The Monthly Newsletter of the Capital Dog Training Club, Inc.

Obichaff May, 2009

Volume 65 Issue 4

If you’re fairly new to Capital, or maybe even if you’re not, there is a training disci-pline going on here that you may not know about. It actually originated at Capi-tal, created by long-time member Joan Tennille, a profes-sional choreogra-pher, and it pres-ently exists not only on both East and West coasts but far to the north and south as well as in between. I am talk-ing about canine freestyle, and more specifically about the type of freestyle practiced by the Canine Freestyle Federation. For those of you who have never heard of it, freestyle can be loosely described as “moving your dog to music”, and the Friday morning freestyle class here at Capital is the longest running class in freestyle. Sev-

eral of the members of that group have been doing freestyle with their dogs since it be-gan at Capital and are presently working

with their second or third dog at the most advanced levels. There are actually several forms of freestyle, but in the form as it’s practiced here, “it’s all about the dog”. The han-dler doesn’t dance, and there are no cos-tumes or props per-mitted. But the inter-esting thing is that the dog moves with the music—and each

dog moves at its own pace to its own mu-sic! The music is actually selected to match the beat of the dog’s natural rhythm at a trot, and a routine is choreographed to in-corporate the required moves for the level at which the team will compete and to best

..continued...on p.6

Canine Freestyle at Capital

Page 2 May 2009

Obichaff is published monthly, except in January, for the benefit of members of Capital Dog Training Club. Members are encouraged to submit articles that would be of interest to other members. All submissions to Obichaff must have the author’s name. Previously published mate-rial must include permission from the publisher to use the material in Obichaff. The Editor has the right to edit for space, content and tone. If significant changes are made (i.e., more than just for clarity, punctuation, spelling, etc.), the editor will give the author an opportunity to review the edited article. Material published in Obichaff does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Editor or of CDTC. Newsletters of other clubs may quote any part of this publication, provided proper credit is given and a copy sent to Capital Dog Training Club.

2009 Board of Directors President Spencer Harrill cdtcprez@gmail.com Vice President Paul Rosbolt paulrsbolt@aol.com Secretary Benita Bottom-Svitchan bbottomsvi@comcast.net Treasurer Dianne Harab dharab@yahoo.com Training Director Jennie Larkin tychocand@yahoo.com Assistant Training Director Abigail Carter abigailcarter@yahoo.com Training Secretary Patti Miller patti@patti-miller.com Trial Chair Burton Goldstein burton@bgcommunications.com Trophy Chair Jane Weisemann jane468@earthlink.net AKC Delegate Joyce Dandridge Justus6@attglobal.net Obichaff Editor Linda Lombardi ObiEditor@gmail.com Members at Large Shirley Harry robodobe@msn.com Shellie Goldstein Shellie.a@verizon.net Doris Koskos koskosd@verizon.net

from the editor….. Linda Lombardi

Meeting minutes and the treasurer’s report will no longer be printed in Obichaff. You may access them on the member’s portion of the website. This change was made so that we could include Obichaff on the public portion of the website. This means that your editor has even more space to fill… so unless you want to see a lot more pug pictures and lame jokes (as on the facing page) keep those contributions com-ing! In particular I’d love to get some breed pro-files—why not take this chance to brag about your favorite? Send contributions to obieditor@ gmail.com and PLEASE remember to put something conspicuous in the subject line like “FREE PUG EARRINGS.” Thanks!

You can help this pug get a cookie…. Or you can turn the page

Every time you submit a contribution to Obichaff, this pug gets a cookie. Look at those sad eyes. Won’t you help?

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Agility Trial April 2009

On April 3, 4 and 5, 2009 Capital Dog Training Club put on another successful Agility Trial. I would like to thank all the CDTC members who volunteered their time for this three day event. For many members, it was their very first Agility Trial as well as future member Pam Coblyn. There were 46 different registered AKC breeds competing. The breed competing most was the Shetland Sheepdog with 47 dogs and coming in second was the Border Collie with 25. There were 213 handlers competing with their dogs. On Friday April 3, there were 443 dog who ran in agility, Saturday April 4 there were 554 dogs who ran in agility and on Sunday April 5 the total runs in agility were 340. CDTC celebrated again this year with a handler getting a MACH on her dog. MACH stands for Master Agility Champion. The winner of the Non-Q raffle was Corliss Cass and Lisa Lundell won the worker raffle. A very special Thanks to these Key Workers: Nancy Morris, Mary Rice, Nancy Swenson, Ann Laurent, Abigail Carter, Karen Schwartz, Joyce Dandridge, Doris Kosdos and Jane Wiseman for all their long hours and hard work. -Shirley Harry

Lilly and Rose’s new business… supplies for all your wagging needs!

