Obreedience

The competition will include two rounds per team. The first round will be team heelwork, with the team either working side by side or one behind the other, as directed by the ring steward. The judge will be looking for consistency of teamwork,
rather than competitive Obedience heelwork. The second round will involve one dog per team undertaking one of the following exercises: Scent, Send to Bed, Retrieve (handler’s own article), Stop on Command and play. Should there be an equality of marks within the top 10 teams after both sections, a run off will be held with both teams completing the heelwork exercise.

All heats must take place at Kennel Club licensed events and the class name in the schedule should replicate exactly the name of the competition as stated in these
rules.

Dogs entered must be registered with the Kennel Club on the Breed Register or on the Activity Register, as a Kennel Club recognised pedigree breed (cross breeds are not eligible to compete in Obreedience).

To qualify for the final points will be accumulated throughout the year at designated heats.

The team name should remain the same throughout all the heats. Substitution of dogs or handlers cannot be made after the closing date for that heat. A dog may only
compete in one team per heat.
If at the conclusion of the heats there is an equality of points, the team which has achieved the highest place will take preference.

The heats will be scheduled as a Special class for pedigree dogs.

There will be separate heats with the top 10 teams at each heat eligible to receive points.

There is no limit on the number of heats in which a team may compete. Points will be awarded as follows: 1st place = 10 points, 2nd place = 9 points etc. down to 10th place = 1 point. After the final heat has taken place, the top ten teams will be invited to compete at Crufts, selection will be subject to the Crufts management's discretion: 

1) The team with the highest number of points within each breed will represent that breed in the Final. In the event that two or more teams of the same breed have the same number of points, the team which has achieved the highest placing at the heats will take precedence. A maximum of three breeds will be invited to compete in the final from any one Breed Group subject to the Crufts management's discretion.
2) Where more than three Breed Representative Teams within the shortlist belong to the same Breed Group, only the three highest scoring teams within that Group will be invited to compete at Crufts 2018. The remaining places in the top ten will be offered to the Breed Representative Team(s) with the next highest total points.

Entry fees per team of four will be between £20 and £25 and will be taken either by the individual clubs concerned or by the Kennel Club, please see the individual entry forms for details. Entry closing dates will be 4 weeks prior to the date of the show. 

Judges have permission to run the set exercises as they see fit, be this in the original square pattern or in a more suitable format for the ring size. Rosettes and Place Cards for the top 4 teams in each qualifying heat will be provided by the Kennel Club.

Each team will consist of 4 dogs of the same breed with 4 separate handlers, plus up to 2 reserves at each heat. Teams are allowed to use different dogs at each heat, providing they are of the same breed. Only one team per breed will qualify for the Crufts final. No more than one dog in each team can have won out of Class A at Kennel Club licensed G regulation Open or Championship obedience shows.

Obreedience - Mrs K McCartney