Originally Posted by
Annette47
It depends on what you want out of his Obedience career. If it’s more about just earning the titles, then Preferred will probably work for you. If you prefer something a little more competitive, then that’s what I see missing in Preferred - the POC is earned similarly to the OM’s ... by accumulating scores, not by beating other dogs. Plus with more dogs competing in the regular classes, a placement means more than it would in a Preferred class where there are probably fewer dogs competing. For me, I like to challenge myself and my dogs and see how we compare to the best of the best, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to enjoy the sport. I know plenty of people who are just interested in the titles, and in seeing how well their dog can do in comparison to how it did the week before. Neither approach is right or wrong, but that to me is the deciding factor between going the Preferred track vs. the regular one. As you know, with the exception of the stays, the two are the same. You could always do the Preferred first, see how he does, and then see if you want to go back and earn the regular titles.
If the stays are the only thing holding you back, I do have a suggestion - show in the B classes where the dogs and trainers are more experienced. There’s no guarantee that nothing will happen (dogs will be dogs) but I’ve found the experienced trainers are less likely to bring out a dog who isn’t ready for the situation. For what it’s worth, I’ve been showing dogs for 20 years and have never seen a serious situation (i.e. dog fight) during the stays. As for your dog getting stressed if/when you leave, that’s mostly training but partly personality. If you’ve practiced and proofed, then all you can do is try it and see how he does. Chloe for example, has been known to doze on the out of sight down - she doesn’t find it at all stressful. Where she’s failed stays, it was from laying down on the sit, which we think was actually a physical issue that has hopefully been resolved. Her father on the other hand was fine with it on the way to the CDX but as he got older, and we were trying for the UDX, he got more and more stressed and started whining on stays. We tried quite a few things to fix it, but when we ultimately couldn’t, that’s when I made the decision to retire him.
The other thing I like to think about is, that life contains stressful situations that can’t always be avoided and it can be useful to teach him how to deal with it. For example, you might someday have to leave him at the vet with strangers where there are also strange dogs around ... better he gets used to it and learns that you always come back. Think about raising kids - is it best to shelter them from the world for their entire lives or teach them how to handle pressure and stress? I know what the answer is for me and my kids, even though it can be hard sometimes.
Also wanted to add, you say you’ve done a lot of proofing with him, but I’m assuming that’s at your regular training place? You should also be getting him out to tons of matches so he can get used to the idea of doing stuff in strange places. Oh, and sometimes too much proofing isn’t good either, as the dog then thinks the regular exercise, in a quiet ring is odd and they get weird about it, so that can be good to practice too.