Page 4 May 2009

Notice The Editor is trying to compile a list of people who do various jobs for the club, at the suggestion of Joan Adler. If you’re in charge of anything that it would be useful for other members to know about, please contact me at obieditor@gmail.com and I will add you to the following list. Thanks! Club Historian: Joan Adler Webmaster: Deb Jackson Key system manager: Shirley Harry Keeper of the Hard (Non-electronic) Building Key: Donna Cleverdon Keeper of the Yahoo mailing lists: Shannon Hall CGC/TDI test coordinator: Shannon Hall Online membership roster: send updates to MarciaBresson@verizon.net New member applications: Marian Hardy Training Secretary Patti Miller handles registration for lower- level classes Training Director Jennie Larkin handles class scheduling and registration for upper-level classes Ordering Collars, Gentle Leaders, and Puppy Kindergarten Books: Alice Hathaway Maker of Leashes: Jerusha Gurwin

Announcements

Trophies for the CDTC Obedience Trial Please consider donating a trophy for our October obedience trial. Suggestions include leashes, collars, dog treats, toys, books, gift certificates, cash, items with a breed motif. If you have anything to give, please contact me by May 15. Jane Weisemann Trophy Chair Obedience Run Thru Report I have a correction for the report on the March run thru that appeared in the April Obichaff. The report should have included Liz Wade in the list of Stewards. Summer run thrus are scheduled for June 7, July 5, and August 2. I will post the sign up sheet for volunteers soon. Jane Weisemann Run Thru Coordinator

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AKC Humane Fund is seeking entries from across the nation for the 10th annual Awards for Canine Excellence. The ACE awards were created to celebrate the special relationship between humans and their dogs. Each year honorees are recognized and five dogs are chosen who have performed exem-plary acts. One award is given in the following categories: law enforcement, search and rescue, ther-apy, service and exemplary companion dog. Honorable Mentions are awarded to outstanding entries in each category. Winners receive $1000, an engraved silver collar medallion and an all expense paid trip to Long Beach, CA to be honored at Eukanuba. Contact me or check the AKC website for nomi-nation criteria. For this award, you may nominate yourself and your dog. Starting in 2011 through 2015, the Eukanuba shows will be held in Orlando, FL at the Orange County Convention Center, the second largest convention center in the nation. The 2011 show will take place December 17th and 18th in Orlando. While September seems far away, AKC is asking us to think about what we will plan for Responsible Dog Ownership Day this year. This is the seventh year for this event. The flagship event in Raleigh, NC will be on Saturday, September 26, 2009. Last year more than 600 dog clubs and organizations participated. The following nomination was made for the AKC Outstanding Sportsmanship Award: I nominate Shirley Harry for the person of the year receiving the AKC Outstanding Sportsmanship Award at CDTC . Shirley joined CDTC in l981. She has taught classes on all levels through the years. I have been a member of CDTC for 10 years and during that time Shirley has taught Open and now Open and Util-ity classes. Many club members can thank Shirley for her help in getting advanced obedience titles on their dogs. She is and has served on and off the Board during the last 10 years and more. She has conducted and also assisted in seminars in agility and tracking and continues to teach agility. She is currently Agility Trial Chair and has been serving in that capacity for many years. She is committed to the club, is a hard worker and is always willing to share her knowledge and training ideas with club members and the public. You can always find Shirley and her breed of choice, Dobermans, working, teaching and attending meetings at the club. Arlene Spilker

AKC Delegate’s Report Joyce Dandridge

Page 6 May 2009

Continued from page 1 show the dog’s movement. There are four levels at which a team can en-ter, and titles are earned with scores of 65 or higher out of a possible 100. Level I is per-formed on leash, but beyond that, the dog works off lead. Unlike regular obedience, there are curves, serpentines and circles as well as straight lines incorporated in the pro-gram, and the handler can speak to the dog as well as giving hand signals, so there is con-stant communication between the two mem-bers of the team.

Food rewards and toys are used during training, but are not allowed in trials. It’s a form of training which would physically and mentally benefit every dog. There is something about the music which ramps up the enthusiasm for all the dogs that do it. And, very importantly, the dogs do all their moves equally on both sides of the handler. Yes, heel on both sides; piv-ots, on both sides. Add some lateral movements, some distance work and some backing in the higher levels. The dog learns to handle his body competently in all directions, and becomes a better balanced and very enthusiastic working dog. The handler works hard to work with the dog, and sometimes a dog will offer changes in a choreographed routine which improve on the original. One veterinarian who does chiropractic work on all types of canine athletes says that doing freestyle creates a better balanced and more fit dog than even agility.

