Canine High School or Versatility One

Jack and I finally moved on from the ODTC Beginner Class to Versatility One (V1). V1 class is a long class - 16 weeks long at the time we were in the class.

The Orlando Dog Training Club (ODTC), has all the classes based on an 8-week long session. I just thought of each group session as a semester. The Beginner class usually takes one semester to complete and the V1 class takes two semesters to complete. Since Jack and I took two semesters to graduate from the Beginner class, it would be a safe assumption that we would need four semesters to be able to graduate from V1. That was exactly the case with us. And it was not Jack's fault that we had to repeat the class. It was my fault. You know, if you don't always do your homework, chances are rather high that you won't be promoted.

We graduated from Beginners and went into V1 with a build of excitement. One of the first things I remember about the class was the Warm-Up exercise. It was a pretty quick, one minute warm-up. It was a continuation of the Watch-Me exercise in the Beginners class. We learned more things in V1 that were more action-oriented. I learned that Jack actually LOVED jumping and running around the Swish Pole. The more action that was involved made Jack happier and helped me gain confidence in my training.

Yes, V1 was an enjoyable class. Jack and I were challenged frequently, especially with the Leave-It exercise. We are still working on improving Jack's response to the Leave-It command.

There were many exercises we learned in V1:

• Get-It
• Leave-It
• Sit
• Floor (our version of Down)
• Swish-Pole
• Release word (we used OK, then changed it due to confusion in everyday use. We now use Peaches)
• Come
• Front
• Stand
• Spin (one is left and other is right, your choice)
• Twirl (one is left and other is right, your choice)
• Right-Turn
• About-Turn
• Left-Turn
• Around-Finish-Right
• Left-Finish
• Jumping over bar-jumps and high-jumps
• Weave through legs

Our time in the V1 class was a real learning experience. The ODTC Training Director and your V1 instructor determine if you and your dog are ready for graduation and entrance into Canine College and Higher Education - or Versatility Two (V2).

Yes, we graduated!