Training Archives - Timberidge Goldendoodles

Mixed Breed Dog Shows & Events

Posted on May 13, 2018September 24, 2018 by Timberidge

Training and competing develops a tremendous bond between a dog and handler. And canine performance events aren’t limited solely to pure bred dogs. Just because the American Kennel Club doesn’t recognize goldendoodles as an official dog “breed” doesn’t mean that there aren’t a variety of options for competing with your furry best friend. From scent training to obedience to agility, every dog is able to compete and proudly add a champion title to its name! It’s not about looking pretty- it’s about getting your game on!

AKC’s Canine Partners Program allows dogs not of an AKC recognized breed to compete in AKC performance trials (excludes conformation events). The catch is that non-recognized breeds can only compete until 2 years of age unless spayed/neutered. Note: a dog does not have to be registered with AKC in form to earn a Canine Good Citizen title.
Cynosport offers rally obedience and agility for dogs of all breeds. World Cynosport’s rally obedience is more of a laid-back atmosphere than AKC’s obedience, making it a great option for junior handlers.
Barn Hunt is a relatively new canine sport that is quickly gaining popularity. Barn Hunt trials utilize your dog’s strongest asset: its nose! If you’re looking for a fun game of scent discrimination, give Barn Hunt a try!
Canine Performance Events (CPE) gives goldendoodles the opportunity to participate in a variety of agility games. If your goldendoodleloves to run and jump, you both may love participating in these fun athletic events.
Flyball and Disc Dog competitions can be a blast for athletic goldendoodles with some solid mouth-eye coordination!
DockDogs offers three fun events for goldendoodles with a passion for retrieving and jumping in the water.

Hybrid and mixed breed dogs of all kinds have the opportunity to show off their talents and skills through these mixed breed canine performance events. It’s your goldendoodle’s time to shine! Which event will you try first?

Abria poses after earning her Barn Hunt RATI title

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Nose Work: Basic Scent Discrimination Exercises

Posted on May 7, 2016January 3, 2022 by Timberidge

We woke up early this morning to participate in an unusual activity: hunting rats! The Barn Hunt Association holds trials around the country where dogs test out their sniffing abilities by locating rats hidden in PVC tubes amidst a maze of straw bales. Timberidge Goldendoodles is proud to announce that Abria earned her RAT Instinct title (RATI) today!

As this brief Ted Talk explains, dogs have incredibly sensitive noses. Dogs around the world hold a variety of heroic occupations using their noses. Learning how to harness your English goldendoodle’s nose is quite simple. Through consistent practice of basic exercises, you can begin to unleash your goldendoodle’s powerful sniffer for your own purposes. Remember, you’re not teaching your goldendoodle how to use her nose – she’s already a pro at that! Your goal is to teach her to use her nose to tell you what you want to know. Here are a few basic scent discrimination exercises for you to practice with your goldendoodle:

Exercise #1: Which Hand

Start with your dog sitting in front of you. Have a bag of delicious special treats on hand. Put a treat in one closed fist, leaving the other empty. Present both closed fists to your goldendoodle and say, “Seek.” If she selects the empty hand, open it up and again say, “Seek.” As soon as she picks the fist containing the treat, open your hand and allow her to eat the treat, all the while saying, “Good seek, good seek!” Now start over and have your goldendoodle do it again. Practice this exercise for several days until you feel like your dog has mastered it.

Exercise #2: Cups

After your goldendoodle has mastered the “which hand” exercise and her sniffer starts going as soon as she hears the word “seek,” she’s ready to move onto the cups exercise. We suggest picking up a pack of colorful stacking baby bath cups. You can find a set for about $5, and they come with holes already in the bottoms.

Select 2 of the cups and sit them on the floor in front of your dog with a treat underneath one of them. Give the command, “Seek.” When your goldendoodle selects a cup, flip it over. If there’s a treat under, allow your goldendoodle to eat it, all the while praising her with “Good seek.” If she selects the incorrect one, flip it over and repeat the command “Seek.” Once your goldendoodle has mastered two cups, move onto three. Keep adding cups until you’re using the entire set of 10. Begin spreading the cups around the room, leaving them on the floor. If you find that your goldendoodle sometimes returns to the cup the recently held a treat, it may be helpful to remove a cup from the game for a few rounds after it’s had a treat underneath of it to allow the smell to dissipate. Once your goldendoodle has that game figured out, you can experiment with different versions. Try elevating some of the cups on a chair or try using cups without holes in the top. You can also try hiding a treat in a grouping of cardboard boxes and asking your dog to find it. If your goldendoodle is anything like our dogs, she’ll find this sniffing game incredibly fun!

Exercise #3: Find an Object

At this point you can take the nose exercises a step further by transferring “Seek” from food to an object. This may sound challenging but your goldendoodle will quickly understand that finding the object means she’ll receive a treat, which is quite motivating!

Rally Obedience

Posted on October 28, 2015January 3, 2022 by Timberidge

Timberidge Goldendoodles brought home a handful of rosettes this weekend after traveling to Columbus to compete in a World Cynosport Rally Obedience show. Abria qualified and placed in all four trials earning her Rally Level 1 (RL1) title, an Award of Excellence, and a first place to boot! Moses also received his RL1 title and placed in all of his qualifying legs, even taking first in one trial. We’re excited about their accomplishments and already have our sights set on earning Rally Level 2 titles in the future.

Rally obedience is a team sport in which the handler and dog navigate through an obstacle course, completing a series of exercises in order before the time runs out. Rally Level 1 emphasizes on-lead heeling and employs basic obedience commands such as sit, down, stand, and stay. The obedience course is mapped out through a series of signs that the team follows. World Cynosport (literally “canine sports”) is an organization that sponsors rally obedience and agility shows for both pure and hybrid dogs. Positive reinforcement is key to training a dog, and it’s important to keep training sessions fun. One of our favorite aspects of Cynosport is that the organization understands and emphasizes that. Handlers are encouraged to praise their dogs not just in training but also while in the show ring! Since rally level 1 encompasses basic obedience commands while on a leash, RL1 a great goal for your mini goldendoodle puppy after passing the CGC test. You will find that Cynosport events are friendly and fun to compete in, even for the novice.

Click here for the RL1 exercise signs and more for information visit World Cynosport.

Paul and Abria competing in a Rally Level 1 Trial

AKC Canine Good Citizen

Posted on September 30, 2015January 3, 2022 by Timberidge

Timberidge Goldendoodles is excited to announce that both Moses & Abria have earned their AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) titles at only 10 months old! The CGC is our first step in obedience training and passing shows that our dogs exhibit basic manners. It also qualifies us to take our dogs on therapy visits with the Cincinnati chapter of Canines for Christ.

The AKC CGC test consists of 10 parts:

Accepting a friendly stranger
Sitting politely for petting
Allowing gentle grooming
Walking on a loose leash
Walking nicely through a crowd
Sitting, downing & staying on command
Coming when called (10’)
Walk politely past another dog
Reaction to distraction & loud noise
Supervised separation (handler out of sight for 3 minutes)

Your English mini goldendoodle puppy from Timberidge Goldendoodles can earn a Canine Good Citizen title too! Any well-mannered dog may take the CGC test (no AKC number required). We recommend using the test as a guideline and goal for your puppy’s basic obedience training. Like Moses & Abria, your puppy should be able to successfully perform these exercises by 10 months of age. It is important to practice with your puppy daily and to always make training fun. For more information about the CGC, visit AKC. When you & your goldendoodle puppy earn your CGC, be sure to send us a picture so we can include it on our brag wall!