The ASCA obedience program offers competition for teams at all levels of obedience through Regular, Optional Titling and Non-Regular classes. Additionally, the ASCA obedience program offers Merit and Finals recognition as well as special award opportunities for Junior Handlers. ASCA welcomes all breeds to compete in its Obedience Trials (other than the National Specialty). Earning an obedience title is a testament to the bond forged between dog and owner. Many obedience handlers (and their dogs) deeply enjoy the rich relationship that develops from training for this sport.
Obedience teams should combine the utmost in willingness, enjoyment and precision on the part of the dog, with naturalness, gentleness, and smoothness from the handler. The purpose of Obedience Trials is to demonstrate the usefulness of the dog as a companion, not merely the dog’s ability to follow specified routines in the obedience ring. The basic objective of Obedience Trials is to produce dogs that behave at home, in public places, and in the presence of other dogs.
Regular classes include Novice, Open CDX, Open ODX and Utility. The Companion Dog (CD) title is earned from the Novice class, the Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) title from the Open CDX class, the Open Dog Excellent (ODX) title from the Open ODX class, and the Utility Dog (UD) title from the Utility class. Three qualifying scores from at least two different judges are required to earn a title. Optional Titling classes allow teams to compete without the prerequisite of titles earned in other classes. An Optional Titling class may be entered in conjunction with Regular classes at the same trial as specified in the rule book. ASCA offers the following Optional Titling classes and titles: Beginner Novice (BN), and Graduate Novice (GN)., and Graduate Open (GO) will be offered in future, but is not yet available. As in the regular classes, three qualifying scores under two different judges are require to earn a title from an Optional Title class. Non-Regular classes include Sub-Novice, Seniors, Brace, Team, the Wildcard classes. Clubs are not required to offer these classes, but they are fun and useful classes for handlers to determine how their training is progressing. Teams are still scored and placement ribbons are awarded for 1st through 4th place. No titles or certificates are issued for these classes.
After earning and UD, a dog may go on to earn Utility Dog Excellent (UDX) title certificate which requires a dog to qualify in both Open CDX B and Utility B, at the same trial, 10 times. Similarly, dogs that have received an ODX and a UD will earn a UDX-O certificate for qualifying in both Open ODX B and Utility B, at the same trial, 10 times. Dogs that have earned a UD may also work towards the Obedience Trial Champion (OTCH) title. Scores higher than 185 from Open CDX B and Utility B give dogs (who have earned a CDX and a UD) points toward the OTCH title. Scores from Open ODX B and Utility B give dogs (who have earned an ODX and a UD) points toward the OTCH-O title. For dogs that have earned the CDX, ODX, and UD titles, points earned at any one trial may only be applied to one title track (either UDX / OTCH, or UDX-O / OTCH-O, but not both).
The ASCA Obedience Program Rules are available online under the competitive programs link.
