Exercises

Carriage Dog Obedience Exercises
Overall Impression: This is not a separate exercise, but an impression gained by the judge, throughout the trial, of each dog’s approach to its work, including things like attitude, enjoyment, responsiveness to its handler, and general demeanour throughout the trial. It is not possible to fail this if all other exercises are passed. 

Axle: The purpose of this exercise is to show that the dog will stay with the carriage on the move. The judge will ask you to proceed at a trot with your dog in your chosen axle position in a semi circle alongside, behind or under the carriage and at a distance no greater then a horse’s length. The exercise will be in a figure eight over a distance of approximately 200 metres with a short section at walk for the silver and gold classes. 

Axle at walk and halt: The purpose of this exercise is to show that the dog will stay with the carriage when halted for short periods for example at traffic junctions. The judge will ask you to walk and halt. The distance of walk and time of the halt will be specified in the schedule. At halt the dog should remain in the axle position and grooms should Not dismount.

Axle with Distraction: The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate the dog’s ability to remain under the competitor's voice control in the presence of a distraction dog. The distraction dog and it's handler will walk past the competitor on his off side, at least 20 metres away while the competitor trots a distance of approximately 100 metres. 

Stay The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate the dog's ability to stay with the carriage during a halt. The exercise is conducted differently for whip and groom handlers. Bronze 1 min; Silver 1.5 min; Gold 2 mins.

Stay - Whip Handlers: You can choose to conduct this exercise in a sit, down or stand. The groom dismounts before the exercise commences and stands at or parallel with the horses head is permitted to inform you if your dog moves from its stay position.

Stay - Groom Handlers: You can choose to conduct this exercise in a sit, down or stand. The groom will be asked to dismount the carriage and put the dog into that position alongside behind or under the carriage. 

Speed: The principal feature of this exercise is to demonstrate the Dalmatian’s ability to exhibit a fair amount of speed. The competitor is asked to proceed at a trot or canter over a distance of 100 metres. 

Road Dog Obedience Exercises
Recall: The purpose of this exercise is to test the dog's response to the competitor's command to "hock". The competitor is asked to call his dog while the horse is moving forward at the walk. Each dog must come immediately to the hock position. Dog may be put in a stay or held by the steward in Bronze; Silver and Gold must be left in stay. 

Hock: The purpose of this exercise is to test the ability of the dog to stay close to the horse and rider when required. The competitor will be asked to trot and the dog should be straight in line with the direction in which the horse and rider are facing, within one horses length of the horse, at any point in a semicircle behind the horse’s head as close as practicable without crowding or obstructing the horse’s movement. The dog must not precede the horse at hock. The exercise will be in a figure eight over a distance of approximately 200 metres with a short section at walk for the silver and gold classes. 

Hock with Distraction: The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate the dog’s ability to remain under the competitor's voice control in the presence of a distraction dog. The distraction dog and it's handler will walk past on the off side at least 20 metres away while the competitor trots a distance of approximately 80 metres. 

Stay: The purpose of this exercise is to test the dog's ability to stay with the horse during a halt. It is the competitor's choice whether to command the dog to sit, stand or down. Bronze 1 min; Silver 1.5 min; Gold 2 mins. 

Speed: The principal feature of this exercise is to demonstrate the Dalmatian’s ability to exhibit a fair amount of speed. The competitor is required to proceed at a working canter over a distance of 100 metres, the dog should be seen to keep up and run in a safe manner with the horse.

Download a WORD version of the exercises [[Media:Exercises_Mar11.doc|here]].