When Carla Campbell arrives at the dock diving pool with “Hope,” her 12-year-old German Shepherd Dog, she first removes the guide dog’s working harness. Campbell repeats this action before she and Hope compete in obedience, coursing, AKC Fast CAT, AKC Scent Work, and AKC Trick Dog.
Blind since she was a teenager, Campbell has relied on Hope, (Quadrussage’s Eternal Spring CD CA FCAT SWE SCM SEM DS DJX HDJ TKI) as her working Seeing Eye dog, but Hope also helps her participate in canine sports. “It’s cool that Hope guides me in our daily life, but when the harness comes off, we can be a part of the dog sports community,” says Campbell. “I have a competitive streak and like showing off my dog.”
Sue Petterson
Campbell believes she was the first sight-impaired competitor to participate in AKC Scent Work and the first to work with a guide dog in fieldwork. Today, hundreds of people with various disabilities can apply for accommodations to compete in AKC dog sports of all kinds. They begin by requesting accommodations with the American Kennel Club and specifying the sport. While many people with disabilities participate in dog sports with accommodations, Campbell insists on meeting the standard of the sports they compete in with as little interference and involvement from others as possible.
“In obedience, the ring steward or a friend will lead Hope and I to the starting point, and then we’re on our own,” Campbell says. To that end, she devises methods to determine what Hope is doing. In scent work, Campbell attaches bells to Hope’s collar, so she knows when the dog stops. “Hope has a solid alert and stays glued on the odor. If I think she’s alerting, I’ll give her a light tug or tell her to search again. If she doesn’t move with me, she’s alerting … It’s fun to know that Hope is detecting an odor I’m incapable of smelling.”
Emily Chalmers
Campbell doesn’t have a favorite sport, but says she enjoys obedience because of the complex training required and how it helps her learn more about her dog. “I like dock diving because it’s a fun way to spend the day out with dog people, plus my dog loves it,” Campbell says. The same applies to field work, but the day out in nature is an added attraction.”
When competing in obedience, heeling in a straight line is the team’s biggest challenge and where they typically receive the most deductions. “Sometimes, if I’m lucky, there’s a sound from another ring or a doorway that will help orient me,” Campbell says.
A friend throws the toy for Hope in dock diving, but Campbell holds the dog and releases her. “I trained her like it’s a go-out in obedience,” Campbell says. They participate in coursing ability tests for fun and to give Hope a break during the days when she lies in her crate while Campbell massages dogs at agility trials. When it’s time comes to compete in AKC Fast CAT, Campbell removes Hope’s harness, and the dog anticipates what’s coming. “She turns into a whirling dervish on the line and goes all out to chase the lure,” Campbell says.
Richard Field Levine
For Campbell, training Hope has meant taking the bus or train for more than an hour from their home in Menlo Park, California, to Watsonville, California, to work with her trainer, Pluis Davern, also an AKC breed judge.
Campbell credits the team’s success to working with Davern, a versatile trainer who thinks outside the box and is familiar with guide dogs. “I didn’t want my guide dog sniffing for food on the ground, so there’s no scattering food to train,” she says.
Working with a guide dog involves back-and-forth communication. “It’s intelligence disobedience. If I tell my dog to do something, and she refuses, I must trust her that it isn’t safe,” Campbell explains.
Sue Petterson
Hope is Campbell’s fourth guide dog and first German Shepherd Dog. Her first Golden Retriever, “Chance” accompanied her throughout college, graduate school, and her first jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1983 to 1992. “Max,” her second Golden, participated in fieldwork and earned a Junior Hunter (JH) title. Her third Golden, “Justin,” Quadrussage’s Not My Day Job CDX JH WCX, earned an Obedience Excellent (CDX) and Junior Hunter (JH) titles. “Justin taught me to find different ways of teaching as I had to explain things to him in terms he would understand,” Campbell says.
All four dogs have contributed to Campbell’s training knowledge. “It’s mostly about what to do and not do, and how to read their signals,” she explains.
Campbell believes the bond she and her dogs have established has grown stronger through dog sports. “I’ve learned how to read my dog and how she thinks, which helps me as a handler,” Campbell says. “When Hope is wearing a harness, she knows not to run after a plastic bag when one blows past us on the street, but once the harness comes off at Fast CAT, the bag is fair game.”
Richard Field Levine
Campbell’s road to canine performance began in 2000. While working in computer technical support, she had a midlife career crisis. During a career counseling session, her therapist asked if she knew anything about equine therapy. “I had grown up with dogs and horses, so I pursued that employment, but ended up working more on my dogs than horses,” Campbell says. “From working in the dog community as a canine massage therapist, I made many friends who competed in performance events, so I ended up competing too.”
While Hope is doing well and shows no signs of slowing down, Campbell knows it’s only a matter of time before the dog lets me know she’s tired of working, Campbell says. A year ago, Campbell applied to The Seeing Eye for another guide dog to follow in Hope’s paw steps. Campbell requested a female German Shepherd and knows the perfect match may take a few years.
“I believe that competing in dog sports helps keep Hope’s brain stimulated and challenges her, but at the end of the day, she’s my best companion,” Campbell says.
