Obedience Road with Connie Cleveland

28/01/2025

Obedience Road closes tonight at midnight!

This is your chance to join a community of dedicated trainers, grow your skills, and receive personal feedback and trial support—all while working toward your goals.

It’s my heart’s desire to help you succeed. If you’re ready to take the next step in your training journey, I’d love for you to join us on Obedience Road!

Don’t wait, enrollment closes tonight at midnight!

www.obedienceroad.com/membership

28/01/2025

Have you been thinking of joining Obedience Road? Don’t delay, enrollment closes tomorrow!

Joining Obedience Road gives you everything you need to train with confidence and achieve your goals. Here’s what you’ll get when you work with us:

✨ Step-by-Step Instructions
You’ll have access to a comprehensive library, teaching you how to train and proof every obedience exercise. Whether you’re just starting or preparing for the NOC, we’ve got you covered.

✨ Trainer Development
With regular webinars and training tips, you’ll learn strategies to refine your skills, solve training challenges, and compete confidently.

✨ Personalized Support
Never feel stuck. You’ll have the opportunity to reach out whenever you need guidance, support, or video review.

You can cancel your membership anytime, but you can only join until January 28. We encourage you to give Obedience Road a try—we’re confident you’ll find more information, help, and support than you ever imagined.

25/01/2025

Scent Articles: What is Your Dog Really Looking For?
👉 And....Upcoming Webinar!!

When performing Scent Articles, your dog should locate the article with your scent. But in a shared home, your scent is everywhere—making it hard for your dog to understand that your odor is the target in this exercise.

To help your dog succeed, clean and handle the articles carefully so they don’t all carry your residual scent.

If you don’t have a cleaning protocol, articles in the pile with residual odor force the dog to look for the most odor, not the handler's odor. This can cause problems because it requires the dog to check every article several times before he can confidently make a decision.

🎥 Watch our video for scenarios that help your dog focus on your odor—not the most heavily scented article.

🗓️ Join us Monday, January 27, for a live webinar exclusively for Obedience Road members! Pat Nolan and I will cover:

✅ Identifying target odors
✅ Teaching dogs to ignore distracting odors
✅ Our favorite method for introducing scent work

Not a member yet? Join Obedience Road today and join us live! 🎉

22/01/2025

Proofing: The Key to Consistent Ring Performances!

Consistent, confident performances in the obedience ring start with one critical skill: proofing. Fair, effective proofing ensures your dog truly understand each exercise—so they perform reliably, no matter the distractions.

When you join Obedience Road, you’ll get Proofing: The Benefits of Mistakes as a free bonus! This course gives you step-by-step guidance for proofing every obedience exercise so you can be more confident next time you walk in the ring.

🌟 Plus, don’t miss our February Proofing Challenge! 🌟
As an Obedience Road member, you’ll get:
✔️ Weekly guidance through proofing exercises.
✔️ Support from fellow members sharing tips and experiences.
✔️ The opportunity to submit videos for feedback to refine your skills.

Enrollment for Obedience Road is open now, but only until January 28!

🎯 Ready to take your training to the next level? Join us today!

22/01/2025

During this session, I’ll discuss how to use proofing to increase your dog’s understanding of the exercises and improve their qualifying rate in competition.

Have a specific exercise or recurring mistake you’re struggling with? Message me your question, and I’ll address it during the Live.

18/01/2025

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐨 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐬!

Recently, I shared how my training partner and I helped her dog learn to avoid taking a jump on the way to a go-out. This is just one of many mistakes that can cause you to lose significant points or fail during the go-out in competition.

𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐨-𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫?

This chart is a sneak peek of the Directed Jumping section from my online course, Proofing: The Benefits of Mistakes. It lists the five most frequent go-out errors, along with suggestions for how you might set-up situations to cause each error in practice.

Proofing is the key to success. By proactively teaching your dog what behaviors are not allowed, you’ll build their understanding, confidence, and readiness for the ring.

💥𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒!💥

When you join Obedience Road, you’ll receive Proofing: The Benefits of Mistakes as a free gift! 🎁 This course includes checklists for every exercise, helping you prepare thoroughly for every level of competition.

https://www.obedienceroad.com/membership

17/01/2025

Great news! Obedience Road is now open for new members! 🤩🥳

I can’t wait to help you teach your dog to perform with precision and joy, both in training and the ring!

Join Now!

A complete online resource with everything you need to succeed at competitive obedience. Utilizing written & video content, monthly webinars, community forums and personalized feedback, Connie coaches obedience newcomers and experienced competitors alike.

07/01/2025

You're invited! 🎉

I’m excited to announce an exclusive three-part training series:

You Can't Win if You Don't Qualify: Analyzing & Improving Your Obedience Scores.

The first video launches TODAY!!

🔻🔻🔻

But first, a story ...

I showed my first obedience dog at the age of 10. My score was 171 points (enthusiastic child, generous judge!) As a teenager, my performances improved, but my qualifying rate was anything but enviable.

