Learn About Obedience

CH Woodag Sundowner Got No Blues CGC CDX NA HS VQW "Hondo" owned by Teresa King of Scurry, Texas

Purpose of AKC Obedience Trials
To demonstrate the usefulness of the purebred dog as a companion to man and not merely the dog's ability to follow specified routines in the Obedience ring. While all contestants in a class are required to perform the same exercises in substantially the same way so that the relative quality of the various performances may be compared and scored, the basic objective of Obedience Trials is to produce dogs that have been trained and conditioned always to behave in the home, in public places, and in the presence of other dogs in a manner that will reflect credit on the sport of Obedience. Ch. Wagga Wagga Blue Stanley UDT was the first CH. UDT Australian Cattle Dog, 1985.

To Earn AKC Obedience Titles
Dogs must be registered with the American Kennel Club or have an AKC ILP number (purebred). The dog must be at least 6 months of age to be entered. A qualifying score is comprised of more than 50% of the available points in each exercise, and a final score of 170 or more points earned in a single Regular Class at a Licensed or Member Obedience Trial. The dog must have earned qualifying scores under three different judges at Licensed or Member Obedience Trials with the required total number of dogs present in the class at each trial. In the Open and Utility classes the dog must have earned the required titles before entering these classes.

AKC Obedience Titles
Companion Dog (C.D.) NOVICE: Heel on Leash & Figure Eight, Stand for Examination, Heel Free, Recall, Long Sit handler in the ring (1 minute) and Long Down handler in the ring (3 minutes).

Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) OPEN: Heel Free & Fiqure Eight, Drop on Recall, Retrieve on Flat, Retrieve over High Jump, Broad Jump, Long Sit with handler out of sight (3 minutes) and Long Down with handler out of sight (5minutes). Requires a C.D. title.

Utility Dog (U.D.) UTILITY: Signal Exercise, Scent Discrimination, Directed Retrieve, Moving Stand and Examination, Directed Jumping. Requires a CDX title.

Utility Dog Excellent (UDX): For dogs with U.D. titles. Must earn qualifying scores in both Open B and Utility B at 10 Trials

Obedience Trial champion (OTCh.): Awarded to dogs with UD titles who have won 100 points and a first place in Utility and Open, plus a third first place win in either class, under three different judges. The team earns the points by qualifying in both Open and Utility in the same trial and their is a schedule for dogs defeated also considered.

National Obedience Champion (NOC): This prestigious title is earned by the dog who wins the annual American Kennel Club National Obedience Invitational. To be invited to participate in the Invitational, each dog must be ranked in the top 25 dogs in the country by number of OTCH points, or ranked in the top three of their respective breeds by OTCH points.

Rally Obedience became a sanctioned titling event January 1, 2005 visit akc.org for more details.

RN - Rally Novice
RA - Rally Advanced
RE - Rally Excellent

Learn more about Rally

Think your dog is purebred, not AKC Registered but would like to compete in AKC Obedience? You need an ILP number.
Get more Information:

ILP Instructions (WORD format) ILP Instructions PDF (use Adobe Reader)

Mixed breed dogs may also now compete in AKC performance events