The sport of competitive obedience training originated out of the need to be able to control a dog in our modern society.  From this practical basic training, our modern, competitive obedience has evolved.

I believe the name "obedience" is misleading.  "Obedience" suggests submission, and this is not what we wish to project in modern competitive obedience.  We are giving a TEAM PERFORMANCE.  We wish to demonstrate teamwork and harmony between TWO team members, and a flowing demonstration of unity.  Both team members must be so in tune with each other they can understand and act upon the smallest cue from their partner.  As in all teams there must be a leader, but no teamwork can be completely successful if the team leader relies solely on blind obedience as the only factor controlling the performance.

To obtain this harmony, absolute attention is needed from BOTH MEMBERS OF THE TEAM.   We spend countless hours teaching our dogs to give us absolute attention and then blow it all at a show because we have failed to give the same attention and dedication to our dogs.  I believe this is why people can get "star performances" at home, but not in the ring.  We have failed to train ourselves to ignore outside influences and have failed to give our dogs the same attention that we demand from them