Obedience & Rally
Obedience training is the process of teaching a dog a series of commands, such as "come", "sit", "stay", and "heel". Most obedience trainers use a variety of very positive techniques to stimulate a dog to learn a command. These positive techniques serve to make each training session fun and rewarding for the trainer and the dog.
Rally takes you and your dog through a course of 10-20 signs that provide instruction regarding the skill that is to be performed. Rally is all about working as a team!
All Portuguese Water Dogs need basic obedience training to be good companions. Basic obedience gives every owner the tools to train his dog to be well-mannered at home or away, and with people of all ages, ranging from toddlers to senior citizens. In addition to teaching the dog to learn basic skills, obedience also helps the dog to learn focus and helps to promote a strong bond between owner and dog.
After learning basic obedience, many owners enter AKC or UKC Obedience or Rally trials to demonstrate their skills and to earn titles. The dog and handler teams are judged on how accurately and quickly they perform the required exercises.
This system is devised to rank Portuguese Water Dogs who compete in AKC Obedience.
Dogs are ranked by their division, i.e. Novice, Open, and Utility. The top ten dogs in each division will be recognized. (Recognition is also given to the top dogs overall.) No distinction will be made for A and B classes.
Three different phases of a dog’s competition record will be taken into consideration.
- Delaney point system - Class placements. Points determined by number of dogs beaten in the class. (See Delaney explanation)
- Shuman point system - Points awarded for each qualifying score earned. (Determined by point schedule. See Shuman explanation)
- Average score - Average score for qualifying performances. (See average score explanation)
Dogs are ranked according to each of these three phases of competition; Delaney, Shuman, and an Average score. The PWD System Points are awarded to the top ten dogs for each phase. The first dog will receive 10 points, second dog 9 points, third 8 points and on down.
- Example: Dog A has 56 Delaney points (he has beaten 56 dogs) and is ranked number one in the Delaney System. That dog would receive 10 PWD System points.
Dog A has 12 Shuman points and is ranked number six in the Shuman System. That dog would receive 5 PWD System points.
Dog A has an Average Score of 189.66 and is ranked number two according to score. That dog will receive 9 PWD System points.
The PWD System points are totaled and Dog A has 24 PWD points. The dog with the most points is the number one dog in his division, the next score down is number two, etc. The maximum number of PWD System points a dog can receive is 30. There are only 10 (Ten) placing dogs. All ties will be broken.
Top Overall Dogs: The 10 dogs from any division with the most PWDCA points will be recognized as the top overall dogs. No distinction for class or division will be made for the award.
- Example: The top dog (Dog A) in the Novice Division has 29 PWDCA System points. The top Open dog (Dog B) has 28 points and the top Utility dog (Dog C) has 30 points. Dog C is 1st, Dog A is 2nd, Dog B is 3rd then on down through the divisions.
Multiple Titled Dogs: If a dog receives 2 or more titles in one year he is eligible for ranking in more than one division in the same year. Therefore, it is possible for one dog to be ranked in 3 divisions in one year.
Ties: All ties are broken by the dog with the higher average score. All average scores are calculated to two decimal places. A second tie will be broken by the dog with the single higher score.
Time eligibility: Each ranking year runs from January 1st to December 31st. However a dog who takes more than a year to achieve his title can still be ranked. All three trial scores regardless of the year attained will be used in tabulations. (i.e., If a dog gets his first two legs towards his title one year and finishes two years later, he will be considered for ranking in the year he finishes and all three scores will be used. Shuman and Delaney points will also be used in the same fashion.)
Competitive dogs in the B classes will be ranked on a year to year basis.
Notification: All top ten ranking dogs will be printed in the Top Ten issue of The Courier. Individual numbers and calculations can be attained upon request from the Obedience Statistician.
Awards: The number one dog in each division, the number one dog overall and the single dog with the highest average score. Owners, who are PWDCA members, will be presented with awards by the PWDCA (*see below).
Statistics: All statistics are kept by the Obedience Committee. Tabulations are based on the printed statistics in the AKC Awards Books published monthly by the American Kennel Club. All statistic cover January 1st to December 31st of the calendar year. To receive a print out of your specific dog’s record send self-addressed stamped envelope to Ms. Verne Foster, 6927 Owen Drive, Melbourne, FL 32940-6651.
Average Score Explanation
- Average scores are taken by averaging the first three scores on all dogs going for their titles.
- Competitive Dogs (dogs in the B classes) will average all scores achieved in the year. Each dog must have a minimum of three qualifying scores in his/her division in order to be eligible for ranking.
Competitive Dogs are defined as: any dog who competes in the B classes for all three title legs. Or any dog that moves to the B classes after a title is earned.
Any dog who attains his title in the A classes in a calendar year and then goes on to compete in a B class in the same year will be categorized as a Competitive Dog. All his scores for the year will be averaged including the first three legs.
- Example: A PWD receives his title in January out of the A classes and then enters in a B class in June, all scores in that division, including the January scores, will be averaged and the dog will be considered a Competitive Dog.
Delaney Explanation
Delaney is the name of the person who devised this system which has been used to rank obedience dogs for many years.
For dogs who place 1st thru 4th, one point is given for each dog defeated in a class at an all-breed trial or Portuguese Water Dog Specialty.
- Example: A dog who wins an Open A class of 25 dogs will receive 24 points. Second place receives 23, third 22 and fourth 21 Delaney points.
High in trial dogs receive one point for every dog in the trial only (The class points will not be recounted).
The Shuman system for the PWDCA is a variation of the National all breed Shaman ranking system. The PWDCA counts Shuman points for Novice, Open and Utility. Points are awarded for each qualifying score according to the following schedule.
| Score | Points |
| 200 | = 8 |
| 199.5 to 198 | = 7 |
| 197.5 to 195 | = 6 |
| 194.5 to 190 | = 5 |
| 189.5 to 185 | = 4 |
| 184.5 to 180 | = 3 |
| 179.5 to 175 | = 2 |
| 174.5 to 170 | = 1 |
*The Highest Average Score towards any Regular Obedience class title is the average of the 3 scores needed to earn the title. This HIGH AVERAGE award is separate from the PWDCA Ranking system. It goes to a single dog. All dogs in all divisions (Novice, Open Utility) are eligible in any given year. (Owners must be PWDCA members.)