THE PUDA OBEDIENCE TRIAL
The PUDA Obedience Trial was established with the primary objective of testing the soundness of the working dog in terms of temperament, drive. physical structure, and willingness to work.
In other obedience and agility competitions, there are specific heights for the jumps for different breeds. Big dogs will have to jump higher hurdles while toy dogs jump a much lower hurdle. That is why toy breeds and large breeds can obtain similar titles. In PUDA, the jumps are NOT proportionate to the size of the breed competing. All entries will have to jump one and the same obstacles regardless of their sizes.
The sequences in the trials are composed of practical exercises needed to prepare the dog for utility purposes. They are designed to test the abitlity of the dog in five (5) different aspects:
SOUNDNESS OF CHARACTER. Material and noise distractions are used in the PUDA Trial to test the focus of the dog to obey the command despite the hindrances along the way. For instance, the retrieve exercise can be done using a pile of other different objects, etc...)
SCENTING SKILLS. The trial is highlighted by searches and retrieve exercises that shall be an indication of a potential scent detector dog.
ANATOMICAL SOUNDNESS. The agility exercises such as the hurdle, long jump, and the vertical wall jump are clear indications that a dog that is not anatomically fit will not make it in the PUDA trials.
CONTROL. The PUDA rules limits the number of commands to be given to the dog during the trial. A dog must be fully controlled with the least number of commands from the handler in order to pass the exercise.
WILLINGNESS TO WORK. The PUDA trial requires the dog and handler team to work continuously throughout all the exercises without any break. Therefore, willingness to work on the part of the dog is a very important ingredient in order to pass the PUDA trial.
THE EXERCISES FOR THE PUDA OBEDIENCE TRIAL LEVEL 1 ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Long down (1 minute)
10 pts
Heel with down-in-motion 10 pts
Double hurdle 10 pts
The dog is required to obtain at least 75 points three (3) times in order to be titled as an "OD-1" dog (Obedient Dog Level 1). After which it can qualify to compete in PUDA Obedience Trial Level 2.
THE EXERCISES FOR THE PUDA OBEDIENCE TRIAL LEVEL 2 ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Long Down with distraction (1 minute) 12 pts
Open Recall with down-in-motion 12 pts
The dog is required to obtain at least 100 points three (3) times in order to be titled as an "OD-2" dog. After which it can qualify to compete in PUDA Obedience Trial Level 3.
THE EXERCISES FOR THE PUDA OBEDIENCE TRIAL LEVEL 3 ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Heeling with muzzle 12 pts
Open Recall with Down-In-Motion 12 pts
Search of Object-Scent Discrimination 12 pts
3 Positions (5 times) 15 pts
The dog is required to obtain at least 120 points three (3) times in order to be titled as an "OD-3" dog. The handler is allowed to compete his dog in a particular level for as long as he wants. However, a dog cannot be allowed to compete at a lower level once it has already competed to a higher level.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PUDA OBEDIENCE EXERCISES
HEELING. The handler and the dog will walk on a designated course. At every horn signal from the judge, the handler and the dog shall make a halt, and walk, at until they reached the end line.
LONG DOWN. The handler shall leave the dog and hide behind a blind for one (1) minute. The dog is not allowed to sit or stand until the judge signals with the horn 2 or more times to end the exercise.
ANTI-POISON. The handler shall leave the dog and hide behind a blind, while a ring steward will approach and throw tidbits of food to the dog. The dog is not suppose to eat or lick the food or it will be disqualified in the exercise.
HURDLE. The handler shall position the dog at any place in front of the hurdle, while he she positions herself/himself at any place around the hurdle. Once the judge signals to execute the jump, the handler is not allowed to change position or to make a step from where he/she is. The dog must execute an out-jump and a return-jump, after which, the judge shall signal with the horn 2 or more times to end the exercise.
HEELING WITH DOWN-IN-MOTION. At the signal from the judge, the handler and dog shall heel on a designated course. As soon as the handler step any of its foot within the "3-meter line" center line, he/she shall command the dog to "down-stay" without changing its pace. The dog must drop and stay withing the 3-meter center line while the handler walks straight ahead to its designated spot. At the next horn signa from the judge, the handler shall command the dog to recall from where he/she is standing.
