OBEDIENCE

Despite what you may have heard, Samoyeds actually can do quite well in obedience. Belief to the contrary can, perhaps, be more a sign of avoiding the commitment of time to obedience training than anything to do with the nature of Sammies.

Before our time got hijacked by soccer we were very active in obedience and put Companion Dog degrees on many of our dogs. One that I trained went high in trial at a national specialty and Patti put a Companion Dog Excellent on one of our males, here shown going over a high jump, dumb bell in mouth–that’s right, Sammies will actually carry in their mouths something you want them to, rather than everything you don’t.

Consider this:

• A Sam who stands still for the vet
• Using a voice command to keep your clean white friend from sitting in the mud.
• You walking your Sam on a leash rather than your Sam walking you
• A Sammy who comes when called
• A Sammy who stays where told to

How can this happen? Obedience training.

And Sammy’s can be very successful in obedience. To see what Shadow-Wood dogs have done in competition, click here.

To get you started, here are some sites to visit. If you are in Northern Virginia, the Dulles Gateway Obedience Training Club site is worth exploring. It’s our old obedience club.

• Dulles Gateway Obedience Training Club Home Page
• Other obedience related sites:
• Obedience Page – Basic Training
• Dog Training Resources
• Working Dog News Link of theWeek–a great collection of links to articles on dog behavior
• Dog behavior sites