Candy
Australian dog obedience trials are run under similar rules to that of the American Kennel Club, which is different from those in New Zealand which closely follow the British Kennel Club - or did so at that time.
A dog which competes succesfully with a qualifying score in three "Novice" trials under not less than two different licenced judges is awarded the title of "Companion Dog". Until such time as the dog competes in an "Open" trial, he or she may compete in "Special Novice" events.
Candy's first Open trial was at the Royal Adelaide Show in September 1974. The Obedience Trial was always held on the Beef Cattle judging ring on the morning and afternoon of the last day of the show, so the aroma of cattle would be very noticeable to the dogs, as well as to the handlers. This was always a distraction. The commentator who described the scene to the spectators around the ring was a very experienced chap, qualified in all aspects of Obedience judging, as well as a Show (Conformation) judge, and he had written sought-after books on the subject of obedience training. He was also the guy who had been president of the South Australian club, and who had encouraged me to form a local group. The judge was a lady who I also knew well, and Candy felt perfectly at home with her, sitting at my side.
Away we went on the walking at heel exercises, firstly on the leash, and then off the leash, she turning close to me as I did, and both exercises were faultless. Then came the jumps. The first one is a high jump, one and a half times the height of the dog at the shoulder, a solid obstruction constructed of different sized planks. The object of the exercise is to throw a wooden dumbell over the hurdle so it disappears out of sight. The dog is then sent on command (at the judge's signal to the handler), jumps over the hurdle, retrieves the article, jumps back over the hurdle, and sits in front of the handler, holding the article. The judge then signals the handler to take the article, and then later to send the dog round behind to the heel position and sit there waiting for the "exercise finished" instruction from the judge.
So the article was thrown over the hurdle and Candy sat there paying attention to what I was doing. I gave the command "send", and up she got, looked at me, grinned, and sat down again, in a perfect heel position. In the meantime, John Moroney, who was doing the commentary, had built up Candy's reputation as being great at retrieving to the crowd, who roared with laughter at what happened. Poor John! The judge approached me and reminded me that, of course, the score for the exercise was zero, Candy had therefore failed to qualify, and did I wish to continue the other exercises. I said that I felt we should. She then reminded me that reprimands are forbidden in the ring, which I already knew. So she asked me if I would like to repeat the exercise, so Candy didnt think it was okay to be disobedient. So, I walked with Candy round the hurdle and she sat in front of the dumbell. I placed it in her mouth, and she wouldn't close her jaws, letting it fall out. Grrr. So that was that. She got a perfect score in the other exercises, but never retrieved again. I believe this could be the result of over-training.
However, Candy C.D. continued to be a great ambassador for obedience training, taking part with me in the massed obedience demonstration team routines on the last night of the Royal Adelaide Show that year (1974), 1975 and 1976, and in our own obedience school's team which presented public demonstrations over a number of years until it disbanded in 1977 when my family fell apart and work suddenly took me north to Woomera...