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This page gives you answers to Frequently Asked (dog-related) Questions about classes, types of training, the SCDTC, certifications, etc, etc (click on these headings). If you don't find it here, check our SiteMap Page.
You can click here to see descriptions of the classes we offer, or click Calendar Page for a good overview of when classes (and other events) occur. Click here if you're looking for lots of neat dog pictures. |
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Frequently Asked Questions Q: How do I choose what class to take? A: Read through the class descriptions and check out our Class Schedule. the Beginner and ABC classes are good introductory classes for new dogs and new dog-owners, and prepare your dog for the CGC (Canine Good Citizen) award, if you wish. If you want more, the Novice and Advanced Novice training helps you and your dog prepare for an AKC CD (Companion Dog) title. In addition to obedience training, we also offer classes in conformation, such as Conformation 101. Most of our classes are at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds (indoors), but sometimes we use other venues. All of our classes are on Tuesday evenings, but trials etc usually occur on weekends. Our Class Schedule Page and our Calendar Page give you the details. Q: NEW What are Novice, Open and Utility classes about? A: These words come from AKC levels of Obedience Competition. The AKC website has lots of good background information, e.g. click here. The following was extracted from this link:
NOVICE - For the dog just getting started in obedience. Exercises include: OPEN - The second level includes more complicated exercises, which teach the dog to do a variety of tasks and to follow commands either by voice or signal. Exercises include: UTILITY - The third and highest level of obedience competition. Exercises include: Q: NEW Do your classes allow drop-ins? A: Some of our classes do allow you to drop-in without registering in advance, but this is on a space-available basis and you will need to arrive a little bit earlier to arrange this. There are no drop-ins for entry-level classes, such as Puppy, Beginner, Intermediate, ABC, C101. Classes that do allow drop-ins are the follow-on Obedience (Novice, Advanced Novice, Open and Utility) classes, some Rally classes, Ready Ring and the special weekly Conformation Class. See Class Descriptions and FEE SCHEDULE on our Schedule Page. Q: I want a dog, can you help me decide what kind to get? A: Browse through our Gallery Page at www.santaclaradog.org/gallery.html to see what pictures and what comments resonate with you. These pages contain pictures of more than 100 dogs, representing a cross-section of the dogs that participate in our classes. The personal captions, from their owners, tell you a lot about what the dogs are like. [Incidentally, once you choose your dog, send us a picture and we'll put it in our gallery.] A different approach was tried by Kelly and Damon -- they "took a test" at www.dogbreedinfo.com. to (attempt to) match dog to their lifestyle. What came up for them was a Drever -- click here to see a picture of Hunter, along with Kelly's comments, on our gallery page. If all else fails, you can click on www.superlaugh.com/1/virtualpuppy.swf and pick out your very own virtual puppy. Q: Do I need to become a member of SCDTC before taking classes? A: No, but if you find you want to become more involved, you may wish to. Membership Meetings are usually held on the 4th Wednesday of odd months, e.g. January, March, ..., but there are exceptions. See your roster for the variations. We usually have a holiday breakfast in December and our annual awards dinner in January. Our Board meets on the even months on the fourth Wednesday evenings, except there may be an extra one or two at the end of the year and after elections in January. A: No, we have actively been conducting training classes here for over 50 years. The Santa Clara Dog Training Club Inc. is the only American Kennel Club member dog training club in the San Jose area. Our staff consists of highly qualified professional trainers and we offer a variety of regular and special classes. These classes are suited both for dog owners interested in having well behaved pets and for those who are interested in competition obedience. We also sponsor obedience, agility, tracking and other dog-events. Click here for class descriptions, click here to go to our Events Page. Q: Does the SCDTC have a brochure that I can download? A: Click here to see (and print if you wish) a small SCDTC Training Brochure. Q: What are the fees for classes? A: All of our fees are listed in our FEE SCHEDULE, which is in the middle of our Schedule Page, just above the class descriptions. Click here to go directly to the FEE SCHEDULE (then click your browser's BackButton to return here). Q: Does my dog have to be purebred in order for me to take classes? A: No, no, no -- every dog-owner and dog can benefit from learning how to understand each other. Dogs who have trained here will enthusiastically tell you "Woof-woof-woooofff woof-woof!" Q: Can I come to class if my bitch is in heat? A: We accept bitches
in class if they wear pants in the advanced classes only.
