborne1990 OTCH Tanbarks Bristol Creme UDX, Brown1991 OTCH Locknor B Fifty-Two Bomber, Patton2001 NOC OTCH Sunfire’s Toast Of The Town UDX45, Heidinger2004 OTCH High Times Belvedere’s Duck Soup UDX14 MH*** MX MXJ,

Carlsen2005 OTCH Breakwater Ice Skater UDX JH, Gannon2006 OTCH First String’s Liv’n On The Edge UDX20 OM6 NA NAJ,

Rasinowich-Platt2007 OTCH Tanbark’s Something’s Burnin UDX12, Piefer

How well do Goldens do in Obedience trials overall? No other breed hasattained the results that Goldens have. They are almost in a league of their own.Below is a chart with results from 1994 to 2010. In 2010, there were 2,490 Obe-dience trials where Goldens won 712 High In Trials and 630 High Combinedawards. *Note: A High In Trial comes out of Novice, Open or Utility. It is thehighest score earned for that trial. A High Combined award is limited to Open Band Utility B classes. It is the highest combined score for the trial.

A Look Back at Obedience, continued

1997, 1999, 2000 Classic Winner – OTCH Shore-land Rainier Rambo UDX, Andrea Vaughan

1978 AKC Obedience Dog of the Year – CHOTCH Sunstreak of Culynwood TD, Bluford

1982, 1983 AKC Obedience Dog of the Year –OTCH Topbrass Ric O Shay Barty, Long

2004 AKC Obedience Dog of the Year –OTCH High Times Belvedere’s Duck SoupUDX14 MH*** MX MXJ, Carlsen

2005 AKC Obedience Dog of the Year –OTCH Breakwater Ice Skater UDX JH,Gannon

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Year High In Trials High Combineds Perfect 200 Scores

1994 516 428 121995 522 488 101996 542 489 161997 547 452 141998 468 462 161999 513 494 132000 551 480 52001 590 534 192002 620 551 242003 587 494 212004 559 493 182005 607 518 212006 637 556 92007 687 602 292008 628 583 222009 658 578 222010 712 630 29TOTAL 9944 8832 300

In summary, it’s readily apparent that Goldens not only do well in Obedience– they excel. And even more importantly, they do very well at high stress tourna-ments like the Classic and the NOI. The reasons why might be obvious to some.Goldens love to please, and they love to be with their owners. They are game forjust about anything that is asked from them, and they do not mind repeatingbehaviors even if there is not a cookie involved. Of course, some dogs are betterat performing than others, and some handler/trainers are better at teaching andshowing than others. But all in all, Goldens have done better then any otherbreed in the Obedience ring.

So, there is no excuse for not putting an obedience title on your Golden.

Happy Training!

A Look Back at Obedience, continued

2006 AKC Obedience Dog of the Year – OTCHFirst String’s Liv’n On The Edge UDX20 OM6NA NAJ, Rasinowich-Platt

2007 AKC Obedience Dog of the Year – OTCHTanbark’s Something’s Burnin UDX12, Piefer

Classic Winners: 1988 & 1989 – OTCH Stardust Ruby Slippers, Laurie Rubenfeld; 1986, 1987 & 1990 – OTCH MeadowpondStardust Reggie, Alfred Einhorn; 1981 & 1983 – OTCH Meadowpond Fem De Fortune, Diane Bauman


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