Comments on: Wow Have Things Changed Since 1998 . . . Or Have They?

By: Sharon

Sharon — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 08:28:28 +0000

I just thought I’d mention that there are excellent obedience dogs out there trained with zero aversives. My JRT was confirmed as the most versatilely-titled JRT in the world in the 90′s. He did obedience, agility, tracking, carting, sheep herding trials, natural hunting, UK working trials, weight pull, earthdog, etc. He was the #6 obedience JRT in the AKC in 1998 (also UKC #2 obedience, #1 conformation and later #1 weight pull), and was in a bunch of Purina ads and Hallmark cards. While living in the UK, he once beat 27 Border Collies in the same obedience class, winning a 3-way run-off. He was trained using Dawn Jec’s “Choose to Heel” method + clicker training + ZERO aversives.

By: MJ

MJ — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:03:28 +0000

I’ll always remember showing my Boxers in Obedience under John who smiled at the innovations on obedience exercises they did, especially jumping back and forth on the retrieve over jump in Open before finally bringing the dumbell back.
MJ

By: Janice DeMello

Janice DeMello — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:46:23 +0000

John B was one of my favorite obedience judges as he had a good ‘eye’ for seeing the whole picture in a performance which included dog and handler.

By: Clyde Thatcher

Clyde Thatcher — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:04:10 +0000

Thanks for sharing the interview and re-interview.

By: dog ear infection

dog ear infection — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:52:21 +0000

Thanks for that Susan, isn’t it amazing how the time flys by.Can’t believe thats been 12 years. Things sure have changed, lets see whats happening in another 12 years

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:04:59 +0000

Yes John did train dogs for Obedience and he still does the odd private lesson here today (mostly focusing on handling and what the judge looks for). Although our foundation of training may have had its difference when we met I can’t say that we have ever had a disagreement about dog training. I guess I have never really given it any thought. Likely because John was a phenomenal obedience judge with more of a social interest in dog training. He has always had a great appreciation for a dog that works with enthusiasm and that is what our program produces.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:45:20 +0000

John was an obedience judge, eh… I presume this means he also has a history of training dogs specifically for obedience? Do you and John see eye2eye on your philosophy of training? I ask because there are few top obedience competitors who don’t ‘proof’ their exercises with some sort of aversion.