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Several members of the Friday morning class and others did a demonstration at the Baltimore County Kennel Club show at Timonium on April 19th. They also recently performed demos at the Boardwalk Kennel Club dog Show in Wildwood, New Jersey, on February 1st, including Marge Hetrick with her Standard Poodle ‘Josie’, Mary Sullivan and her Belgian Sheepdog ‘Tracer’, and a trio performance by Wendy Ely with her Greyhound ‘Roulette’, Marian Hardy and her Toy Poodle ‘Ping’, and Sally Kirschenman with her Old English Sheepdog ‘Annie’.

The Friday morning class is taught by Wendy Ely and Sally Kirschenman, both of whom have titled multiple freestyle dogs to advanced levels. Pepper Guzman is presently putting together a waiting list of interested students for a beginners’ freestyle class. For more information about freestyle, and to see some videos of some exceptional dog-handler teams, visit the Canine Freestyle Federation website, at www.canine-freestyle.org and check out their Hall of Fame. If you’d like to come to a Friday morning class to see what it’s all about, call either Wendy or Sally to make certain the class will be meeting there that day. -Kathy Noble

Page 8 May 2009

Capital Sets a New Tracking Record at Oatlands with Two TDX Passes Capital held its Tracking Dog Excellent (TDX) test on Sunday March 1st at Oatlands Planta-tion in Leesburg, Virginia. The judges were Judi Edwards of Virginia and Pat Norris of Illi-nois. Plotting day was a bit chilly and overcast and on test day we were greeted with a light cov-ering of snow and no wind, making ground conditions perfect for holding the scent. Thank-fully, we did not get the predicted icy, sleety precipitation and the large snowfall held off until everyone was safely home. Most all the tracks were visible to the gallery so we had the opportunity to see some great tracking dogs, excellent handling skills, interesting article indication, and TWO PASSES and one heartbreaking near miss. The passing tracks were: Alan Strauss’ Track 1 run by Carol Jones and her Rottie, Ch Nordike's Tiki Top Secret CDX TDX RE and Shannon Hall’s Track 4 run by Michael Clem-ens and his German Shepherd, Arwen Von Jagerstadt TDX. The alternate, Debbie Rabuck and her Pyrenean Shepherd, missed the final glove. Also participating in the test were Jack Sappenfield II with a Weimaraner who tracked with great purpose down the first crosstrack, Lisa Heffner with a Bull Mastiff who missed the second turn, and Donna Shiding with a Rottie who followed a deer path in the woods. Of course, these tests would not be possible without the help of many volunteers who gave up their entire weekend. We had a great new bunch of workers from the Capital tracking class. I would like to thank the tracklayers: Alan Strauss, Anya Dornak, Martin Billenstein, Shannon Hall, Shirley Harry and Bob Coy (on loan from Blue Ridge Training Club); cross-trackers: Justine Barden and Lynn Bettinger and the drivers: Duncan Burt, Ben Stone, Re-becca Lawson and Terri Marvel. And a big thank you to Mary Rice for providing a great spread for everyone on both days. Two passes at Oatlands is unheard of; in the previous five TDX tests (28 total tracks) we’ve only had one pass. With its rolling hills, short cover, and persistent wind, Oatlands has a reputation for being a difficult venue for TDX. Even so, the national pass rate for TDX is low, around 19 percent. The requirements for a

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TDX test are:

• 800 to 1,000 yards long with 5 to 7 turns and aged a minimum of 3 hours but no more than 5;

• two crosstracks – two legs of the track where two people walking side-by-side walk over the track approximately 1.5 hours after the primary track is laid;

• two obstacles; these could be stream crossings, fence crossings, woods, hedgerows, or roads.

• and two intermediate articles on the track that the dog must find and clearly indicate their location to the handler

All of these present different scent problems for the dog to negotiate without assistance from the handler. This is made more difficult by any weather conditions such as wind, rain, tem-perature and by terrain. Our next tracking tests will be held December 6th. This will be a combined TD/TDX test. I encourage everyone interested in tracking to come watch the test. More information and re-quests for volunteers will be forthcoming. If you are interested in helping out, please email me at cdtc_tracking@verizon.net. -Deb Jackson

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Class Schedules

Time Class Instructor Ring MONDAY 10-11:30 a.m. Freestyle TG Ely 2-3 6-7:15 Open LaDieu 2-3 6:15-7:05 SN Larkin 7:15-8:05 SN Adler/Dwyer 1 8:15-9:15 Utility Adler 1-2 8:15-9:15 Novice Golec 3 8:30-9:20 AB, 5/11-6/29 Hall TUESDAY 6-6:50 Basic, 4/21-6/9 Crawford 7-8 Novice Merchant 1 2nd Tues. 8-10 Club Meeting S. Harrill entire bldg