In 1983, I was wowed by a dog shown by Diane Bauman – OTCH Meadowpond’s Fem de Fortune. She performed closer to perfect than any dog I had ever seen, won the Gaines Classic Obedience Tournament twice, but most amazingly to me…never failed.

Diane & Charo made a huge impression on me. They were an astounding team, and I set out to learn what Diane had to teach me about consistency and perfection.

Today, as I receive emails from competitors around the country, failing performances and inconsistent performers are the cause of great frustration.

🔻🔻🔻

It seems we struggle with…

😟 The Sulkers - those dogs that walk through the ring gate and wilt. Their attitude can go from upbeat to downtrodden in very few steps, and their behavior is slow and doleful!

🤡 The Clowns - These dogs are silly and come up with ridiculous antics like running amuck, jumping on stewards, or taking the dumbbell to the judge!

🤪 The Near Miss - These dogs put together some excellent performances except…the one or two failed exercises that seem unpredictable and are never the same two shows in a row!

🔻🔻🔻

If you can relate to one or more of these descriptions, join me starting Jan. 7 for a free training titled, You Can’t Win If You Don’t Qualify!

Participate in a three-part series where I will share all the information Diane taught me, as well as additional strategies and techniques that have helped me, and 100’s of students, in the 4 decades since then.

Register here:

Not qualifying is frustrating-but it's also an opportunity to learn and grow. In this free training, you'll learn how to analyze your performance, so you can pinpoint exactly what needs work. Starting January 7th with Connie Cleveland!

02/01/2025

🌟 FREE 3-Part Training! 🌟

"You Can't Win if You Don't Qualify: Analyzing & Improving Your Obedience Scores."

Register NOW and the first video lesson will hit your inbox January 7!

🔻🔻

In this free training, you'll learn how to analyze your performance, so you can pinpoint exactly what needs work. I'll show you the four essential steps to improve your scores and increase your qualifying rate moving forward.

Whether you're just starting out or have been in the ring before, you'll walk away with a proven process to turn setbacks into future success.

Not qualifying is frustrating-but it's also an opportunity to learn and grow. In this free training, you'll learn how to analyze your performance, so you can pinpoint exactly what needs work. Starting January 7th with Connie Cleveland!

12/12/2024

FREE Webinar Replay!

Do you struggle with a dog that is engaged & attentive in training ... but is slow and disinterested in the ring? You’re not alone - and this free webinar replay with Connie can help!

Webinar: Great in Training, Deflates in the Ring

You’ll learn how to:

✔️ Understand why your dog "shuts down."

✔️ Maintain focus and motivation throughout your performance.

✔️ Make training and showing look alike.

✔️ … and more!

Do you struggle with a dog that is engaged and attentive in training, but slow and disinterested in the ring? You are not alone! Listen to Connie speak to this problem in this webinar- "Great in Training, Deflates in the Ring." It’s free! You can watch it here!

04/12/2024

Matches are valuable, but often scarce - let’s make the most of every opportunity! In today’s video, I discuss strategies to use match time effectively, whether you’re prepping for a show or tackling an issue that only seems to happen in the ring.

Here’s a quick preview:

If Your Match is the Night Before a Show: Focus on building confidence rather than testing. Avoid the “will he do it?” mindset; simplify exercises and reinforce your dog’s skills to ensure you both go into tomorrow’s show feeling prepared.

If You Are Addressing Problems That Only Happen In the Ring: For challenges that only appear in trial settings, use the match to mimic a show environment. Note minor errors but let them go until you reach the specific exercise that needs attention. This way, you create an environment where the problem will most likely occur, allowing you to address it in the ring.

With a little planning, each match can be a powerful training tool!

26/11/2024

The "Stand for Exam" might seem like one of the simpler exercises, but as many handlers know, it can present some unique challenges! Two common issues I often hear about are: “My dog doesn’t like being touched!” or the complete opposite, “My dog is too friendly and can’t resist moving when the judge approaches.”

If either of these sounds familiar, I’ve got some tips in today’s video that will help. The key is using your Reward Marker at the right moment to show your dog that standing still and maintaining focus during the exam can lead to big rewards. This strategy helps build a calm, confident stand that feels rewarding for your dog.

18/11/2024

Reminder! Join us as we discuss the art of balancing field and obedience competition.

Tuesday, November 19 | 8:00pm Eastern

Webinar is free but you must register in advance:
https://www.obedienceroad.com/webinar

15/11/2024

Webinar! With guest speaker, Kevin Cheff!

"𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐬" - 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 & 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
November 19th, at 8:00pm Eastern

In this exclusive webinar, Connie and Kevin team up to discuss the complementary relationship between competitive obedience and field trials/hunt tests.

Learn how to strategically structure your training and manage a schedule that keeps skills sharp for both sports without creating conflict for your dog.

Discover the ideal skill progression to prevent confusion, solutions for managing different drive states, and how to maintain high standards across venues.

This webinar is free but you must register in advance!
https://www.obedienceroad.com/webinar