The post Seeing Eye Dog ‘Hope’ Doubles as a Canine Athlete appeared first on American Kennel Club.
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Blind since she was a teenager, Campbell has relied on Hope, (Quadrussage’s Eternal Spring CD CA FCAT SWE SCM SEM DS DJX HDJ TKI) as her working Seeing Eye dog, but Hope also helps her participate in canine sports. “It’s cool that Hope guides me in our daily life, but when the harness comes off, we can be a part of the dog sports community,” says Campbell. “I have a competitive streak and like showing off my dog.”
Sue Petterson
Guide Dogs in Dog Sports
Campbell believes she was the first sight-impaired competitor to participate in AKC Scent Work and the first to work with a guide dog in fieldwork. Today, hundreds of people with various disabilities can apply for accommodations to compete in AKC dog sports of all kinds. They begin by requesting accommodations with the American Kennel Club and specifying the sport. While many people with disabilities participate in dog sports with accommodations, Campbell insists on meeting the standard of the sports they compete in with as little interference and involvement from others as possible.
“In obedience, the ring steward or a friend will lead Hope and I to the starting point, and then we’re on our own,” Campbell says. To that end, she devises methods to determine what Hope is doing. In scent work, Campbell attaches bells to Hope’s collar, so she knows when the dog stops. “Hope has a solid alert and stays glued on the odor. If I think she’s alerting, I’ll give her a light tug or tell her to search again. If she doesn’t move with me, she’s alerting … It’s fun to know that Hope is detecting an odor I’m incapable of smelling.”
Emily Chalmers
Campbell doesn’t have a favorite sport, but says she enjoys obedience because of the complex training required and how it helps her learn more about her dog. “I like dock diving because it’s a fun way to spend the day out with dog people, plus my dog loves it,” Campbell says. The same applies to field work, but the day out in nature is an added attraction.”
When competing in obedience, heeling in a straight line is the team’s biggest challenge and where they typically receive the most deductions. “Sometimes, if I’m lucky, there’s a sound from another ring or a doorway that will help orient me,” Campbell says.
A friend throws the toy for Hope in dock diving, but Campbell holds the dog and releases her. “I trained her like it’s a go-out in obedience,” Campbell says. They participate in coursing ability tests for fun and to give Hope a break during the days when she lies in her crate while Campbell massages dogs at agility trials. When it’s time comes to compete in AKC Fast CAT, Campbell removes Hope’s harness, and the dog anticipates what’s coming. “She turns into a whirling dervish on the line and goes all out to chase the lure,” Campbell says.
Richard Field Levine
It’s All in the Training
For Campbell, training Hope has meant taking the bus or train for more than an hour from their home in Menlo Park, California, to Watsonville, California, to work with her trainer, Pluis Davern, also an AKC breed judge.
Campbell credits the team’s success to working with Davern, a versatile trainer who thinks outside the box and is familiar with guide dogs. “I didn’t want my guide dog sniffing for food on the ground, so there’s no scattering food to train,” she says.
Working with a guide dog involves back-and-forth communication. “It’s intelligence disobedience. If I tell my dog to do something, and she refuses, I must trust her that it isn’t safe,” Campbell explains.
Sue Petterson
Hope is Campbell’s fourth guide dog and first German Shepherd Dog. Her first Golden Retriever, “Chance” accompanied her throughout college, graduate school, and her first jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1983 to 1992. “Max,” her second Golden, participated in fieldwork and earned a Junior Hunter (JH) title. Her third Golden, “Justin,” Quadrussage’s Not My Day Job CDX JH WCX, earned an Obedience Excellent (CDX) and Junior Hunter (JH) titles. “Justin taught me to find different ways of teaching as I had to explain things to him in terms he would understand,” Campbell says.
All four dogs have contributed to Campbell’s training knowledge. “It’s mostly about what to do and not do, and how to read their signals,” she explains.
Campbell believes the bond she and her dogs have established has grown stronger through dog sports. “I’ve learned how to read my dog and how she thinks, which helps me as a handler,” Campbell says. “When Hope is wearing a harness, she knows not to run after a plastic bag when one blows past us on the street, but once the harness comes off at Fast CAT, the bag is fair game.”
Richard Field Levine
From Canine Massage Therapist to Competitor
Campbell’s road to canine performance began in 2000. While working in computer technical support, she had a midlife career crisis. During a career counseling session, her therapist asked if she knew anything about equine therapy. “I had grown up with dogs and horses, so I pursued that employment, but ended up working more on my dogs than horses,” Campbell says. “From working in the dog community as a canine massage therapist, I made many friends who competed in performance events, so I ended up competing too.”
While Hope is doing well and shows no signs of slowing down, Campbell knows it’s only a matter of time before the dog lets me know she’s tired of working, Campbell says. A year ago, Campbell applied to The Seeing Eye for another guide dog to follow in Hope’s paw steps. Campbell requested a female German Shepherd and knows the perfect match may take a few years.
“I believe that competing in dog sports helps keep Hope’s brain stimulated and challenges her, but at the end of the day, she’s my best companion,” Campbell says.
The post Seeing Eye Dog ‘Hope’ Doubles as a Canine Athlete appeared first on American Kennel Club.
Read more...