WEDNESDAY 12-2:30 Ob. Skills TG Spodak 1-2 8-9 Agility (Intro) Carter 1-2-3

THURSDAY 9:30-10:30a.m. SN Adler 1-2 9:30-10:30a.m. Novice Holt 3 6-7 Novice Gurvin 1-2 6:30-8 Utility (no UD dogs) Harry 1-2 7-7:50 Basic, 3/19-5/7 Miller 3 8-9 SN Dornak 3 8-9 Open Harry 1-2 9-10 Open Nappier 2

FRIDAY 10:15a.m-12:30 Freestyle Ely/Kirschenman 1 2-3 1-4 (approx.) Building Cleaning Harrill entire bldg 7-8:30 CCI* Hathaway 3 *Canine Companions for Independence – training dogs to assist people with disabilities

SATURDAY* 7:30-8:20 PK, 4/18-6/13 Melchior 10-10:50 Basic, 3/14-5/9 Watts 12-1:00 Open/Utility, 5/2-7/18 Sutton 1:00-1:50 Conform, 5/2-6/22 Sutton 2-3 6:30-7:30 Beg. Flyball Lindberg 1-2-3 7:30-8:30 Flyball team practice Dwyer 1-2-3

SUNDAY* 8:30-10 a.m. Freestyle Guzman 1-2-3 2-5 Building rented; no members may enter 4-5 Agility (Intro 2) Carter 1-2-3 5:15-6:15 Agility (Competition) Pearson 1-2-3 6:30-7:30 Agility (Beginner) Maloney 1-2-3 7:45-8:45 Agility (Handling) Laurent 1-2-3 *See Building/Event calendar for other scheduled events!

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Class Schedules

Day Dates Time Instructor

PUPPY KINDERGARTEN Sat. 4/18-6/13 7:30-8:20 Melchior

BASIC Tues. 4/21-6/9 6-6:60 Crawford Thurs. 3/19-5/7 7-7:50 Miller Sat. 3/14-5/9 10-10:50 Watts

AB Mon. 5/11-6/29 8:30-9:20 Hall

SUBNOVICE Mon. 6:15-7:05 Larkin Mon. C 7:15-8:15 Adler/Dwyer Thurs. C 9:30-10:30a.m. Adler Thurs. C 8-9 Dornak

NOVICE

Mon. C 8:15-9:15 Golec Tues. C 7-8 Merchant Thurs. C 9:30-10:30a.m. Holt Thurs. C 6-7 Gurvin

OPEN Mon. C 6-7:15 LaDieu Thurs. C 8-9 Harry Thurs. C 9-10 Nappier

OPEN/UTILITY Sat. 5/2-7/18 Sutton

Day Dates Time Instructor

UTILITY Mon. C 8:15-9:15 Adler Thurs. C 6:30-8 Harry

CONFORMATION Sat. 5/2-6/22 1-1:50 Sutton

AGILITY Wed. 5/6-6/24 8-9 (Intro)Maloney/Carter Sun. 5/3-6/28 4-5 (Intro 2) Carter Sun. 5/3-6/28 5:15-6:15 (Comp.) Pearson Sun. 5/3-6/28 6:30-7:30 (Beg.) Maloney Sun 5/3-6/28 7:45-8:45 (Handling) Laurent

FREESTYLE Fri. C 10:15a-12:30p Ely/ Kirschenman Sun. 8:30-10:00 a Guzman

TRAINING GROUPS Mon. C 10-11:30 Ely Wed. C 12-2:30 (Ob. Skills) Spodak

FLYBALL Sat. C 6:30-8:30 Lindberg/Dwyer

OUTSIDE GROUPS Fri. C 7-8:30 CCI, Hathaway

BUILDING CLEANING Fri. C 1-4 approx. S. Harrill

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Obichaff The Monthly Newsletter of Capital Dog Training Club of Washington, D.C., Inc.

Linda Lombardi Editor 2758 Garfield Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20910-1813

Clubhouse phone: (301) 589-2583 Information phone for the public (refers people to Capital’s website): (301) 587-K9K9 Obichaff email: ObiEditor@gmail.com Yahoo! group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cdtc/ Clubhouse calendar: http://www.cdtc.org eCommerce site: http://www.CapitalDTC.blogspot.com Capital Dog Training Club (CDTC), a member club of the American Kennel Club, is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1938 to promote the sport of obedience training through classes offered to its members and the general public. We offer obedience classes from puppy kindergarten through competition obedience. We also offer classes in agility, canine freestyle, flyball, conformation, tracking and rally.

CDTC offers a variety of other activities for dogs and people, including matches, trials and seminars on dog-related topics.

Capital has a fully matted indoor, air-conditioned facility in Silver Spring, Md.

Originators of Brace and

Graduate Novice classes

Important Dates at Capital

May 12 GENERAL MEETING