HIDDEN RECALL. The handler shall command the dog to stay. He shall then leave and hides himself from the dog. At the horn signal from the judge, the handler shall shout and call the dog to look for him/her. The dog must be able to locate the handler within a specified amount of time. After the first command is given, all other commands shall be penalized by one (1) point each. This exercise is one of the test use in looking for a potential search and rescue dog. The length of time given to the dog to search depends upon the difficulty of the search, and must be agreed upon by the team of judges before the trial begins.
OPEN RECALL. The handler shall leave the dog at the designated spot. He/she shall then walk at the other side of the field and stand facing the dog. At the signal from the judge, the handler shall command the dog to recall. The dog must ran towards the handler waiting at the designated spot. Once the dog enters the perimeter line where the handler stands, the judge shall signal the horn to end the exercise.
OPEN RECALL WITH DOWN-IN-MOTION. The exercise is similar to the OPEN RECALL, except that during the recall, once the dog crosses the center line, the handler shall command the dog to "down-stay". The dog must drop within the 3-meter centerline once commanded. After which, the judge shall signal the horn for the handler to recall the dog from where he/she is standing.
RETRIEVE. At the starting postion, the judge shall hand over an object to the handler. At the horn signal from the judge, the handler shall command the dog to stay, while he/she throws the object at least 5 meters away in front of the dog. At the next signal from the judge, the handler shall command the dog to retrieve. The dog must pick up the object and go back at the starting line from where the handler is standing. Once the dog enters within the starting line with the retrieved object, the judge shall signal the horn to end the exercise.
3 POSITIONS. At the designated spot, the handler shall leave the dog and walk several meters away in front of the dog. The judge shall then dictate to the handler what command to give. It shall be a combination of the "sit", "stand" and the "down" position, repeated 5 times.
SEARCH OF AN OBJECT-SCENT DISCRIMINATION. At the starting line, the judge shall give the handler a piece of pvc pipe or a piece of wood. At the signal from the judge, the handler shall allow the dog to smell the object. He/she shall then leave the dog and hide the object at the designated spot. Other similar objects shall be place on the same spot to confuse the dog. Once the object is concealed, the handler shall go back to the dog, command the dog to search, and wait until the dog retrieves the object back at the starting line. The dog is allowed a maximum of 150 seconds to locate and pick up the object.
If the dog finds the object within 60 seconds, no penalty will be deducted.
If the dog finds the object within 61 to 90 seconds, 3 points will be deducted.
If the dog finds the object within 91 to 120 seconds, 6 points will be deducted.
If the dog finds the object within 121 to 150 seconds, 9 points will be deducted.
SEND AWAY. At the starting line, the handler shall command the dog to ran straight ahead. Upon reaching the designated spot, the handler shall command the dog to stop. At the horn signal from the judge, the handler shall command the dog to recall back to the starting line.
LONG JUMP. The handler shall position the dog at any distance in front of the Long Jump obstacle while he/she shall position himself/herself at any place around the obstacle. At the horn signal from the judge, the handler shall command the dog to jump over the obstacle. There is no return jump needed. The dog is allowed to take two attempts with different length. The handler is not allowed to step from its position once the command to jump is given.
DOG WALK (Lev.1) The dog shall earn 8 points for crossing the 12 foot x 12 inches bridge, and two points for descending to at least half of the Downward Ramp. The height of the 12 foot bridge must be 4 feet above the ground. If the dog crosses the bridge but failed to descend to at least half of the Downward Ramp, only the points for the bridge shall be awarded.
VERTICAL WALL WITH DOG WALK. At the judge's signal, the handler shall command the dog to jump over the Vertical Wall going to the Dog Walk all the way to the Downward Ramp. If the dog successfully scaled the Vertical Wall but failed to cross the Dog Walk, only the points in the Vertical Wall shall be awarded. The handler is allowed to walk alongside the dog while doing the exercise. However, he/she is not allowed to hold the dog or touch the Dog Walk during the execution of the exercise.
HEIGHTS AND LENGTHS OF AGILITY EXERCISES & ITS EQUIVALENT POINTS
HURDLE 0.80 meter for Level 1 = 10 points
1.00 meter for Level 2 = 12 points
1.20 meter for Level 3 = 14 points
VERTICAL WALL 5 feet for Level 2 = 12 points
6 feet for Level 3 = 14 points
LONG JUMP
For Level 1, choice of length starting at 1.50 meters = 4 points
2.00 meters = 6 points
2.50 meters = 8 points
For Level 2 & 3, choice of length starting at 2.50 meters = 8 points
