Skills
General
Bohemian Shepherd is an athletic, energetic and versatile breed, which means they can participate in many activities.
Chodskys show talents in areas such as nose work, search and rescue, agility, dock diving, schutzhund, obedience, pastoral work and many others.
They are also great companions in endurance sports like canicross, bikejoring or skijoring.
These enthusiastic dogs will happily join you in any kind of outdoor activity, any time of the year, although care must be taken when exercising in warm weather, because of their thick double coat.
Regardless the activity it is always best to check with your vet before beginning any athletic endeavors with your dog.
Listed below are some of the sports at which Bohemian shepherds are excellent.
Agility
Agility is a team sport in which a handler directs the dog through a series of obstacles within a time limit. Both time and precision are important in this sport.
Handler walks the course and/or looks at a printed map of an agility course to plan the strategy before they run it with the dog. Handler uses voice, hand gestures and body language (position of shoulders, feet) in combination to guide the dog through the course. The dog needs to know basic obedience commands to start learning agility - good communication is a key.
Read about how to get started with agility on the AKC website.
Watch best agility teams in action - Agility Championship Crufts 2022.
Scent Work
and Nose Work
Scent work and nose work are excellent sports to participate in with your Bohemian shepherd.
There are two main organizations which provide events for competition: The American Kennel Club (AKC) and The National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW).
Both organizations challenge dogs to find hidden odors.
AKC Scent Work has two Divisions:
-
The Odor Division, which includes the following elements: containers, interiors, exteriors and buried hides.
-
Handler Discrimination Division.
In the K9 Nose Work, the dog and handler team search four elements in a trial and they must qualify in all four elements of individual competition to title:
-
Interior search.
-
Exterior search.
-
Vehicle search.
-
Container search.
Most trials are timed and the time limit is 2-4 minutes.
Read more about AKC Scent Work here.
Read more about NACSW K9 Nose Work here.
Obedience
and Rally
Both obedience and rally are based on dog's ability to follow the handler's commands and training for either one will strengthen your dog's manners.
Depending on the level, required skills in obedience can include sit, down, stand for exam, recall, heel, retrieve, jump, and scent. The degree of difficulty increases as you progress from one class to the next. In most venues the classes are: Novice, Open and Utility.
Rally (or Rally-O) is a more fast-paced version of traditional obedience exercises, which takes place in a relaxed, though still competitive, setting. The judge creates a course in which the handler and dog follow numbered signs and perform the exercise described at each station.
The main difference between the two sports is that in obedience the handler can't talk to the dog except for giving out commands. In rally handlers may use their upper bodies and talk to their dogs for encouragement.
Obedience Dog Championships - YouTube video.
Dock diving
add text