This policy seems to work
fairly well as long as you are not walking your dog under every other
dog’s nose. A: We use positive reinforcement using
treats toys and praise. We use the choke collar only when needed. Q: NEW What is the "shots" policy for SCDTC classes? A: All shots (including rabies) are required for dogs in all classes, tests, etc. The Puppy Class is the only exception -- puppies require Parvo Virus only (Parvo is included in the DHL and kennel cough shots that puppies get.) Q: What advanced classes does SCDTC offer? A: The Utility to Open classes are designed for exhibitors and those who would like to teach their dogs to jump obstacles and retrieve items. These classes lead to other AKC titles (CDX, UD, UDX) if you are so inclined. Click here to see descriptions of all of our classes. A:
Therapy Dog refers to a dog trained to provide affection and
comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, mental
institutions, schools, and stressful situations such as disaster areas. Click
here for a good well-hyperlinked Wikipedia description.
The SCDTC provides both Canine Good
Citizen (CGC) and Therapy Dog
International (TDI)
certifications for dogs and handlers interested in becoming involved in
this activity. http://animalforum.com/dtherapy2.htm contains an article by Beth Fink describing the three major national registries for therapy dogs. These are Therapy Dogs International (this is the registry behind our SCDTC TDI certification), Therapy Dogs Incorporated and Delta Society Pet Partner Program. All three support nursing homes, assisted living centers, and long term care facilities with dogs and handlers who visit residents who are lonely, or who are chronically ill or have suffered injury. Delta Society also includes schools, prisons and some other facilities. Each national registry requires that both the animal and the handler are competent, confident and polite, possessing both behavioral skills and social skills, so if you have a wonderful animal that you would like to share with others, consider getting involved -- you and your dog can make a positive difference in someone’s life! Q: Tracking: what is it? What are TD, TDX and VST? A: The purpose of a tracking test is to demonstrate the dog's ability to recognize and follow human scent, a skill that is useful in the service of mankind. Tracking, by nature, is a vigorous, noncompetitive outdoor sport. Tracking tests demonstrate the willingness and enjoyment of the dog in its work, and should always represent the best in sportsmanship and camaraderie by the people involved. When tracking, a dog follows the path that a tracklayer walked minutes to hours before in order to find an article, such as a glove or a wallet, that the tracklayer placed. It is amazing to see that a dog can competently perform a job that a person couldn't even dream of doing. The AKC recognizes this ability with TD, TDX and VST titles. Click here for more information about tracking. Click here for more information about title abbreviations from the AKC. Q: Obedience Competition: what is it? A: Obedience Competition demonstrates the usefulness of a dog as a companion to humankind. Dog and handler teams are judged on how closely they match the judge's mental picture of a theoretically perfect performance as they execute a series of specified exercises. Accuracy and precision are essential, but the natural movement of the handler and the willingness and enjoyment of the dog are very important. In 2002, there were 140,503 entries in AKC obedience trials across the U.S. Click here for more information about obedience trials. Q: Obedience: how do I get started? A: Take a class and see what it's all about. The AKC site has lots of good background information, e.g. click here for some good information about getting started in Obedience. It addresses what types of training classes there are, what an obedience trial is, levels of competition and hints for first-timers, both exhibitors and spectators. Q: NEW Obedience: what are UD, CDX, UD, UDX, OTCH, and NOC? A: The AKC site has lots of good background information, e.g. click here. The following information about Obedience Titles was extracted from this link:
Click here for more information about title abbreviations from the AKC. The Eriador website contains a huge list of US and international canine performance title abbreviations. Q: The Obedience Trial entry form for Novice A states that the first entry fee is $23 and $17 for each additional entry of the same dog. Does this mean that my dog can go into the ring more than once and theoretically get more than one leg toward a title? A: No. You may not get two legs at one trial with one dog. As an entry for Novice A you may also enter Pre-Novice which is an non-regular class ($17) but you would not get a leg . Non-Regular classes do not give legs. If you have an AKC Obedience Regulation book, that would tell you what you may enter. Good luck in Novice A. Q: Agility: what is it? UPDATED A: Click here for more information about agility. Although the SCDTC does hold an Annual Agility Trial, we do not offer any classes in Agility. Click here for some Agility Training suggestions that work locally. Click here to check out agility via Wikipedia. Q: NEW Agility: what are AX, NA, NAJ, MX, FTC, etc? A: These are abbreviations for AKC titles offered in Agility. Click here for more information about title abbreviations from the AKC. The Eriador website contains a huge list of US and international canine performance title abbreviations. A: Rally Trials (formerly called Rally Obedience Trials) are a relatively NEW competition sport for dogs and handlers that is sweeping the nation. Much like a car rally, dogs and handlers enter a ring and follow the "road" signs at their own pace through a course of designated stations (10 - 20 depending on the level). The AKC says that Rally provides a stepping stone for dogs and handlers from the CGC (Canine Good Citizen) program to Obedience or Agility competition. In addition it promotes fun and enjoyment for every dog (and their person). See our Links Page for lots more information relating to this new and fun sport. Rally
was created to promote a positive relationship between dog and owner. Animation and
enthusiasm throughout the performance is encouraged. Some
have described Rally Trials as a combination of Agility Trials and Obedience
Trials.
