Both Reagan and Riley are getting close to being ready to compete in Novice level obedience. I would say Riley is closer since her sit and down stays are more reliable. I am also hoping that I will be able to the higher levels with Riley eventually. We will see. Here is Riley going through all of the Novice level obedience exercises.
I have really enjoyed working with our obedience trainer, Kathryn Willis. Kathryn has nationally ranked Golden Retrievers (very difficult to do with Goldens), qualifies and competes at the National Obedience Invitational (very difficult to with Goldens being so popular in obedience), and has achieved a perfect score of 200 more than once (difficult for anyone at any level). I used to not care if my dogs were crooked or not precise. I just wanted my greyhounds to work happy, quickly, and smartly. Kathryn has been great for working on the little details and making it fun for the dogs.
