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Companion Dog and Companion Dog Excellent Information


CD { Companion Dog }
The first in a progression of obedience titles awarded by the American Kennel Club is the Companion dog title. When a dog has achieved this title, his owner can place the letters CD after his registered name.

To earn a CD, the dog must score at least 170 out of a possible 200 points, must get at least half the points awarded for each exercise, and must do so under three separate judges at three separate shows. Each qualifying score is called a leg, so three legs equals a title.

Obedience trial classes are divided into sections A and B. Dogs working towards a CD compete at the Novice level. Novice A is for owners who have never owned or co-owned a dog that has earned a CD. Once a person owns or co-owns any CD dog (or if he is handling a dog owned by someone else) he must enter Novice B. Novice classes consist of six exercises worth a total of 200 points. Each handler and dog team enters the ring with 200 points; the judge then deducts points based on errors made by either the dog or the handler. A zero is scored if the dog fouls the ring or leaves the handler.

The first exercise is the “heel on leash and figure eight” worth 40 points. The rules require that the dog walk, on a loose leash, with the area between the dog's head and shoulders in line with the handler's left hip. The dog must remain in position as the handler goes fast, slow, left, and right and executes the figure eight on the judge's commands. Each time the judge says “halt,” the dog must sit straight by the handler's side. A zero is scored if the dog is unmanageable.

The second exercise is the “stand for examination,” worth 30 points. The dog must stand in position and stay while being examined by the judge while the handler stands six feet away. A zero is scored if the dog moves away or shows shyness or resentment, growls, snaps, or sits.

The third exercise is the “heel free,” which is 40 points. This exercise is performed and scored the same as the “heel on leash” except that the dog is off-leash and there is no figure eight.

Exercise four is the “recall,” worth 30 points. The dog must sit and stay where left by the handler until it is called, then go directly to the handler and sit in front. A zero is scored if the dog does not stay, does not come on the first call, or does not sit close enough for the handler to reach the its head. The dog must then return to heel position on command, either by walking around the handler or swinging into place.

Exercise five and six are done as a group. The “long sit” is for one minute; the “long down” for three minutes, both done off-leash with the handler standing across the ring. A zero is scored if the dog moves away from its place, visits another dog, or repeatedly barks or whines.


CDX { Companion Dog Excellent }

Once a dog has achieved a CD or Companion Dog title from the American Kennel Club, owners often decide they enjoy the competition and teamwork. Next in the progression of obedience titles from AKC is the Companion Dog Excellent – the CDX, which combines some of the novice exercises with jumping, retrieving, and dropping down on command.

The quest for a CDX is made in the open classes at obedience trials. The individual exercises are: Heel off leash with halts, fast paces, slow paces, and a figure eight; drop on recall; retrieve a dumbbell “on the flat” and over a jump; and leaping a broad jump. The sit-stay and down-stay commands must be obeyed with the owners out of sight.

The leash is removed from the dog’s collar when dog and handler enter the ring. Once the judging begins, the handler cannot touch the dog to guide it into position. The first exercise is the heeling pattern; as in the novice class, the dog is expected to remain at the left side of the handler, his head even with the handler’s left knee. The judge generally instructs the team to heel in an “L” pattern with halts, left and right turns, and fast and slow paces to see if the dog can match the handler’s pace and changes in direction and will sit when the handler comes to a stop. Second part of the heel pattern is the figure eight; the dog must remain in heel position and match the handler’s pace for two patterns around two ring stewards acting as posts.

The second exercise is the drop on recall. The handler leaves the dog to sit and wait where designated by the judge and walks across the ring, turns and faces the dog, and, on the judge’s signal, calls the dog. When the dog reaches approximately half-way, the judge gives the drop signal and the handler instructs the dog to “down.” The dog must quickly lie down and remain down until the judge gives the handler the signal to complete the recall. When he reaches the handler, the dog must sit in front and then return to heel position on command as in the novice recall.

The third exercise is the retrieve “on the flat.” The dog sits in heel position, and, on instruction from the judge, the handler throws the dumbbell and sends the dog to retrieve it. The dog must go directly to the dumbbell, pick it up immediately, and return to sit in front of the handler. The judge tells the handler to take the dumbbell and to send the dog back to heel position.Retrieve on the flat is followed by the retrieve over the jump – basically the same exercise performed over a barrier instead of on the flat. The dog must go over the jump, pick up the dumbbell, and return over the jump to sit in front of the handler, give the dumbbell to the handler, and return to heel position on command. The jump is set to a specific height for each dog under guidelines set for each breed. Most breeds jump no more than their height at the withers; some jump higher and some jump only three-quarters of their height. The jumps are adjustable; boards range from two inches to eight inches wide with the total height set within two inches of the breed guideline. The minimum jump height is eight inches, even for dogs that are shorter.

The final individual exercise is the broad jump, a series of boards set to twice the length of the high jump. The dog must jump all the boards, then sit in front of the handler and return to heel position on command.

After at least six dogs have completed the individual exercises, the judge calls the dogs and handlers back into the ring for the group sits and downs. The teams line up as directed, sit the dogs in heel position, place leashes and armbands behind the dogs, and leave the ring with one of the stewards. They remain out of sight of the dogs for three minutes on the sit-stay and five minutes on the down-stay.

Dogs without a CDX show in the Open A class regardless of the experience of the handler. Dogs that have achieved a CDX can continue to show in Open B classes for fun and experience.

As in the novice classes, a perfect score is 200 points and a passing score is 170. Points are deducted for everything from crooked sits to handler mistakes. The teams with the top four scores earn placement ribbons; all other qualifiers earn green ribbons and a “leg” towards the CDX title. Three legs under three different judges are required to earn a title.

Training for the CDX title is much more difficult than training for the CD because it requires the dog to work away from the handler on the jumping exercises and the group sits and downs and requires a string of commands to complete the drop on recall and the retrieves. The most common breeds in the CDX classes seem to be Border Collie, Shetland Sheepdog, Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd Dog, and Poodle, and the least common are the terriers (with the exception of the Miniature Schnauzer), hounds, and giant breeds.

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