Each dog+owner team is judged on the execution of a single, continuous
performance of numbered exercises on a course, uninterrupted by orders from
the judge. There
are no ½ point deductions at Rally Trials. Only
those errors that normally would be assessed as full point deductions in
Obedience are scored. A: Anybody! Rally
is a wonderful sport for dogs and handlers who experience “ring stress”,
or for whatever reasons, would not be successful in traditional obedience.
The Novice level is all on leash, you are allowed to use multiple
hand and verbal cues, and you can talk to and encourage your dog throughout
the performance. This makes it
a great place to work through both of your ring nerves and to have some
success in the ring. Rally
also makes a great entry-level class for both obedience, agility and
freestyle. Q: NEW Rally: what are RN, RA, RE, RAE, RAE2, etc? A: This Rally Obedience site has lots of good background information concerning Rally, e.g. click here. The following information about Rally Titles was extracted via this link:
Click here for more information about title abbreviations from the AKC. The Eriador website contains a huge list of US and international canine performance title abbreviations. A: This stands for the Associated Obedience Clubs of Northern California. It is a non-profit organization that represents those Obedience training clubs in Northern California that are affiliated with the AKC. It has been around since 1951. The SCDTC is one of the members of this organization. Click here to see the Mission Statement on their site, www.aocnc.org. A: The American Kennel Club (AKC), founded in 1884, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of purebred dogs. The AKC maintains the largest registry of purebred dogs in the world, oversees the sport of purebred dogs in the United States, and along with its 4,500 licensed and member clubs [the SCDTC is the only one of these in this area], educates the general public about responsible dog ownership. More than 15,000 competitions for AKC-registered purebred dogs are held under AKC rules each year including conformation, agility, obedience, tracking, herding, lure coursing, hunt tests, and field and earthdog trials. Affiliate AKC organizations include the AKC Canine Health Foundation, AKC Companion Animal Recovery and the AKC Museum of the Dog. For more information, visit www.akc.org. Q: How do I navigate a website, I keep getting lost when I click on "links"? A: use the BACK button on the toolbar (MS Internet Explorer has one) or simply click the BACKSPACE key on the kybd to get back to where you were. Sometimes a new window is opened when you click a link -- if you don't want this window, just close it (by clicking the X in the upper right corner). Sometimes unwanted extra windows appear on your desktop (e.g. spam advertisements for loans, tickets, etc). You can eliminate these by changing your security settings from Medium to High. To do this, click on Tools (on the Toolbar of MS Internet Explorer), then click on Internet Options, then click on the Security Tab and select "High" for the security level. If you need to undo this setting (e.g for online banking), just return to Tools * InternetOptions * Security and click the DefaultSettings button. Q: Should I change my dogs diet now that he is becoming "senior"? A: www.srdogs.com is a site that specializes in the joys and problems associated with senior dogs. If you're interested in adopting, wonder how to help them with their special needs, or simply have a dog that is getting on in years, then check out this site. Their links page at www.srdogs.com/Pages/links.html contains lots of good references as well. Q: NEW Is dog food safe now that the big pet food recall is over? A: [070502] The recall is NOT over -- there are still more than 100 big-name products under recall, with some still on shelves in stores (and in homes!) Our News Page has a good overview of this situation, which involves both moist and dry dog food and treats and which has been evolving over the last couple months. It would be prudent for you to check your dog's favorite food against the recalled food list or the NOT-recalled food list on our News Page. Q: OLD I have a question, can you answer it? A: We'll try. Click here and ask us. Q: What kind of questions can I ask? A: We'd prefer you ask legitimate dog-related questions, such as "What is parvo? Does SCDTC provide clicker training? What are some tricks that will help my dog with heeling? Can my dog do tracking? Q: (imagine your question here) A:
ETCETERA: The Internet is full of information about dogs. And if you find a neat site, click the comments link below and tell me about it, so I can put it on our Links page (it's a good way to share good links to dog stuff).
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