Border Collie Sport Training

FCI Obedience

When I left Italy in 2014 I left behind a lot of things that I love and that I still miss.

One of them is FCI Obedience.

The Obedience, the only one I have ever practiced and trained for is under the FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale) rules. The FCI is the main organisation that regulates all Kennel Clubs in Europe and in the rest of the world apart from the UK, The British Kennel Club (and a few others).

Under the FCI there are rules for breeding and competing pedigree dogs. This doesn’t mean that only pedigree dogs can compete in FCI obedience, that rule stands only for the World Championship that is run every year in a different location in the World.

The British Kennel Club doesn’t take part in the FCI World championship and so it doesn’t run FCI obedience shows.

What is the difference between the KC obedience and the FCI obedience?

The first very obvious difference is the classes and the progression. The official FCI obedience rules has 1,2,3 classes. Each kennel club can make the decision to run a pre-beginner and a beginner class but they are not FCI official classes.
The number of exercises differs a lot, FCI has many more exercises that have a progression from class 1 to class 3.

Training and judging criteria are also different:

Training and judging criteria are also different. Heelwork doesn’t allow a fixed hand target and a more natural dog position is requested. Retrieve and any finish are not in front but on the handler side straight away. The send away is always is a box of 4 cones that are always the same distance and with the same spacing.

Retrieve is not only on a straight line but also over a jump and with directions.

There are a few exercises with jumps that make the training very fun and varied for the dogs and the scent discrimination is with 10cm sticks and not with a cloth.

Class 3 is the one that will be run at the World Championships. This runs over three days, day one and two for the qualifier runs and the last one being the final.

I keep training FCI obedience in the hope that one day it will be possible to introduce competition in this country.